Twins

[mdunki]

We had twin Red Angus calves 72 hrs. ago and mom is feeding both. I am concerned that she may not have enough milk, but so far, so good! Any advice or experience from all you experienced ranchers would be appreciated!

[vkoff]

what I do with my twins
1.make sure everyone gets colostrum
2.keep mother and twins in separate pen for at least 3 days so they know who each other is
3. make sure mom has more feed than required she will need it
4. set up a twin pen that is not to large {so that one calf is not getting all the milk}
5.I do not let twins in the general cattle population they also have a separate pasture unit {so that the more dominate twin does not leave with mom}
6.sell calves and smile all the way to the bank

[sewen]

What I do with twins is keep them separate from the rest of the herd as mentioned above. I also let the mother out of the pen each morning after the calves have sucked, into a common area with other cows. I let her back in after three or four hours. This gets the calves sucking at the same time.
I have also supplemented them with milk replacer, but they have to be hungry to choose to drink milk replacer when they're used to drinking mama's milk. I have found it works best by feeding them before I let the cow back in. Some calves will refuse to do this, others gladly take the bottle. Some calves adopt you like a second Mom.

[cowman]

I don't generally like to bother with twins. Last year I had a neighbor who had a heavy milking cow that lost her calf and we transplanted a twin I had by skinning the dead calf and tying the skin on the twin. I paid her $200 for raising the calf and it sure turned out okay as I sold him for over $1000. Another option is to sell him in the local auction as there is always a large demand in the spring.

[mdunki]

Thanks for your help! We didn't have access to our corral d/t a snowstorm so couldn't separate mom with twins but luck has been with us and they're doing fine! Your suggestions were much appreciated so we will be more prepared (and less stressed!) next time.