one heifer--twocalves--one week apart!!

[worthabit]

We  couldn't believe this when it happened. We have an angus hereford heifer that calved a week ago outside in the cold and it died a couple hours after birth. She didn't udder up so we figured a total lost cause and moved on. She started straining yesterday afternoon but were busy and annoyed with her so didn't pay that much attention to her and by 9:00 she had another calf!  Unfortunately she still does not milk so we are in the process of fostering her 50 lb heifer calf. Vet says this is extremely rare and he has never seen this. Does anybody know what would cause her to do this?

 

[cowcrazy]

I'm not a vet by any means, but I've heard that this can happen in humans too. I believe it's when the cow still ovulates although bred, causing a second egg to become fertilized. I've heard it's very rare! I'm sure there are people that know way more on here that will explain in more depth. I hope everything turns out ok! At least you have one live one. Good luck!

 

[BrechtCattleCo]

About four years ago we had the same deal she had a real small calf one day and the calf wasn't doing to well so we put her in the barn and like 7 or 8 days later she had another one! yeah it sounds crazy but it happens, and luckily both of them lived!

 

[Show Heifer]

My uncle had it happen several years ago. Had a Char cow that had a mouse colored calf, sired by angus bull, and then about 17 days later had a white calf, sired by the char bull. 
Theory is cow ovulated to get bred by angus bull, then short cycled and got bred by the char bull.  That in itself isn't amazing.
The amazing part is that when the cow has the first calf, the second remains attached through the placenta to the uterus and remains viable until "the timer goes off" and she goes into labor again.
Amazing.... and very, very rare.

 

[SlickTxMaine]

Was the calf that died a bull or heifer?  If it was a bull, does that mean this second calf will be a free martin??  Does it work the same as regular twins, or are these not considered twins?

 

[box6rranch]

What is the longest time anyones ever heard of between births? I swear our cow who delivered a calf about three weeks ago is still pregnant. She's huge!

 

[frostback]

Was the calf that died a bull or heifer?  If it was a bull, does that mean this second calf will be a free martin??  Does it work the same as regular twins, or are these not considered twins?

I think they would still be twins as they shared the same uterus. They are not identical twins but in that case they are always the same sex as the egg split. In this case they are paternal twins when two eggs got fertilized just days off instead of same heat.

 

[worthabit]

We can't remember if the first calf was a bull or a heifer, were just too disgusted with the heifer. Vet seems to think she might be a breeder but she is kind of a little dink so don't think she will make it to the replacement pen and besides, we don't usually keep heifers out of non-milkers.

The fostering is going pretty good and the weather this week was fantastic. A couple of days this week we were going with no jackets on and sunshine all day.We had absolutely no snow. Those were the highlights.... we had a calf born dead yesterday and one laid on last night and now we are in the middle of a snow storm  

 

[ROAD WARRIOR]

20 or more years ago I had a cow have a normal calf and about 3 weeks later she has another calf that was very small. If I remember right the first calf weighed in the mid 70s and the second was in the low 30s. Both lived but the second one never amounted to much, it weighed about 150 pounds at weaning. RW

 

[Show Steaks]

I remember my dad telling a story about a heifer calving 3 months apart when he was working at a feedlot in illinois years ago

 

[Dale]

In the 70's we had a Shorthorn cow that had twins.  Several days later the same cow had a single birth.  The association said it was rare but possible.