The multiple birth took place in May and marked the second time the cow had become pregnant at their property in Bonang in east Gippsland. Last year she gave birth to twins.
However in the case of cows, they tend to only give birth to one calf per pregnancy. While some cows are able to give birth to multiple calves, it's not that common for cattle to have multiple offspring. If a twin pregnancy occurs, this can lead to calves of the same sex or of either gender.
A clinical investigation was undertaken to challenge the commonly accepted view that the interval between the birth of the first and second twins should be preferably within 15 minutes and certainly no more than 30 minutes.
Others think that all female twins are sterile, irrespective of whether they are born as a pair of heifer calves or as the female half of a bull- heifer pair. In actual fact, where twins are both of the same sex—two heifers or two bull calves—they should be perfectly normal.
If a cow gives birth to male and female twins, the female calf will never be able to breed. If it's two males, no problem. If it's two females, no problem. But if she gives birth to a male and a female, the female calf is infertile.
You can have father-daughter matings in beef cattle, but it is not recommended. This type of breeding practice is called inbreeding or close breeding. Again, this breeding practice is rarely practiced today, although it was common in the foundation animals of most breeds.
Independent of parity, the greatest twinning rate was observed when conception occurred from August to October compared with other seasons (OR = 1.2). Calf mortality was greater after twin births, with 28.2% of twin calving events reporting one or both calves as dead, compared with 7.2% for singleton births (OR = 6.5).
Most beef producers say breeding for twins is just asking for trouble. Many times, a cow with twins will reject one of the calves and leave the other as an orphan. In addition, cows that give birth to twins are pulled down and will rebreed later than the other cows in the herd.
When a set of twins is born and one is a bull calf and the other is a heifer calf, more than 90% of the time the female is infertile. The infertile female twin is called a freemartin. This happens because early in embryonic development it's common for the separate embryos to fuse and share the same blood supply.
Mating of beef cattle that are close relatives (brother-sister, sire-daughter, son-dam) produces high levels of inbreeding. Inbreeding generally is detrimental to long-term reproductive performance and growth. Highly inbred cattle are also more susceptible to environmental stress and health problems.
I've been asked by several breeders if it is "OK to breed two half-siblings" (usually, a bull and a cow that share the same sire). The short answer is that there is nothing "wrong" with breeding any two animals of any degree of relatedness, as long as one realizes the potential risks and benefits of the mating.
A cow's pregnancy lasts about 9 months and 10 days. When a calf is born, it usually weighs around 45 pounds and can stand and walk within an hour. Our calves are moved into the nursery shortly after they are born, so our farmers can look after and care for them closely.
Spontaneous embryo reduction has been described in twin pregnancies in cows that remain pregnant, with an incidence of 6.2% [15], 11.2% [16], and 28.4% [17]. Interestingly, most cases of single-embryo mortality in twins occur before Days 36–42 of gestation and rarely occur after Day 60 [15].
She'll usually stand and let another cow or heifer mount her before she'll stand for a bull and will also try to mount the bull before she'll stand still for him to breed her. He'll often rest his chin on her rump or loin to test whether or not she will stand before he tries to mount her.
Insects are no slouches when it comes to reproduction and the African driver ant, which can produce 3 to 4 million eggs every 25 days, is thought to be the most generous of all.
Separation of the new-born calf from the dam is stressful for both cow and calf. The distress associated with separation increases the longer the calf stays with their dam.
The takeaway: Calves should never be moved, taken or otherwise disturbed, even if you're worried about that newborn.
Twin birth is a complex condition observed in most livestock animals, when the female gives birth to two or more offspring, generally out of the same mating. In cattle, it is a rare condition (3 to 5%) and depends on the genetic background and environmental factors.
The major causes of young calf death or illness are 1) Dystocia (calving difficulty), 2) Starvation, 3) Hypothermia (exposure), 4) Metabolic disorders, 5) Scours and pneumonia, and 6) Trauma. Most of these causes can be prevented or reduced with good calving management.
If they're both born normally with no problem, most cows won't have a problem taking on both," says Dewell. "But if one's slow, you've got to make sure that that cow doesn't leave the slow one behind." Keep in mind that twins are heritable.
What are the do's and don'ts of breeding a bull to his daughter, mother, granddaughter, or sister? Mating any of the above would result in a high level of inbreeding. Generally speaking, inbreeding of this nature should be avoided.
Inbreeding occurs when two closely related organisms mate with each other and produce offspring. The two main negative consequences of inbreeding are an increased risk of undesirable genes and a reduction in genetic diversity. The House of Habsburg may be the best example of the effects of inbreeding in humans.
The female counterpart to a bull is a cow, while a male of the species that has been castrated is a steer, ox, or bullock, although in North America, this last term refers to a young bull.