please don't be, please don't be..........PICS

[hillsdown]

Ask and pray and NOPE it aint happening..

Mandy , she turned 5 on the 7th (same bday as me) she is a small framed cow but raises one heck of a calf her last calf's ween weight was 693lbs at 182 days..She is due to Kalina Moderator any day now..

Mandy calved finally,it started at around 8 pm , I helped with the first and had a quick feel after he popped out, I felt an elbow and you bet the little girl was backwards,,

I am so elated that I am not sad yet. I am so ,,,,WOW ,,,,,,,I did it all by myself, and yes I had to pull both and get them in the right positions as well, all with my favorite gal "Mandy" just standing there.

I am sad as I wanted a heifer from her ,,, and yep finally got one.

Mandy is a the best mommy and loves them both, the twins have had their collimune ,calf guard and s/b12 and colostrum 2 liters each and were sucking on mom when I left for the night..

I took pics with my phone but they did not turn out very well. I will take some tomorrow of the three, BTW the little girl is already really smart... :nod:

 

[Keren]

I'm guessing the other calf is a bull :frowns: You can always hope and pray and get the heifer tested.

Congrats on two live calfs and a job well done for both you and Mandy, anyway. She is a really beautiful girl btw

 

[angie1]

Wow ~ you should be REALLY proud of yourself for taking care of business! :clap: :tiphat:
So glad that everyone is healthy and Mandy is managing well.
Looking forward to pics of the babies!! :nod:
Good for you hd. I know its not a single heifer, but you started the calving season passing a test with 2 calves and a healthy cow thats earning her feed. Sounds like a fair enough start to me. ;-)

 

[KNERSIE]

Well done Wanda! If you ever decide to visit here, it better be in June ;-)

Just out of curiosity, was she earlier than her due date? My last 4 sets of twins was between 5 and 11 days earlier than the due date and I was wondering whether this is the norm for twins or just coincidence?

My second last set of twins was also out of my best registered cow, out of a bull who's semen is no longer available and it was also a bull and heifer and the heifer was tested positive for being a freemartin. Come to think of it I have only ever had 1 set of same sex twins, all the others were bull/heifers twins and all out of good cows.

 

[cypressfarms]

BTW the little girl is already really smart... :nod:

Now we knew the girl would be the smart one.

I'm curious, what made you go back in to check after she had the first?

 

[rockridgecattle]

beautiful pic. Look forward to more. Good Job HD

 

[bigbull338]

congrats on a healthy set of twins.

 

[Keren]

BTW the little girl is already really smart... :nod:

Now we knew the girl would be the smart one.

I'm curious, what made you go back in to check after she had the first?

I dont know about Hills, but I was taught to ALWAYS check for a second after an assisted birth. So I just do it routinely and dont even think about it now

 

[hillsdown]

Thanks everyone.
Knersie if you go by the Gelbvieh gestation table she should have been due on the 28th, however I find that never accurate and use my holstein gestation table so she was due on the 21.

Cypress ,it's like Keren said. I always check if the calf is small, early or I have to assist.

Everyone is well today, mom hasn't ventured very far and the little girl follows her around everywhere..The boy sleeps a lot. :lol2: I have to by the letter W for some reason I am missing it so I can't tattoo them yet. It's kind of a good thing as their ears are so little.

Now the big question is when should I start supplementing the calves. I was thinking of feeding them a each bottle once a day when they are a little older. I know Mandy will not have enough for two and still do a good job..

I have raised a lot of twins just not beef . I have had twins born before here but one was always doa.

 

[dun]

Now the big question is when should I start supplementing the calves. I was thinking of feeding them a each bottle once a day when they are a little older. I know Mandy will not have enough for two and still do a good job..

We pick out the runtiest calf and start giving it a bottle within a day or 2. Sometimes 2 bottles a day depending on how they're growing. After they get the idea they'll come running if they see the bottle but they always go back to mom for a chaser.

 

[Keren]

Yep, I would start introducing the bottle now, if only because its easier to get them onto it the younger they are.

I tend to top up both calves and have them sucking on mum as well.

 

[Workinonit Farm]

That's great you got them both out, and both are alive and well.

Where I work, they always take the heifer calf away to bottle feed. Personally, I have not had to deal with twins in my herd (now that I said that, this year will be the year :lol: ) If it were me, I'd most likely do as dun suggested.

Good luck with them. Good job....both you and Mandy.

Katherine

 

[Victoria]

Congrats to you and Mandy - beautiful calves.

 

[CKC1586]

Congratulations on the job well done delivering healthy twins. Sorry you got a mixed sex set, maybe your luck will be better than mine was last year and your heifer will be fertile. The test is only $35. and can put your mind to rest. Here is a lab that does it:

http://www.genmarkag.com/cattle_tests.php

 

[hillsdown]

Congratulations on the job well done delivering healthy twins. Sorry you got a mixed sex set, maybe your luck will be better than mine was last year and your heifer will be fertile. The test is only $35. and can put your mind to rest. Here is a lab that does it:

http://www.genmarkag.com/cattle_tests.php

Thank you for the link.

I will figure out a plan for those two tomorrow, I might start with a bottle each once a day to get them going...Geesh you think I cpuld have one year with out a bottle baby.. :roll: I am also going to fill the creep feeder and they will have acsses to that..

 

[dun]

Geesh you think I cpuld have one year with out a bottle baby.. :roll: I am also going to fill the creep feeder and they will have acsses to that..

You can. Now we sell the bottle calves. If twins we keep the biggest one or the steer, if the cow doesn;t take care of it the calf still gets sold and the cow goes in someones freezer.

 

[cfpinz]

We pick out the runtiest calf and start giving it a bottle within a day or 2.

That's what we do for about a week, then pull the runt off and keep it away from the cow for a month or so. If we don't have a cow in need of a calf by then I sell it or give it to a young person.

This is the first year I can remember that we didn't have a set of twins. Mom and Dad had 5 sets in their first 50 calves, must be something in the water.

 

[Joy of Texas]

Great job. I do what dun does. Pick the runt and start feeding.
Cute calves.

 

[CKC1586]

Well, I didn't separate or supplement the babies with bottles. The heifer had a beautiful udder and she seemed to be able to handle their demand. I did give her some extra feed and set up a creep area for the twins when they were a month old. Keep in mind I may have lucked out here, this was my first set of twins so no real big base of experience with them.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Keren - yes, twins "normally" come early - sometimes TOO early. And with early delivery & twins, cow more often than not - does not clean. If she doesn't clean or takes a long time to, I wait 10-14 days and give her a shot of Lutalyse.