Triplet Heifers

[Heather]

I have a 4 year old Registered black angus cow. Her first calf was a difficult long labor which the heifer calf was dead when the vet pulled. She proceeded to have twin bull calves last year. The first one born was stillborn and not knowing she was having another we left the barn for 30-45 minutes only to return to find that she had another bull calf and it was dead. My gut tells me it could have been saved but she was still trying to "wake up" the other dead calf. This year she had triplet heifer calves. Two lived(Smith and Wesson) and one was dead. I knew she was round but she is a fat cow. I never imagined her having multiples again. My question is, I would like to keep the twin heifer calves as replacement cows but will they breed? Again they were originally triplet heifers.

 

[she-earl]

Since the calves were all heifers, the two surviving calves should be breedable. If one of the calves would have been a bull, then your chances of getting them bred would have been next to nil.

 

[Heather]

Thank you. I knew that a freemartin set would produce a sterile heifer. Our vet had mentioned that when he came out after the bull calves were born.

 

[jhm47]

No problem with triplet heifer calves. However, if one of them had been a bull calf it would be a different story. Good luck with them. BTW: The correct term for a heifer born sterile with a bull calf is a "freemarten". Don't ask me where they came up with that, but it is what it is.

I also happen to have a cow that has had multiple sets of twins. She is 15 years old and has had 7 sets of twins. All in all, 21 calves in 14 calvings and she's saved them all. She had another set of bull calves about 2 months ago. I wish I could have gotten a heifer out of her, but she's had 18 bulls and 3 heifers, all of which were freemartens. This cow has been a tremendous mother, and I just cannot find the courage to sell her. I guess she doesn't owe me anything, so -----!

 

[Amarisus]

I don't have cows but I was just browsing the forum and saw this and I have to ask about these "freemarten" calves. Why are heifers born with bulls sterile? Just curious...

 

[WildRoseBeef]

I don't have cows but I was just browsing the forum and saw this and I have to ask about these "freemarten" calves. Why are heifers born with bulls sterile? Just curious...

More often than not a heifer fetus and a bull fetus will share placentas, or exchange hormones even if they have separate placentas. The testosterone from the bull fetus (embryo during the first few weeks of the first trimester) inhibits estrogen production from the heifer embryo/fetus, reducing her ability to properly grow her reproductive organs. In some cases testosterone levels can be so strong that it will "force" a heifer embryo/fetus to begin to form male parts along with the female parts she's been genetically predisposed to have making her, upon birth, not only a freemartin but a hermaphrodite, something which doesn't become obvious until she reaches sexual maturity, which is when she gets to be around 15 months old. But basically, when you have a heifer that has under-developed reproductive organs as a result of being twinned with a bull calf, there's a good chance that she'll be infertile. Statistically speaking, 90% of all heifers born twinned with a bull calf will be sterile.