Twins - make them stop!

[brimmer X]

One of my best cows had twins Saturday. This was the 6th set of twins on our place in 8years, but this was the first case I witnessed being born. Nerve Racking. This was the first case the mother would not accept one. I thought we had it made after the second one was born and the first began to nurse, but Sunday should would have nothing to do with the first one. It is partially my fault, I turned 9 yearling + heifers out while she was in the calving process. They got all in the way and first calf was following one of them around. Sold the calf Monday morning for $420 at the sale barn. Both calves were bulls, but one was white, the other gogled red white face. The cow was F1 British white and Brahman, bred to a Hereford bull. Had I not seen it, I would not have believed they were twins.

 

[dirtfarmer1000]

I have the best luck getting them to accept both when I bring them in as soon after they are born as possible and put her in a small pen by herself. In my experience maybe 1 in 2 will take both calves, but if one gets up right away, and the other does not, they will tend to go with one and leave the other. I do not want to risk having to bottle feed a calf, so I always pen them. Sometimes they look very much alike, other times Brimmer is right, unless you actually see them born from the same cow, you would not believe they are twins. There are times when I spend quite a bit of time trying to figure out who belongs to who in the calving pen when twins are born. Sometimes one has to guess as usually twins are smaller and a cow will be quite gaunt, though that is not always the case with either.