A note on terminology. Where I come from, at leat, a "cow" is a mature female breeding animal. We'd expect at least ten years out of such an animal, barring any

A note on terminology. Where I come from, at leat, a "cow" is a mature female breeding animal. We'd expect at least ten years out of such an animal, barring any unforeseen circumstances. A young, immature female would be referred to as a heifer. When the "cows" "calve" each year, obviously some of the calves are male and some are female. Most of the males will be castrated at a young age, for the purpose of preventing testosterone from negatively impacting the musculature in relation to meat quality. A castrated bull is referred to as a steer. A steer will almost certainly be raised for slaughter, and for that particular animal, an 18-24 month lifespan is a good estimate. A heifer may either be raised for slaughter, or may be added to the breeding herd. So their lifespan depends. Then there are bulls, who are males who are left intact. These are relatively rare, and their lifespans are shorter than a "cow," because their main purpose is breeding and they become less effective at that job over time. But longer than an animal that's sent to slaughter. Maybe 6 years or so. But the bulls probably don't affect the average too much.