Twin Girls

[Bright Raven]

Fifteen days early. Weight: 55 and 50 pounds. Both heifers.

Born last night. They were bright eyed this morning.

I enjoy these gentle cows. I weighed both. Gave Inforce 3 and First Defense right under momma's nose. Never did anything but smell me.

Dam: Firesweep Simmental Abby.
Sire: HPF Optimizer

 

[Lazy M]

Nice! Are you going to keep her up for extra supplementation?
Is that a hay field on the other side of the fence?

 

[Bright Raven]

Nice! Are you going to keep her up for extra supplementation?
Is that a hay field on the other side of the fence?

Thanks. No. That is my driveway. I store the outside rolls along that. The foxtail has gotten tall where I cannot mow it.

Yes. I think she will need some supplementation at least when pasture leaves and they go on hay. I plan to keep her with the replacement heifers.

 

[TCRanch]

Congrats! Although I'm not a fan of twins. I'd keep her (them) separate long enough to make darn sure she's claiming both.

 

[Bright Raven]

Congrats! Although I'm not a fan of twins. I'd keep her (them) separate long enough to make darn sure she's claiming both.

I have been watching close. She seems to be. Explain what you mean by keeping them separated from her.

 

[TCRanch]

Congrats! Although I'm not a fan of twins. I'd keep her (them) separate long enough to make darn sure she's claiming both.

I have been watching close. She seems to be. Explain what you mean by keeping them separated from her.

I meant keep her and the twins separate from the herd where you can watch them. Satan claimed both her calves for 3 days then decided she didn't want one, took the other and bailed. Searched for 3 days before we found the abandoned calf, amazingly still alive. Attempted to reunite and Satan tried to kill the calf, literally picked her up and threw her against the barn wall. So I ended up with a bottle calf (still have her, had her 5th calf this year).

 

[Lazy M]

Nice! Are you going to keep her up for extra supplementation?
Is that a hay field on the other side of the fence?

Thanks. No. That is my driveway. I store the outside rolls along that. The foxtail has gotten tall where I cannot mow it.

Yes. I think she will need some supplementation at least when pasture leaves and they go on hay. I plan to keep her with the replacement heifers.

Good deal. It's amazing how quickly twins can drag down a healthy cow.

 

[bball]

Nice! Are you going to keep her up for extra supplementation?
Is that a hay field on the other side of the fence?

Thanks. No. That is my driveway. I store the outside rolls along that. The foxtail has gotten tall where I cannot mow it.

Yes. I think she will need some supplementation at least when pasture leaves and they go on hay. I plan to keep her with the replacement heifers.

Good deal. It's amazing how quickly twins can drag down a healthy cow.

So very true. I have done it both ways; left the twins on and pulled one off. Anymore I lean towards pulling one off for the sake of the cows condition and timely breed back. Feel like you get atleast one really good calf and one bottle baby instead of 2 so-so calfs. Having said that, I know everyone's situation is different. I do not have cows in the condition that BRs are, nor do I have his forage availability.

Ron, is this the second birth you have had this season that was a good deal early?

 

[Bright Raven]

Congrats! Although I'm not a fan of twins. I'd keep her (them) separate long enough to make darn sure she's claiming both.

I have been watching close. She seems to be. Explain what you mean by keeping them separated from her.

I meant keep her and the twins separate from the herd where you can watch them. Satan claimed both her calves for 3 days then decided she didn't want one, took the other and bailed. Searched for 3 days before we found the abandoned calf, amazingly still alive. Attempted to reunite and Satan tried to kill the calf, literally picked her up and threw her against the barn wall. So I ended up with a bottle calf (still have her, had her 5th calf this year).

I am glad you told me that. I was going to turn them out with the other cows and their new calves. Should I keep her up for maybe 5 days?

 

[Bright Raven]

Thanks. No. That is my driveway. I store the outside rolls along that. The foxtail has gotten tall where I cannot mow it.

Yes. I think she will need some supplementation at least when pasture leaves and they go on hay. I plan to keep her with the replacement heifers.

Good deal. It's amazing how quickly twins can drag down a healthy cow.

So very true. I have done it both ways; left the twins on and pulled one off. Anymore I lean towards pulling one off for the sake of the cows condition and timely breed back. Feel like you get atleast one really good calf and one bottle baby instead of 2 so-so calfs. Having said that, I know everyone's situation is different. I do not have cows in the condition that BRs are, nor do I have his forage availability.

Ron, is this the second birth you have had this season that was a good deal early?

This is the first early birth. The others been almost dead on.

 

[Bright Raven]

Good deal. It's amazing how quickly twins can drag down a healthy cow.

So very true. I have done it both ways; left the twins on and pulled one off. Anymore I lean towards pulling one off for the sake of the cows condition and timely breed back. Feel like you get atleast one really good calf and one bottle baby instead of 2 so-so calfs. Having said that, I know everyone's situation is different. I do not have cows in the condition that BRs are, nor do I have his forage availability.

Ron, is this the second birth you have had this season that was a good deal early?

This is the first early birth. The others been almost dead on.

CORRECTION

This is the third early birth of more than 2 days. Simmentals are normally 285 days gestation. Here are the gestation periods in order:
275
283
273
287
270

 

[TCRanch]

I have been watching close. She seems to be. Explain what you mean by keeping them separated from her.

I meant keep her and the twins separate from the herd where you can watch them. Satan claimed both her calves for 3 days then decided she didn't want one, took the other and bailed. Searched for 3 days before we found the abandoned calf, amazingly still alive. Attempted to reunite and Satan tried to kill the calf, literally picked her up and threw her against the barn wall. So I ended up with a bottle calf (still have her, had her 5th calf this year).

I am glad you told me that. I was going to turn them out with the other cows and their new calves. Should I keep her up for maybe 5 days?

I would. Best case scenario the twins are usually together, quite often nursing at the same time. I'd just watch to see if she mothers-up separately, keeps them apart, spends more time with one (generally the larger one). And agree if one isn't doing as well or it's drawing her down, pull one and you'll have a bottle calf.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Ron, congratulations!! Cute little buggers!
All cows are different. Some never learn how to count to two. But, I can say I have never experienced a cow reject one of her twins. I do keep them together for a couple of days. I just came in from my little pasture outside our house window. Had only been seeing one calf, so I went & found the other. She was just under the poly-wire in the tall grass. Mom came mooing when she saw me. Mine is a super quiet mom also. Can manhandle the kids and she just humms to them. Of course, since this is her 3rd set, I'm not the least bit worried. Did have a 2-year old that was getting dragged down, so I pulled one of her calves. Don't usually have to pull one. Like Ron, my fall calvers are in excellent condition (7+), and they will be fed great protein baleage. I will start putting out some corn/oats for the fall calves maybe end of Jan and wean them in March.
Cute as can be aren't they? 2 weeks early is fairly common. Mine kept hers until just 3 days early - 80# + 80#.

 

[kentuckyguy]

For what it's worth most of our cows have calves a few days early this fall.

Ron I'm sure you will keep a watchful eye on them new heifers. They will be fine.

 

[FlyingLSimmentals]

Wow Ron, Glad it was one of yours and not mine. I've experienced that enough. We've had at least 1 set every year now for many years. Some cows do great with them and some don't. Had one of mine that twinned three or four years straight. Her 1st calf coming would always come backwards and with two in there she didn't have room to have the backward one. Her first year twinning she was out in the back pasture and you could tell she was having problems. We tried getting her to the working facility but of course she wouldn't go. We had been able to get to her and tell it was coming backwards. Well with enough chasing her and trying to move her to the facility until we were gave out, the calves had switched places and she spit out one coming right and then the backward one. The next two years she was at the facility when she calved and had twins both times each time same situation 1st coming backwards and we were able to help. She would raise them well but I got tire of helping with the backward one and sold the cow. I like to separate from the herd until the calves are up and going good, and not laying around and sleeping. The momma's seem to always forget one somewhere. We've had the cows raise them both, have bottle fed one, and have just sold one. Sometimes that third method I think is best.
They're good looking calves, I think they turn out well for ya.

 

[wbvs58]

Very nice Ron.

Ken

 

[farmerjan]

I am one of the odd ones. I don't mind twins at all. And we seldom supplement the cow unless she is old or a first calf heifer. Only had 1 set on a first calf heifer, and she did get grain and did a pretty good job and bred back so we pulled them at about 5 1/2 months. Have 2 sets on spring calf cows now and they are about 50 lbs lighter than the rest they are running with. Pasture and minerals/salt. Both are mixed twins, so all will get sold. I do like to keep the cow separate for 2-5 days, but normally if our cows take them for the first 24 hours, they will take them. Several times they have been out on pasture calving, and they don't get separated from the other freshening cows. We also have several cows that are just "mommas" and I have seen several calves on them at different times. Just sold a steer that my son swore was on so&so cow.... I said no, she had a heifer.... he said but the steer was nursing her a couple of times when I was out at the pasture just checking cows.... and then I said which steer was nursing her, and he looked in his book and said # such and such..... but wait here it was number #.. which was different. I said yeah, she feeds anyone that wants to suck. Her heifer weighed about 570 and the steer that got sold weighed over 6; so she definitely wasn't short changing her own heifer. There are several who will feed calves other than their own, and as long as I don't see a calf getting too little from his own momma, I leave well enough alone. Often will see the calves on the other cow too.

Had a bought cow have a set of twins, and she rejected the bull and kept the heifer. I bottle fed it for about 2 weeks then had a cow have a dead calf, so put the bottle bull on her. Most of the problems come from bought cows, and I think it is because they just aren't quite sure about things... whereas our raised up cows just don't get excited over things. As well taken care of and tame as your cows seem to be Ron, I think she ought to do fine.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

Ron did not share that her dam has had 3 sets of twins, and always same sex. She always raised both. There is a thread on here somewhere about it. Tons of milk in that cow- family, I suspect this one will be like her dam. Great job, glad you got two healthy girls!

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

In Ron & my case, these are purebred heifers out of top AI bulls. Most of our cows have the ability to raise the two heifers into good weaning weights. By the looks of Ron's cow, she shouldn't have any problem. Plus Ron will be subsidizing the calves through the winter. Keep an eye on them, but i wouldn't fret any.

 

[redcowsrule33]

I like to pen mine up until the calves are vigorous enough to hunt mom down if they get separated, usually a week or so. I have one girl that has twinned twice, nursed both for about 48 hours then votes one off the island. She wouldn't raise two great calves without help anyway so I'm content to wait until she makes her choice. At least they get colostrum.