New farmer's cow had twins today, not sure what to do

[GoodValley]

Hello. I got great advice here before and hope you all might be able to offer more info. This morning my black angus cow had her fourth baby, I watched the entire process and it went fine. The little baby went off into the barn with her mother about 1 hour after birth. That was about 8 hours ago. We just discovered a second baby cow in the barn, so sometime in that period, she had a twin. I'm new to this and needless to say, thrilled about the luck of having twins. I called my vet but they didn't get back to me yet. One of the babies is in the field alone. The other baby is in the barn with the mother. I wonder if the loner is being rejected? I went out there and pet the loner. He stood up and stayed close to me and followed me a bit. I carried him closer to the barn, then mother came out, stayed with loner for a bit, and went back in the barn. Loner has sort of kinked ankles, but I think it's normal for a newborn to be like that? We have some (not many) coyotes here so I am worried. I could even bring loner into our garage for safety and feed him from a bottle. Any ideas are appreciated. I am going out for an hour or so now, will be back. Thanks for any advice!!

 

[Alice]

Can ya' put the other baby, the one in the field, in with his mother and the other baby? Then watch to see if the baby is allowed to suck his mother. If he's not, you'd probably be well served to stanchion mother and milk out some of the colostrum for the baby, the bottle feed/tube the baby. Need to do that pretty quick, I'd think.

At this point I only care for calves once they are off of their mother, but having been raised on a dairy, I watched my father do this a lot...milk the cow for the colostrum and give to the baby. I know there's lots better advice to be had on this board about this, but I'm really concerned about that baby that hasn't straightened up yet getting the colostrum right away.

Alice

 

[Victoria]

Has the one on the field had a drink? Feel the stomach and see if it is full. If yes put the two calves and the cow in a corral, doesn't have to be stall size, you want them able to move around but let her know she has two of them. Sometimes they seem to forget. Keep her in the corral until she remembers she had two and the calves know who their mother is.
If the calf hasn't had a drink getting colostrum into it is key like Alice said. Put the calf in with the cow and see if she will let it nurse. If she won't then put her in the chute and get baby on her.

 

[Farminlund]

Follow Victoria's advice - get them all together. Determine if both are nursing; if not - put the ma in the head gate & put the calf that the ma won't let nurse on her. You may have to do this a couple of times until the ma accepts the second calf. If she kicks at it - smack her each time she does it - she'll get the message after awhile.

 

[msscamp]

You haven't said anything about how well this mother milks. Unless she has enough milk to adequately support and raise two calves, whether she will accept the 2nd twin is a moot point as you will end up with 2 stunted calves. Just my thoughts.

 

[jersey lilly]

If the mama will take both calves. And wean em off at 5 or 6 hundred lbs.....that's still more than one calf will wean off...so them extra lbs is a bonus.

 

[msscamp]

If the mama will take both calves. And wean em off at 5 or 6 hundred lbs.....that's still more than one calf will wean off...so them extra lbs is a bonus.

Yes, but that depends on what mama's milk production.

 

[GoodValley]

Hello again. We got through the first night ok, with both babies, but I had to move the loner into the barn myself. Mother shows concern and is trying to get loner some milk. Loner's ankles are still bent and a vet said I can make a splint for them, they will straighten out. The bent ankles are a result of being crammed into the womb and one of the twins doesn't have enough room. This morning mother still has placenta hanging out but not much, just some stringy bits. The first baby is up and moving around quick. I saw it pee so I know it's getting nutrition, and looks great. Loner is just sitting on the ground looking helpless. I wonder if I should try to bottle feed loner, and what kind of milk I can buy for her. Is there a supplement for this type of situation? Thanks for any advice!

 

[Farminlund]

Hello again. Mother shows concern and is trying to get loner some milk. Loner's ankles are still bent and a vet said I can make a splint for them, they will straighten out.

You didn't say if the calf did or did noot nurse. If it nursed then, keep an eye on it. If it did not, then get the ma in the chute & put the calf on her teats. If the calf does not suck - then its time for plan B.

You can do the splints, there have been many posts on the subject (you can search if you want), but they usually work themselves out with the trouble. I think Dun said it took about month & a half with splints & 6 weeks without them - maybe my memory is faulty but anyhow thats the way I remember it.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

You'll learn and it seems already are that twins are a long way from being luck. you need a bag of colostrum on hand. might need to go ahead and get it in it. and keep them together as close as possible

 

[Farminlund]

You'll learn and it seems already are that twins are a long way from being luck.

Hit the nail on the head with that one - as Jeanne says "I hate twins" (I also hate them).

 

[Alice]

Loner's ankles are still bent and a vet said I can make a splint for them, they will straighten out. The bent ankles are a result of being crammed into the womb and one of the twins doesn't have enough room. This morning mother still has placenta hanging out but not much, just some stringy bits. The first baby is up and moving around quick. I saw it pee so I know it's getting nutrition, and looks great. Loner is just sitting on the ground looking helpless. I wonder if I should try to bottle feed loner, and what kind of milk I can buy for her. Is there a supplement for this type of situation? Thanks for any advice!

The ankles will most likely straighten out anyway, splint or no splint. We've never splinted them. However, if it'll hasten it along and doesn't cause any discomfort to Loner...

Loner obviously has a harder time getting to his mother, so it may be up to you to make sure he gets to her and gets his nourishment...and he should still be getting the colostrum from her. GAWD, but that's imperative.

There's really good milk replacers...for very, very young ones I like Purina's Pro Nurse. But that comes after a few days of colostrum. If you don't think that calf is getting the colostrum from his mother, milk her and put it in a bottle and feed it to him...at least 4 times a day try get him to drink the colostrum, either from his mother or from a bottle.

Alice

 

[KMacGinley]

Hello again. We got through the first night ok, with both babies, but I had to move the loner into the barn myself. Mother shows concern and is trying to get loner some milk. Loner's ankles are still bent and a vet said I can make a splint for them, they will straighten out. The bent ankles are a result of being crammed into the womb and one of the twins doesn't have enough room. This morning mother still has placenta hanging out but not much, just some stringy bits. The first baby is up and moving around quick. I saw it pee so I know it's getting nutrition, and looks great. Loner is just sitting on the ground looking helpless. I wonder if I should try to bottle feed loner, and what kind of milk I can buy for her. Is there a supplement for this type of situation? Thanks for any advice!

Did you hear what people were saying to you? Feed the calf if it won't nurse. Has it got colostrum in the past 24 hours? Do you have a chute? From what you have reported, I doubt that the calf has nursed from its mother. You need to either:

Milk the cow and feed it.
Buy Colstrix and feed it.
or do something.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Exactly what I am thinking. If that "loner" doesn't get first milk within 24 hours, you can pretty much count it dead. It may live a few days, but its going to get weak in a hurry at some point.

I've got all kinds of questions and no answers from reading this. Do we have another Free Martin on our hands or are these calves both heifers or both bulls?

My twin heifers are now cows. What a mess that was. Hopefully I will never again have twins.

 

[GoodValley]

Hi. The twins are both bulls. This morning the stronger one was following mother around and getting milk. Loner was alone in the barn. I went to buy a milk replacer and when I got back, Loner was out in the field slowly following mother around getting milk. His ankles already look better, and mother was not rejecting him. I don't have a way to milk the mother (no chute, and she won't stay still for me) but the good news is that Loner seems to be getting milk from her. We also gave him 1/2 bottle (maybe 1 pint) of milk replacer. We stayed with him for a few hours then put him back with his mother in the barn, and he went right to work getting her milk too. So everything seems fine for now but I certainly welcome more feedback.

 

[dun]

Hi. The twins are both bulls. This morning the stronger one was following mother around and getting milk. Loner was alone in the barn. I went to buy a milk replacer and when I got back, Loner was out in the field slowly following mother around getting milk. His ankles already look better, and mother was not rejecting him. I don't have a way to milk the mother (no chute, and she won't stay still for me) but the good news is that Loner seems to be getting milk from her. We also gave him 1/2 bottle (maybe 1 pint) of milk replacer. We stayed with him for a few hours then put him back with his mother in the barn, and he went right to work getting her milk too. So everything seems fine for now but I certainly welcome more feedback.

What are the ingredients of the replacer? He needs at a minimum 20% fat 20% protein and it has to be milk based not the soy or vegetable based junk.

dun

 

[bward]

Just keep the mother and the twins in a small pen until both calves are doing well and are perky and bright. Once both calves are strong and well attached to mom then they should be okay out in the feild. You might consider supplementing the cow with grain to get her milk supply abundant and to keep her from getting drawn down. I usually keep my twins and mothers penned until there is abundant grass in the pastures, and they are doing very well.

 

[KMacGinley]

Just keep the mother and the twins in a small pen until both calves are doing well and are perky and bright. Once both calves are strong and well attached to mom then they should be okay out in the feild. You might consider supplementing the cow with grain to get her milk supply abundant and to keep her from getting drawn down. I usually keep my twins and mothers penned until there is abundant grass in the pastures, and they are doing very well.

Ditto. Buy a chute. or a headgate and be ready to use it. If you are going to raise cattle, that is one essential piece of equipment. I'm glad to hear you seem to be lucking out so far.

 

[Farmhand]

There is some valuable information. You should always have a way to work your cattle when they need attention. At some time or another they are going to need it. That should be one of the first things you have an answer to. There was mention of these having access to a barn. Rig up a way to hold mom with some gates. Start looking for a chute tomorrow.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Why do you people that don't know whether to wind your butt or wipe your watch get cows. You ran out and bought some cows but have no facalities to handle them.

Totally Unblievable