Calving issue

[kenny thomas]

Always something new.
Last Wednesday a neighbor sent a message that he had a cow that lost a set of twins on Tuesday and had not passed the afterbirth. I told him that was common with twins and I would look at her the next day. Next morning he message that it had passed it which is what I expect.
After lunch today he messaged that the same cow has had 2 more and both are alive and well. 6 days apart. I know a cow could have 4 although it's very rare. But 2 and 6 days later 2 more is beyond anything I have ever heard of.
Any comments or has anyone seen this?

 

[jltrent]

To have 4 is rare but 2 calves come 6 days latter is real rare. I had a cow to have twins back in the winter and I noticed her water had not broke so I thought she must have another calf in her. I got her up and the third calf was coming backward and I don't believe she would have had it on her on. I had to reach deep to find it and then work each back leg in place to pull and probably a few minutes earlier and I could have saved it. She is doing fine and taking care of them as three may have been to much to feed. All three were male calves which is pretty rare from what I read.

 

[Ky hills]

Is he sure it's the same cow?

 

[Travlr]

Is he sure it's the same cow?

That was my first thought...

 

[kenny thomas]

Is he sure it's the same cow?

Yes he said same cow

 

[jltrent]

I have heard of a cow having twins(2 calves total) days a part, but 4 total is amazing.

Can a cow give birth to two calves days apart? - Ask Extension

We have a cow that calved two days ago and now is acting like she might be going into labor again. Is it possible for her to still be pregnant and ha...

ask2.extension.org

ANATONE - Larry and Terry Reeves have seen twin calves born on their Onstot Road ranch, but this winter they got a surprise. One of their cows, No. 93 to be specific, gave birth to a second calf - five days after the first one was born. Having twins arrive almost a week apart is quite uncommon, they said. "We've never had this situation before," said Larry, a lifelong cattle rancher. "It's pretty rare." On Jan. 22, a small, red bull weighing about 55 pounds was born to No. 93. The second calf, a normal-sized 85-pound red heifer, was born Jan. 27. "I thought it was crazy," Terry said, recalling the strange event. "I was going out every day, checking on the cattle. She had her first one and we doctored it and everything. I came out a few days later, and the placenta was hanging out of her, and there was the second one. I was just happy it was alive and doing well." David Rustebakke, a longtime Clarkston veterinarian, said regular twins occur in about 1 percent to 4 percent of cattle births, depending on the breed. In some breeds, the percentage is even less than 1 percent, he said. But having the births occur separately on different days is even more unusual. "I can remember seeing it three or four times in my career," said Rustebakke, who has been a vet for 40 years.

 

[SBMF 2015]

One time I had a cow calve then ten days later have a little rat hfr calf.

 

[farmerjan]

One of my first calf heifers was acting restless so I penned her up. 2 days later, on a Friday morning, she had a nice sized dead heifer. I got a bull calf to foster on her and she allowed it to nurse for about 24 hours. On Sunday she started pushing it away and wouldn't let it nurse. I gave it a bottle because I had to be somewhere and didn't have time to get her in a chute and deal with it that evening. On Monday I went up there determined to get her in a chute and get the calf on her... and here she had a new calf, another heifer... the foster calf was in the next pen because I hadn't wanted her to beat it up that night. The new heifer was also good sized, I think each heifer calf weighed 70-75 lbs. Both the dead one and the 2nd live one had about 10 white hairs on their foreheads. She went on and raised the 2nd twin and she is still in the herd today, bred and due with another calf this fall. I fed the bull calf on the bottle for a week or so, then we had a cow that had a dead calf and it got fostered over on her. Only 2 dead calves that year so it worked out. I named the twin that was born alive Lucky....
Having her penned like that there was no chance it could have been anyone else's calf.

2 sets of 2 born a few days apart like that is something I would have a hard time believing...

 

[MurraysMutts]

She had to have been big as a house with 4 of em in her!