hi we have a cow due to calf april 24th.my question is do they usualy have them on time the second time around?she had twins last year but the first one was breech butt first and we lost them both:( she was right ontime last time.the reason i'm wondering is because we are due to go on vacation the 27th and i was wondering if we should cancel? also it looks like she may have twins again.what are the chances of them being breech again?any help or opinions are greatly apreciated.. thanks cindy&roger

-- cindy young (cin_sue63@webtv.net), March 01, 2001

Answers

Cindy,Welcome to livestock husbandry.In my experience the only babies that are born on time come from Hollywood.Twining is considered a complex birthing situation in bovines(as compared to sheep or goats)There is a genetic link to twins so it is possible that she will do it again as well as her offspring being prone to twin.Unfortunatly for your travel plans the right thing to do is to cancel...unless you have a good stockman available to care for your cow while you are away.Who will be caring for your stock while you are gone anyway?Personaly I don't leave here for more than 24hrs without a caretaker ever.One of my greatest fears is dying with my wife on the road going somewhere and no one remembering that there are animals here at the farm that need care.Maybe I am becoming more and more of a hermit because as much as I used to love to travel I prefer to stay here on the farm.Maybe instead of a trip you and hubby can stay home and make some property improvments together.

-- greg (gsmith@tricountyi.net), March 01, 2001.

Sorry but I have to agree. You can't count on her to be on time again. They are like us....if you've ever been pregnant you know that baby gets here when it is good and ready(I went 10 months with first baby...nothin would get that kid out!). I'd either cancel plans or get someone that is very competent to watch her....especially with her previous problems.

-- Amanda in Mo (aseley@townsqr.com), March 01, 2001.

thanks greg and amanda yes amanda i also went a little over ten months with one of my little ones.sometimes they would just rather stay in there! LOL greg my hubby would kill me if i tried to get him to work that weekend! it's the opener of trout season here!also every saturday after the snow leaves we do projects together around here. seems the works never done,always fences to mend or pens to build.but we wouldn't have it any other way we love it! sooo i guess he'll have to fish around here. because i would never leave the cow (nutmeg)because she's my big baby!we have an exsperianced cow man coming this time.just in case it's twins again.it was so sad to lose those babys. i think i took it harder than meg did! thanks again

-- cindy young (cin_sue63@webtv.net), March 02, 2001.

Cindy, I concur with the above replies. I used to farm large scale and know from expierience you can't plan when calving season will began. You can judge about when but cannot pin-point when. You have another problem to complicate matters and one that could work toward your advantage. You have a twinner. A cow that bares twins. You will probably get twins from your cow for many seasons as long as she's healthy and fed right. You're lucky. Now you can increase your herd or have more to sell.

Sincerely Pat

-- Pat McNally (mcnallypat@hotmail.com), March 08, 2001.