Management of twinning cow herds

ABSTRACT Beef producers are commonly opposed to twin births owing to the number of detriments associated with the trait. These include increased incidence of calf mortality, dystocia (malpresentation), stillbirth, abortion, calf abandonment, retained placenta, lengthened interval from parturition to conception, and occurrence of freemartin heifers. Some problems can be overcome with changes in management, others lack an obvious management fix, and still others are of little practical significance. Management alterations that may facilitate successful exploitation of twin birth include 1) pregnancy checks to determine twin vs single pregnancy, 2) adequate calving facilities, and 3) early calf weaning. Determining pregnancy status eliminates surprises at calving time in that cows at high risk for malpresentation are identified beforehand. Additionally, cows gestating twins could be fed a higher plane of nutrition in recognition of the higher nutritional requirements both during late gestation and subsequently while nursing twins. Adequate calving facilities are a necessity given the significant fraction of twin births that are malpresentations. Calving pens also permit temporary penning of cows with their twins to address calf abandonment problems. Given the typically longer interval from parturition to conception for twin-bearing cows, early weaning may help maintain adequate reproductive performance. There are no obvious alterations of management that will improve twinning-related problems with stillbirth, abortion, or retained placenta. Freemartinism is an item that is more a perceived than real problem; although the percentage of fertile females is reduced in a twinning system, the absolute number of fertile females produced from a twinning system will differ little from that from a single-birth system.

Implications

Exploitation of twin birth presents a potential means of dramatically improving efficiency of beef production. Successful use of twinning in beef cattle production will require changes in management to address problems of increased dystocia and calf mortality and poorer postpartum reproduction. Key changes in management may include diagnosis of twin vs single pregnancy, modification of nutrition for cows bearing or suckling twins, and use of early weaning.

Key Words: Calves, Cows, Reproduction, Twins

© 2002 American Society of Animal Science. All rights reserved.
J. Anim. Sci. 80(E. Suppl. 2):E14-E18