got my bull tested and need some wisdom..

[Son of Butch]

Interesting that male twin to female often has decreased fertility...
I did not realize that, only thought the female (free martin) was affected, but I never used a bull born twin to a heifer.

 

[greybeard]

Interesting that male twin to female often has decreased fertility...
I did not realize that, only thought the female (free martin) was affected, but I never used a bull born twin to a heifer.

Same here-I learn something new every day.

 

[kenny thomas]

I can't say it's a bad thing but just never took the chance.

 

[WRFarms]

The very first sentence says it all. Twin to a heifer. Should have been castrated soon after birth.

Do you mind explaining a little more? We used a bull that was twin to a heifer for 6 years without ANY issues. He bred every cow that he had with him, they calved unassisted, and weaned decent. We have quite a few of his daughters in production, and have sold sons to folks from Oklahoma to Georgia.

http://articles.extension.org/pages/393 ... eproducing

The likeliness of reduced fertility of a male twin born co-twin to a heifer is a subject that still needs more investigation. There have been several small studies done over the last few decades and they've been largely inconclusive. Results range from a 58% reduction in fertility, to no discernible loss of fertility. Reduced scrotal circumference has been observed in one study, but not noted in any others that I could find. Sample sizes are all small due to a lack of subjects. While the research done thus far may be limited, the general consensus seems to be that the bull is safe to use if he passes a breeding soundness exam. Interestingly, among the studies performed in the seventies and eighties, there was a lot of interest in the sex ratios of among the progeny of the bulls, but none of the studies noted an imbalance and that was pretty much the end of research interest in the bull twins.

It seems to me that we're a ways off from being able to safely say one way or another if the bull twins are likely to have reduced fertility or not. I would personally lean towards castrating all bulls born co-twin to a heifer. The potential for reduced fertility, performance loss from being a twin, and the genetic predisposition to twinning are all concerns.

 

[BK9954]

I have a 12month old bull that was a twin with a heifer.. he's been steady breeding a hiefer of mine for a few months and she still kept coming in..so i figured i need to test him. his semen came out clear.
vet didnt even look under scope. just said he wasnt fertile. ive looked up a few things but cant get anything concrete online. any advice or wisdom? im really hoping that there is still hope for him. was a bottle baby and full angus.. dont get much options down here. went over 4 hours for this bull.

One of them is no good for sure. I had a heifer come into heat for 6 months, she went to the auction. For the vet to not even put the semen under a microscope seems a little lazy. Even if he felt sure it would have given you the peace of mind to do so. I would have asked him to. You paid for it. 12 month old bull should breed a heifer. I bought a 10 month that bred one the first 2 weeks. Bought a other 13 month old bull that bred a cow the first week.

 

[dieselbeef]

why would you want to breed an animal that could pass on the twin issue?

 

[farmerjan]

I know that twins are often frowned upon, but we have had very good success with cows having twins and I for one do not do anything to discourage it. Yes the twins are often smaller, and there fore do wean off smaller, if the cow has enough milk; and I have had to take a few and raise them on a nurse cow when the cow can't make enough milk or just outright rejects them. But in total, the smaller twins do still make up in more total production of weight from a beef cow so more money is realized. Often a twin will learn to steal a few meals elsewhere so they get along pretty well. Just this last year had a cow have twins, and another had a single the same day. Those 2 cows mothered and fed 3 calves and have done pretty good. We have at least one set a year , and have made sure that the cow with the twins takes care of them and gets fed some extra to get her going. If it is an "iffy" situation, I have a small lot where they can be put to make sure she gets extra feed to raise them. To me it is worth it. And the 2 cows that raised the 3 calves this year are both checked preg right along with the rest of the cows in that pasture. I have no more retained placentas, or breeding problems with cows that have twins than I do with the ones that have singles.
And yes, we have more than a few cows so we have some pretty good numbers to substantiate those observations.

 

[WalnutCrest]

Did you pay the full free for the BSE? Or did you get a discount since he didn't do the full job?