When it comes to calving season, twins are an unusual occurrence, but not necessarily rare. It’s estimated that anywhere between 1-2% of beef cattle pregnancies will result in a twin birth. That number tends to be slightly higher in dairy cattle. While 1-2% may seem like a small number, in large herds, this means the likelihood of having a set of twins any given year is decent.

The potential good and the likely bad

In theory, a cow providing you with two calves to sell should make you more money, so twins might be something you strive for – right?

Not necessarily, and not usually. Beef cows are not designed for twins. A cow pregnant with twins is more likely to experience dystocia, or difficultly calving. Even if the calves are born without issues, it’s common for one twin to be weaker than the other. Natural selection is alive and well in the animal world, and it’s possible for a cow to decide she can only care for one calf and abandon the weaker twin. If a producer doesn’t have a close watch on the herd, this could quickly equal a calf loss.

When it comes to nutrition, a cow may have the instinct and desire to raise both calves, but not the ability. Some cows don’t produce enough milk to sufficiently meet the nutritional requirements of both calves. In a scenario like this, a producer will have to pull one calf and either bottle feed it, or graft it onto another cow in milk. While bottle calves are adorable and sweet, they are also a huge time commitment. Cows that do raise both calves may need nutritional supplementation themselves to allow them to produce enough milk to raise both calves.

Nutrition also factors into the profitability standpoint. While yes, having two calves to sell instead of one should make you more money, it’s not as simple as saying you’re doubling your profit from that cow this year. Twins are usually smaller at birth than single birth calves, and may grow at a slower rate due to not getting 100% of the nutrients provided by the cow. Since calves are marketed by weight, smaller, slower growing calves are going to effect the bottom line. If you end up raising one on a bottle, that bottom line shrinks even more because high quality milk replacer is not cheap.

The Meat Animal Research Center conducted a long term study starting in 1981 to explore if a producer could increase profitability by creating a beef herd that could successfully raise twins without a loss of production, income, or increased cost. The study was abandoned in 2012 after experiencing more failures than successes. Based on the higher headache of twinning cited by producers, along with the higher risk and economic losses found, the study ultimately determined producers should focus their efforts on increasing their profits through their standard breeding programs.

Brian Freking, Oklahoma State Extension livestock specialist, said in a 2017 Progressive Cattle article, “Reproductive performance is still the biggest driver in profitability. Having twins is probably not the best use of technology versus having one calf every year and having the growth, reproduction and carcass traits targeted for a specific market.”

Free martins

For a cattle producer that retains heifers for their own breeding program, twins pose another issue: free martins. “Free martin” is a term that is commonly thrown into pop quizzes and bingo games in high school Animal Science courses. To put it simply, a free martin is a heifer born twin to a bull calf. I’m no expert on cattle fertility, but basically, the testosterone of the bull calf in utero can have a negative effect on the heifer’s reproductive tract, rendering her infertile. Not a big deal if calves are going straight to market, but could be a waste of time and resources for a breeding herd.

Our twin experience – Callie

Here at Flying Pig Cattle Co, we’ve had a few twin experiences.

Our first set of twins was quite an amusing story. Our cow, Callie, is a Charolais/Hereford cross. In February of 2020 she was the final cow we were waiting for during calving season – a calving season that had exclusively produced solid black calves. Finally, one Sunday afternoon she had her calf! The healthy, precious dark red calf with a white face was chilling in a hay pile while Callie stood protectively next to him. Callie has always refused to have a black calf, so I wasn’t surprised to see the red color.

Fast forward to the next day. I arrive home from work Monday afternoon, and go out to feed cows and check babies. As I walk into the pasture, the first thing I notice is a light yellow, Charolais colored calf. I froze. Where the hell did that come from? Remember, every other calf that season had been black, except for the red, white faced Hereford colored calf Callie had given birth to the day before. I quickly walked through the herd, looking for any evidence that anyone had given birth. It shouldn’t have been possible, but logic wasn’t working in my brain at that point. As I was walking the herd, I realize that Callie’s red calf is no where to been seen. I call Colton, since he’s still at work, and his first thought is to ask me, “Are you sure it’s not the same calf from yesterday, and it just lightened up when it dried off?” I wish I could have captured my face at that moment. Seriously. I quickly texted him a picture of the red calf from Sunday, followed by a picture of the yellow calf in front of me. “Oh, yeah, that’s not the same calf.” Yeah, I know – insert eye roll here.

I decide that finding the missing calf takes priority over figuring out where my random baby came from, so I hop on the four wheeler and ride the pasture looking. I don’t know if you’ve ever looked for a day-old calf before, but they can lay super-flat and unmoving and it makes it very difficult to spot them. I ride and look and look and ride, and finally call my mom for back up. Just before she gets there to help me, I find the missing calf! By this time, the herd had finished eating and was headed back out to the pasture with me. I look up to see the random yellow calf frolicking next to Callie as she heads my way.

Confusion. That is the only way I can describe what was going through my brain. Then…it clicked. Callie’s mom had been a twin. Callie is a Charolais, which has a higher probability of twins. Duh – Callie had twins. Callie had a red twin and a yellow twin in a herd of solid black calves, and that fact tickled me.

Callie raised both calves all by herself. She produced plenty of milk for both of them, so we let her handle it. It was an ideal twin scenario.

Our twin experience – Francis

Just this weekend, we had our second twin experience.

Francis is what I would consider the matriarch of our herd. She’s around 16 years old. She’s been around the block a time or two. She is a Charolais cow, and she was actually a triplet when she was born. She is getting up there in years, and she’s showing her age this year. We actually thought she didn’t breed for this season, and were okay with that, but recently realized she was bred.

Friday morning, she surprised us with two little bull calves. They are both solid black, and cute as can be. With Francis’ age and lower body condition, we kept a close eye on her and the calves. Saturday evening, we made the decision to pull both calves from her. Her udder was barely showing an milk being produced, and she had left the smaller calf by itself, and took the other calf to join the herd. We figure natural selection had taken place, and she had decided she only had the ability to raise one. We didn’t want to take the chance on losing Francis or either of the calves, so we pulled both of them, stuck them in Dottie’s horse pen, and started them on a bottle.

I love calves. I love bottle babies, but they are a huge time commitment. So we made the decision to put the babies up for sale. I would love to raise them, but it’s August in Arkansas. The heat is hard on calves. Between work, and hay season, and the farm, and everything else, we just don’t have the time to focus on the calves. They are being picked up by a lady this afternoon to go to their new home where they will get the time and attention they deserve.

Not ideal, but not a disaster

We’ve had two good case scenarios of twins. Both cows gave birth with no difficultly. Both set of twins survived. However, as a cattle producer, I would prefer to stick to single births from now on!