Being a rural Montanan, I have been around livestock for many years and have never even thought of this! I am sure some of you know of or have seen a cow that had triplets. My Brother in law told me at supper the other night one of his cows had triplets (three heifer calves). He said they are all healthy and up and around acting like calves do! I looked it up and found that the odds were 1 in 100,000 . I know , I know, ----pictures or it didn't happen! I will drive up the river to his place and see if I can get a few pics and details. Hopefully most of you will find this more interesting than politics and world problems.
I had a big sim/angus cross cow for about 10-12 years who had twins every 3 oughta 4 years. She milked good and could raise them without much problem. She was probably pretty happy when we’d wean.
Never seen triplets but I must hold the record for twins. Twins usually don't work out well. Often times the cow will only love one. They are usually just a little premature and don't follow the cow as well as a full term and if a cow has one with her she doesn't look for the other one. Sometimes the first one is breeched and has to be pulled. I pulled a breeched calf one time not realizing there was another one coming. Went back later and she had two, but after about a month she would only allow the bull calf to nurse. Multiple births are not wanted at our place.
Patriotism (and religion) is the last refuge of a scoundrel.
Never seen triplets but I must hold the record for twins. Twins usually don't work out well. Often times the cow will only love one. They are usually just a little premature and don't follow the cow as well as a full term and if a cow has one with her she doesn't look for the other one. Sometimes the first one is breeched and has to be pulled. I pulled a breeched calf one time not realizing there was another one coming. Went back later and she had two, but after about a month she would only allow the bull calf to nurse. Multiple births are not wanted at our place.
This. I’d be interested in a good way to graft castaways to another cow? Never seems to work. Bottle calves and soon off to the ring. Never seen triplets, tho I’m sure some are born on the range and not seen. The big ranch has had fewer twins this year than any other, I’d have thought with last summer being super green and an incredibly mild winter twins would be uncountable. Just the opposite.
Osky
A woman's heart is the hardest rock the Almighty has put on this earth and I can find no sign on it.
Never seen triplets but I must hold the record for twins. Twins usually don't work out well. Often times the cow will only love one. They are usually just a little premature and don't follow the cow as well as a full term and if a cow has one with her she doesn't look for the other one. Sometimes the first one is breeched and has to be pulled. I pulled a breeched calf one time not realizing there was another one coming. Went back later and she had two, but after about a month she would only allow the bull calf to nurse. Multiple births are not wanted at our place.
This. I’d be interested in a good way to graft castaways to another cow? Never seems to work. Bottle calves and soon off to the ring. Never seen triplets, tho I’m sure some are born on the range and not seen. The big ranch has had fewer twins this year than any other, I’d have thought with last summer being super green and an incredibly mild winter twins would be uncountable. Just the opposite.
Osky
My neighbor has a pretty big operation. He keeps several old jersey milk cows. Properly fed, those old jerseys will adopt anything that will nurse. Anything that gets rejected, he bottle feeds.
We've never had triplets and I've only heard of one local rancher that did and we're talking 30 years ago.
As for twins we're at 3 sets so far this spring out of maybe 100 calves. I hope we don't find any more, but luckily my mom is a sweetheart and takes care of them.
It's nearly impossible to graft one on an old cow but pretty easy to fool a first calf heifer/cow. If a heifer loses a calf at birth just rub the bum with baby cow 'juice' and afterbirth and let the heifer start licking away on her new baby.
When grafting here, we peel the shirt off the lost calf and lash it to the replacement with a little bailing twine. Posting a dog just outside a jug helps if mom is a little hesitant. Gets her into a bit of defensive mode.
I've skinned enough dead calves that I don't care to ever do it again. And it's a bad idea if the weather is cold as the wet cold inside hide can give a calf the chills and maybe even chill them enough to kill 'em.
Baby calves are going for $700-750 now so that makes more sense than fooling around spending extra time on a tricky graft.
I''ll relay Baxter Clack's tale of getting sopping wet pulling calf, and driving the 80 miles back to town in his underwear, with his wet clothes under the pickup heater, hop speeding.in' he would not get stopped for speeding. He said it was bad enough when I stopped for coffee.
These premises insured by a Sheltie in Training ,--- and Cooey.o "May the Good Lord take a likin' to you"
Twins always brings to mind the time I was feeding on a Monday morning, and saw a huge, swelled, purple head, sticking out a cow's butt. Simmental breed/show stock, the vet was called. We were stacking hay in the loft while the vet cut both calves into pieces inside her so they could be removed.
I have never smelled anything close to that smell. Don't think I've ever been so happy in the hay loft, thanking God I wasn't down in that stall helping the vet.
Parents who say they have good kids..Usually don't!
One of my clients had a set of live triplets a couple weeks ago. All heifers. There was another set of live trips last year for another client.
About 10 years ago I pulled a set of dead trips out of a cow.
My very first week of practice after graduating 43 years ago I did a post mortem exam on a cow.
She had 4 calves in her uterus, they were all 30-40 lbs. The uterus/calves had distended at such a rapid rate it reduced how much she could eat and she essentially starved to death. Huge abdomen but her backbone was sticking up.
The first cow we had when I was a kid was given to me by a great uncle. It was a Black Angus twin and the mother wouldn't let her nurse. We raised her on a bottle. She had a calf every year until she died around 16 years old. Named her Bossy. She would bump her head in my armpit trying to nurse.
A good many years ago we had an unlucky day. A 3/4 brahma cow was running around bawling for a calf that she had just birthed. I could see it dead drowned in the bayou. About that time I notice a heifer with one hoof sticking out of her back end unable to birth her calf. I get a rope on her and snub her off to a tree and with the help of a neighbor we straighten up and pull the calf. I turned the heifer loose and away she went. My neighbor's wife and my wife being optimistic told me to give the calf to the one that was looking for her dead one. I said that wouldn't work with an 8 year old brahma. Well, sure enough the old cow with the drowned baby found the new calf and started licking it. I said that we had best leave that situation as it was and she raised that calf. The errant heifer never came back looking for her baby but had one the next year and raised it.
Patriotism (and religion) is the last refuge of a scoundrel.
