Dealing with the complex issues when twins are born
The challenge of managing twin born calves can be a significant problem, but it’s one that can be solved through bottle-feeding and grafting techniques.
When a cow calves twins, it is typical for the cow to only take one of the calves, abandoning the other. Producers must choose an ideal way to handle this calf if left to fend for itself. Some view twins as a bonus, while others view twins as a problem.
“Sometimes it is good, sometimes it is bad,” said Jeffery Marley, ranch operations employee/manager at Marley Family Farms in Elkins, Arkansas. “It all depends on how you want to look at it.”
The most common practices in handling twins are bottle-feeding or grafting.
Within the first 24 hours, it is important to ensure the calf consumes colostrum either from the mother or by bottle-feeding. By studying the cow’s udder, it can be examined if one or both twins have nursed or if colostrum should be hand-fed.
Marley said he chooses to keep frozen colostrum on hand to supply the orphaned calf.
After colostrum is consumed, a producer can choose to bottle-feed with milk replacer until the calf is old enough to sell, continue to raise the calf, or graft the calf onto another cow – commonly one with excess milk supply because of a calf loss.
Grafting involves attaching an orphaned or substitute calf to another cow to be raised. Following an unsuccessful birth, the cow should not be allowed to smell or lick the dead calf. Instead, the birth fluids should be rubbed on the orphaned calf for the adoptive cow to smell. Doing this will create a connection and encourage the cow to adopt the orphan calf.
“It does involve a lot of work, so be prepared for it. It is time consuming,” said Marley. “Everyone’s operation is different.”
At Marley’s operation, twins are more commonly born from more mature cows.
“We have heard a theory that mature cows are more likely to birth twins than younger cows and heifers because they ovulate more at a time,” said Marley.
Regardless of the age of the cow, twins can present more complexities than normal calves. The possibility of free martins is an example. When a set of twins is born containing a heifer and a bull, the heifer is normally sterile and is referred to as a free martin.
To test if a heifer is sterile, a freemartin probe can be used on heifers 30 days or younger. If sterile, free martins can be sold for slaughter in beef production.
