Hard Working Cow

Allan in NE · Apr 6, 2011

Glad this ol' gal has some Holstein in 'er. :>)

Allan

John in Nebraska · Apr 6, 2011

Hey Allan, with markings like that they barely needed ear tags, nice looking calves.

DRCA · Apr 6, 2011

Petting Zoo time.
Where's the proud Poppa???

NEKS · Apr 6, 2011

Your lucky she didn't have one hid over the hill somewhere and only feeding it half the time. There must be a reason the ear tags are not in the same ears. Its a good feeling each morning to go out and see another baby beside the mamas this time of year.

hayray · Apr 6, 2011

I had one set of twins last year and I hear alot of guys saying they automatically pull one calf because cow breed back is unlikely. I did not do that and mine bred back on time. Is there anything to that?

Mark-Ia · Apr 6, 2011

He tagged them differently because they're what you call Free-Martins(twins). The female calf won't reproduce. This way he can sort her off when time for market..

Tx Jim · Apr 6, 2011

(quoted from post at 08:44:44 04/06/11) He tagged them differently because they're what you call Free-Martins(twins). The female calf won't reproduce. This way he can sort her off when time for market..

Mark
Your eyesight is much better than mine to determine one of those calves is a bull and the other is a heifer.

thurlow · Apr 6, 2011

You're right about the part-Holstein; had lots of twins in the 47 years I was in the (commercial beef) cattle business. Generally speaking, I'd much rather have a single.

Allan in NE · Apr 6, 2011

Hi Jim,

We were visitin' yesterday on another forum 'bout the free-martin dilemma.

Allan

Allan in NE · Apr 6, 2011

I "think" they'll be alright. She's got a bag the size of a 5-gallon bucket.

I'll sure watch 'em pretty darned close tho.

Allan

Anonymous-0 · Apr 6, 2011

I remember reading somewhere that a college university did a study and the female of the male/female twin WILL breed in some cases. It was thought that none of them will breed, but that study disproved that theory. I can't remember what percentage it was that would breed.

Allan in NE · Apr 6, 2011

Fer sure,

A fella can haul 'em to the Vet and he can tell by running an arm up the dirty chute. :>)

Allan

Nate V. IA · Apr 6, 2011

8% at Iowa State University Dairy IIRC.

Nate V. IA · Apr 6, 2011

You can check a calf at birth using a thermometer inserted into the nnalert. The measurement of how far it can be inserted can be used to tell whether or not its a free martin. 100% accuracy in the right hands I'm told.
Nate

JMS/.MN · Apr 6, 2011

From my Animal Science course work, I remember it to be about 15% that will breed. Yes, a pelvic exam, even at a young age, is a determinate.

JMS/.MN · Apr 6, 2011

From my Animal Science course work, I remember it to be about 15% that will breed. Yes, a pelvic exam, even at a young age, is a determinate.

randallnMo · Apr 6, 2011

I tag my calves based upon which ever ear I can get to the easiest. I"m always in a hurry when I tag them as I've had too many momma cows try to get in my pocket when I mess with their baby. Had one old bitty put me over/through a barb wire fence one time when I was trying to tag her baby. Dangerous stuff some times.

Tx Jim · Apr 6, 2011

Does anyone know if bovines are the only species affected with free-martin? I know humans,pigs,dogs,cats,goats and sheep aren't affected.

tjdub · Apr 6, 2011

Yeah, I wouldn"t worry about it.

I had a cow that was part holstien for many years. One year I had an orphan calf that I was bottle feeding. When this cow had her calf, I put her in the barn and got the orphaned calf on her with her own calf. She had plenty of milk for both. Then a few weeks later a heifer decided she didn"t want to be a mom and abandoned her calf, so this cow adopted a third all on her own just for good measure. All three calves kept right up with the rest of the calf crop and the cow bred back no problem. Those three calves sure did appreciate the creep feeder in the fall though

Anonymous-0 · Apr 6, 2011

Some breeds allow you to touch the calf but don't try with a Murray Grey. Had one with its calf on the opposite side of a fence, mistake having a dog with you. When I approached the calf with the dog,bang the mother went through the fence, I Jumped behind a tree and she went after the dog.Not a very happy Mummy, Phew.

JDseller · Apr 7, 2011

I have several old Holstein/Angus cross cows. Two of them will let anything nurse them. Including the Australian Shepard pups we had a few years ago. LOL The one really makes milk and she is always leaking when her calf is young. Most of the time I buy an orphan and let her mother two. The pups must have smelt the milk. They would go stand on their back legs,grab a teat and suck away. I never had a camera when I saw them doing it. The funny part was seeing them pups try it on some of the other cows.

kyplowboy · Apr 7, 2011

I had a regular old angus cow have twins two years ago. She had plenty of milk the first month both were on her, the problem I had was she kept forgeting about the bigger of the two. Twice a day I would find him no where close to the momma and the smaller of the two. I'd put him across my lap on the four wheeler and take him to her, she'd lick him all over and moo at'm, let him suck. That night I'd go find him again. I ended up give'n the bigger one she was always leave'n to my cousin who was in the bottle calf buisness and they both turned out fine.

Dave

kyplowboy · Apr 7, 2011

I have a heifer here on the farm that was in a set of triplets (one bull, two heifers) that is six months bred. The other heifer in the set was a free martin.

Dave

Ron in Nebr · Apr 8, 2011

Yep, we've got mostly all black angus too, and it seems that with twins, the cow picks a "favorite" and the other gets left by the wayside...got two calves in the barn right now from that situation....that said, is it just here, or is everyone getting more twins than usual this year? We've had alot so far, probaly a half dozen sets...out of around 850 head that's not too bad, just more than usual.

Allan, if that momma's gonna claim and feed 'em both- more power to her!

Ron in Nebr · Apr 8, 2011

We tag our calves in different ears to help with sorting at weaning time...bull calves right ear, heifers left. Of course there's always one or two that get tagged wrong or have their tags fall out, but it sure helps...everyone in this area does it that way.

And yeah, there's been lotsa "mean mommas" who've taken a dim view on the tagging procedure....

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