Large cow bred by mini bull question

[muscovy94]

I'm not doing this, I was just wondering and thought I'd ask you guys.

Say you have a large breed cow, such As a Holstein, and you breed her to a miniature bull of whatever breed, would the cow have a better chance of having twins or triplets since the babies would be small? Or would she just have the usual 1 calf regardless?

 

[ThreeBoysChicks]

I would say one cow. The size of the baby does not determine how many she will have, but rather the number of eggs she releases and are fertilized. So the Daddy really has no control over that part.

 

[brentr]

Ditto the previous reply. The only real benefit you'd get from a mini X full size is that the full size dam would have a smaller calf (most likely) which would mean less stress on her for labor and delivery.

No real increased chances of a multiple birth, though.

 

[muscovy94]

Oh ok. THank yall! It was just one of those things that came to mind that I just had to ask

 

[WildRoseBeef]

Twins don't come from the bull. They are produced in the dam, where either two eggs are released from the ovary at the same time, or during the stage where the zygote is a blastocyst a second zygote is formed, and thus split upon the blastocyst bursting out its contents into the uterus. Sure the bull is responsible for fertilizing the egg with his sperm, but he's not held responsible for "making" the cow to produce twins or triplets.

 

[farmerlor]

And just to throw another angle in here it seems that Jerseys are more prone to twin than other breeds or so says my Jersey cow mentor. So my Holstein Jersey cow bred to almost any bull has a fairly good chance of having twins. If she were full Jersey she'd have an even better chance....supposedly.

 

[goodhors]

Twins do run in families, so this is why you ask when buying. Seller could lie, but most are pretty honest IF YOU ASK. Many buyers never ask the right questions though.

So if you have a line of cattle that twin often, this could work for you or against you. You have two calves to sell instead of one, double the money. However the cow may not want the second, so people have to raise it to feeder size where it can graze and feed itself. What is your time and money worth against what money you make on second calf?

You have to decide if you want to keep that cow and her twinning heritage, or get rid of her for another cow that does single births.

I would agree that cow bred by a small bull would likely only have one calf. Calf could be smaller, be an easier delivery on the cow. Finish size on the calf would be smaller when ready to market, so don't keep it too long expecting more growth. Good is that calf is finished sooner, less good is calf is smaller, so you get less money for it unless you market calf to a specialty buyer. Do the grass-fed, organic, no hormone angle for a better price per pound.