Twin Calves

[ga. prime]

One of my cows had twin heifers born about amonth ago. this was her third calving. The bigger of the two weighed 55 pounds and was filled out well like any other newborn. The other calf was a bony little 46 pounder. For two or three days I kept close check to make sure the three stayed together and the momma cow knew both calves were hers. To my delight, everything worked out well and the momma cow loves both calves equally. Both calves are gaining weight, although the smaller of the two is still a little bony. What I want to know is how often are twins born and whether the calves will be fertile females. I would like to hear the experiences of other members of this forum who have had twins.

 

[certherfbeef]

I am currently running 3 cows in my herd that were twins. Two is a set of siblings and the other was a twin to a bull. The later is still here because I assumed she was a free martin, she ran w/ the rest of the heifers and we were gonna put her in the freezer. She turned up bred. March will be her 5th calf with all singles. (but now i just jinxed myself). The other 2 have always settled AI and have had one set of twins each and on their 5th calf also. I had a third set of of twins that year, out of a 7 year old cow, both heifers. I sold a bull to a guy and his daughter fell in love with that pair of calves. He bought the cow and both calves too. Said the calves are due to calve in march with their first. Cow bred right back too.
Your set of twin heifers should do just fine based on my experience. Good Luck with them.

 

[Ryder]

ga. prime
Go to Beginners Board Oct. 05, 2004 and click Twin Calves.
Good discussion there on this subject.

 

[ga. prime]

Ryder: Checked it out, answered all my questions, thanks for the tip. Don't know how I missed that discussion since I read this board about every day. certherfbeef: Good answer. Encouraging.