Sometimes when a cow delivers twins and they both survive birth, she will accept one and reject the other. This creates extra work as the rancher has to try and convince the mother to accept both calves, graft the rejected calf on to a cow who has lost her own calf, bottle feed it themselves or sell the calf. Believe me, bottle-feeding involves the most work out of all the options, so when a cow accepts both calves, we are very thankful.
We have had several sets of twins over the years, but the two yak-cross heifer calves in the photo below are the only ones which we've had in our herd on a long term basis. They were born in 2001 to a black brockle-faced Angus cow crossed with a yak bull.
We have had several sets of twins over the years, but the two yak-cross heifer calves in the photo below are the only ones which we've had in our herd on a long term basis. They were born in 2001 to a black brockle-faced Angus cow crossed with a yak bull.
Here's what these twins look like in 2011 at age ten. These magnificent mommas hang out together quite a bit, just like close sisters often do.
Have you had a yak female have cross twins? We just did and want to know what the best formula is for the 1 that was rejected.
ReplyDelete