Hi I bought a beef Heifer calf, that was less than a day old, that was a twin to a bull, I'm wondering what her chances are of being a breed able heifer , when she is older? Also do Free Martin's grow different than normal? She weighs maybe 40 pounds.
Heifer Twin Free Martin?
- Thread starter Hereford2
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slick4591
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I've never fed a free martin, but your chances of getting her bred and in calf is very, very slim. Most people ship or eat them.
Buck Randall
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I've seen estimates claiming that 10% turn out to be fertile, but that's higher than I've personally experienced. A lot of times their vulva will be obviously abnormal, or have very long hairs at the end. They grow the same as any other heifer for feeding.
You could have a vet check her when she's about a year old and they can tell you definitively whether she's got all the right parts.
You could have a vet check her when she's about a year old and they can tell you definitively whether she's got all the right parts.
Lee VanRoss
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If you feel the need to ask the question why take the chance? Even if she were not a Free Martin you are 2 years away from a calf.
There are better options. I agree with Slick.....
There are better options. I agree with Slick.....
Hereford2
Well-known member
Ok. I was just wondering, because I haven't raised one before. I mainly wanted to know if they grow like a normal calf or not. I'm thinking for beef. I'm not interested in keeping a heifer around for a year or two hoping I can breed her, when their are plenty of heifers out there. I was just wondering what her chances were of being breed able.. Out of curiosity.
SBMF 2015
Well-known member
Never used one, but I knew they made them. https://jorvet.com/product/freemartin-probe/
We feed out all of our heifer twins. They grow just like any other heifer, some may finish smaller just because their a twin.
We feed out all of our heifer twins. They grow just like any other heifer, some may finish smaller just because their a twin.
simme
Old Dumb Guy
There is a blood test that can be done to determine if the twin is a freemartin or not. Looks for the presence of a Y chromosome. Cost is about 50 dollars. We had one years ago that looked normal, did the blood test and she tested OK. About a 10% chance they are normal.
www.vdl.umn.edu
Freemartin in Cattle
We've had several ( >20) sets of twins on our farm over time. The short answer slim to none. The reason behind it is because of the testosterone from the bull fetus circulates in the womb and renders the heifer sterile. https://www.thecattlesite.com/articles/975/what-is-a-freemartin/
I sold a heifer twin to my BFF last year to graft onto a cow that lost her calf and she was a good 650 lbs. when she was weaned at 7 months. That said, she also looked pretty masculine.
76 Bar
Well-known member
As side from the fact twins are undesirable for obvious reasons, even with close herd scrutiny cows who've twined can go undetected. Years ago I kept a fancy Replc heifer and was surprised she was open at preg check check. Nothing to indicate physically she was a free Martin. Months later she was a ~1300 lb tasty locker beef.
Nkline
Well-known member
Since freemartins don't cycle they feed better than a normal twin heifer usually. That being said 40 lb twins don't typically end up on the big end of the pen.
backhoeboogie
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You have much at risk and your chances on reward are slim to none. She's going to eat as much feed as a normal heifer which has nearly 100% chance versus your "maybe" 10%. Eat her
Nesikep
Well-known member
I think the statistics I heard was 7% chance of being fertile... I did keep one last year, she looks normal from the outside at least, I may bring her to the vet when I pass by and he can do a diagnosis on her.. otherwise she's good freezer beef.. Some of the reasons I kept her was both her sisters are really productive cows, and it seemed like the bull got the short end of the development stick.. I never was able to band him and he still looked like a steer at weaning time... After 6 weeks old they were raised on different cows, the heifer stayed with her real momma. I did see the hair on her tailhead rubbed off in January... Time will tell.. She's in good shape, so she'll be good eats anyhow
Nesikep
Well-known member
most recent decent pic I have of her is from mid january 
SBMF 2015
Well-known member
Back when I still had a vet come out to pelvic measure, we bought a fancy set of Shorthorn fdr hfrs to turn into cows. The vet didn't tell us 1 was a free Martin when he measured her, but he sure let us know when she was open in the fall!
Hereford2
Well-known member
I wonder why he didn't tell you the first time around? After thinking about it I remembered I once bought a heifer, that wasn't known to be from a set of twins but she cycled regularly and, never took,. So I sold her for slaughter.
Ky hills
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My advice would be not to count on it being a breeder. As someone said the reality is slim to none and more like none is more likely.
darcelina4
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I got to a dairy sale and they do announce ones known to be free martins. I can tell you the freemartin heifers grow more like steers. They were huge compared to the sisters the same age. When my daighterr was showing we wished we had found a beef free Martin heifer as she would have made a big stout show calf. Show heifers are usually bad breeding cows anyway. Right now I have a yearling twin heifer that I am hoping will breed. She is the sweetest girl. When we brought her home at a day old our beef shorthorn cow was birthing. After the natural calf had colostrum we put this one on her to be sure it got colostrum. The cow adopted her and raised both. The natural calf wanted to be feral and not stay where I put her. Last week I had enough and she went to the salebarn. This one I can walk up and put a halter on and lead away. In June I will put her with a bull. If she doesn't breed I guess I will eat her. But I sure like her disposition and her looks. She looks feminine not masculine.
