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Odd calving experience

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Soapweed

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Just before dark yesterday evening, an eight-year-old red cow was calving. As it was plenty chilly by then, and it got down to fifteen below before morning, we put her in a box stall to calve. This morning, the night man reported that the good red cow had slunk a little bitty dead black calf. Peach Blossom checked through the barn a short time later, and found that even though the cow had slunk one dinky little calf, she also had just popped out a nice big full-sized black bull calf which was very much alive. Peachie called it her "miracle baby" and this "second coming" sure made the day start out better. :)
 
Congratulations on the live one. I would imagine you have about every experience possible. An old buddie of mine talks of the time while haying , he had a cow having trouble . He stopped and pulled a dead calf. Went back to haying and that night found another dead calf with her. He has me reaching in every one that I pull a calf from to see if there is another. I had a cow calving a few years ago and she was having trouble. I got a friend of mine, Wes Hudson to help me get her up. It was backwards and we pulled a 90 lb calf from this big cow. He knows the haying story from our old buddie, Joe Dearing is his name. I told him for Joes sake I'd reach back in her. He smirked with the size of this one your wasting time. :) I pulled a 91 pound one out of her by hand . Both lived.
 
Soapweed,


I had this happen with a 9 year old char cow about 4 years ago. She had a lil itty bitty hiefer calf that was dead about suppertime. I thought that was it, next check about about 4 hours later she had a big bouncing baby boy in the pen with her. Sure made the night a lot better as well!! Any ideas Soapweed what causes this?
 
Manitoba_Rancher said:
Soapweed,


I had this happen with a 9 year old char cow about 4 years ago. She had a lil itty bitty hiefer calf that was dead about suppertime. I thought that was it, next check about about 4 hours later she had a big bouncing baby boy in the pen with her. Sure made the night a lot better as well!! Any ideas Soapweed what causes this?
Click to expand...

Peach Blossom thinks that the cow would have aborted the one calf much earlier had it been the only calf the cow was carrying. Since she had twins, and the second calf was fine, she held onto both for the full term so as to save the calf that was alright. This sounds like a plausible explanation to me.
 
Had this happen last year with a heifer. She was not making any progress so reached in and felt to big legs and two little legs kinda had me puzzled as what was going on but pulled the small one first and it was about twenty pounds and dead. The second one was sixty pounds and alive and well. The next day we had two sets of twins on the ground at the same time and that night another set and that was it. This year we have had four sets with in days apart so don't quite under stand this twinning thing.
 
We had a similar experience. A big cow had a dead calf that looked as though it had been dead for a while. It's eyes were sunken right back in already. It also had the umbilical cord wrapped around it's back leg about six or seven times, as tight as could be, so we knew why it was dead. :?

It seemed rather small, so I convinced hubby to check the cow for another one. He was pretty doubtful, but humoured me. He reached right in, grabbed a leg, and yanked out a perfectly healthy heifer calf in less than a minute. Go figure.
 
Soapweed said:
Manitoba_Rancher said:
Soapweed,


I had this happen with a 9 year old char cow about 4 years ago. She had a lil itty bitty hiefer calf that was dead about suppertime. I thought that was it, next check about about 4 hours later she had a big bouncing baby boy in the pen with her. Sure made the night a lot better as well!! Any ideas Soapweed what causes this?
Click to expand...

Peach Blossom thinks that the cow would have aborted the one calf much earlier had it been the only calf the cow was carrying. Since she had twins, and the second calf was fine, she held onto both for the full term so as to save the calf that was alright. This sounds like a plausible explanation to me.
Click to expand...


IMHO:

The calf is what triggers onset of parturition. It is strictly hormonal, so a live calf is needed to start the process. If there is a dead calf, it won't trigger it, therefore if there is another LIVE calf in the womb, it won't trigger parturition until it is ready. That's how you get a yucky teeny dead calf and a healthy live one at the same time. This has happened to us a few times :?
 
A few years back I had a cow in the barn as it was cold out then too (imagine that cold every winter :lol: )

Anyway I checked and found a dead calf. In the morning there was only 1 calf in the pen and it was alive. Took me a few minutes but I found she had somehow moved her dead one (that I saw) into a manger where it wasn't visible and had the second calf live.

Kinda spooky cuz I knew that calf was dead the night before. :oops:
 
We've had that happen. Took us a day to figure out what happened as we calf in the pasture. I always make it a habit that if we have a cow in for what ever reason, backwards, footback ect. I check the cow afterwards. Simply because I have been surprised later by a second calf.
 
katrina said:
We've had that happen. Took us a day to figure out what happened as we calf in the pasture. I always make it a habit that if we have a cow in for what ever reason, backwards, footback ect. I check the cow afterwards. Simply because I have been surprised later by a second calf.
Click to expand...
Just ran a cow in that had been messing around all day and it was a full breech. We pulled it and I told the Mrs. to hand me a new sleeve so I could check her again. There was another one coming the right way and both are alive and well.
 
Baling Wire-glad that they were both alive for you-sure makes things go better around the place (peoples attitudes) when you can get a live one-not alone two. Good Job and hope the rest goes well for you.
 
Increase in twinning will be from better nutrition IMHO. Baling wire, are you having good luck with cows taking both and both living?


Lon Wadekamper 9Hermiston, Or)has some twin bulls in his sale that weaned I think 700 pounds. I can't remember for sure but I do remember thinking, "Wow, that from twins." Not sure if the cow raised them both or not,


PPRM
 
I agree with Denny. Nutrition plays a big part in having twins. Breed has something to do with it as well.

A couple of years ago I was at the vet clinic and there was a list of names of people who had extra calves to sell, due to a lot of twins in their herd. Every name there was one of our customers.

We get maybe one set of twins a year, but twins aren't as common in straight black angus as in crossbreds or Gelbviehs, for instance.
 
Goes back to if you see a problem or opportunity......


This year, when preggin I am listening up. Last year the vet told me a cow would have twins. I coulda managed it better.....easier if you know to expect it.

The problem is extra care....the opportunity is 1000-1200 pounds weaned wieght off of one cow,


PPRM
 
I agree it is nutrional for us anyway. Normally we only get a set or two. They are a pain but do come in handy for grafts. We have saved nine out of the ten calves. The Mrs. has a Jersy heifer that calved last week and she has had three on her. Kinda neat she doesnt care where they come from just stands there and lets them nurse but won't let Cheri milk her without kicking.
 
Reminds me of a Jersey cros cow I had. She would pasture raise three huge calves a year,

PPRM
 
Might send Bart calling, if you have extras. Sent one home with Wayne and Mary Sun. evening, her mother had mastitis bad. Had two lost at that point, and robbed a lame cow and made a successful graft after 5 days on the second cow. Sack over the nose(dammit). First dead was a little deformed twin.
The twin mate (5 weeks old) flopped his back downhill Tue. night; a cocci. (we think) went fast Wed. night (a month old); another sack on the nose last night!!
Only good thing was we saved one trip to the blowout by doubling up one load.
 

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