Twin calf reproduction?

[sidebitter]

I have been told that in twin heifer calves one or both calves will not reproduce, Is there any truth to this? Or is someone pulling my leg.

 

[msscamp]

I have been told that in twin heifer calves one or both calves will not reproduce, Is there any truth to this? Or is someone pulling my leg.

No, it is not true. It is, however, true that if you have bull and heifer twins the chances of the heifer being a freemartin are very high and she will likely not be fertile. Sounds like someone got the two mixed up is all.

 

[jaydill]

I have been told that in twin heifer calves one or both calves will not reproduce, Is there any truth to this? Or is someone pulling my leg.

No, it is not true. It is, however, true that if you have bull and heifer twins the chances of the heifer being a freemartin are very high and she will likely not be fertile. Sounds like someone got the two mixed up is all.

Exactly. The twins must be a bull and a heifer and there is up in the 90 percentile range of a chance that the heifer calf will be infertile.

 

[K-SHIRES]

I have been told that in twin heifer calves one or both calves will not reproduce, Is there any truth to this? Or is someone pulling my leg.

In our dairy herd, we are currently milking 2 sets of twin heifers(4 cows). Pretty good proof they reproduce.

 

[jaydill]

Same sex twins you needn't worry about. It's the opposite sex twins you want to get the heifer calf checked from.

 

[Dana Kopp]

When you have a heifer and a bull born as a set of twins the heifer is called a Freemartin. There is a greater than 95% chance of her being infertile - the basic cause is from the testosterone from the bull calf effecting her reproductive organs. There is a lot of info out there about this and a lot of new research being done - just google Freemartin calves and you'llprobably find more than you ever cared to know.

 

[Beefmaker]

A question hit me as I was reading this thread. Is there any effect on the reprodution ability of the bull twin in a mixed set of twins?

 

[msscamp]

A question hit me as I was reading this thread. Is there any effect on the reprodution ability of the bull twin in a mixed set of twins?

No. He's ok, it's just the heifer.

 

[agdoc96]

The post stating that it is due to testosterone from the male fetus is correct. During pregnancy, the male fetus begins producing hormones before the female fetus. This extra testosterone shared by the male fetus adversely affects the female fetus at a critical point of reproductive developement. This is why twins of the same sex generally have no problems due to sharing of hormones.