Our Jersey girl was bred to a Charlois bull back last spring & has an estimated due date of Dec 4 (going by the days that she carried with her last calf). Her girth is humongous (she is only 630 lbs when she is open) & I am thinking that there may be more than one occupant in there (it is hard to bump her yet). There is no chance that she couldv'e bred earlier, plus, her bag is still shrunken. Any clue to how early I could expect twins to arrive vs the normal gestation length? I really need to be prepared for the earliest worst because we are planning an annual family trip that may need to be rearranged..... I appreciate your advice!!!!
You can count on a calf between Thanksgiving and Dec. 11th. It isn't uncommon for them to vary a week either way from their their date.
Usually within a week either way but if she was bred to a Charolais bull, she might have big problems calving. I've often found that cows will calve early if they're carrying a calf that's getting too big, up to 6 weeks early (abort)
You may not be having twins after all. I have a neighbor that keeps Charolais cattle. He says that the Charolais calves are so large that he has to assist at every birth. He's thinking of switching breeds because of it. I would watch your cow closely and be prepared to help. Genebo Paradise Farm
Yikes!!! I have noticed in Holsteins that have twins, their bellies tend to look perfectly round, as well as being larger than normal ... Normally, they bulge out to one side or the other with single births. This is hard to describe, but it's gotten so I can usually spot an incipient twin birth ... and we have had 2 in the past 2 weeks where I work! Anytime there are multiples, there is more of a chance for problems, especially the calves getting tangled up. You might want to check and see if your vet has portable ultrasound equipment, perhaps he can confirm or rule out twins early. Best to be prepared, no?
We've noticed that twins usually arrive about 1-2 weeks early. Calving problems with our Jerseys is rare. Even heifers that have been bred by the neighbors bulls through the fence when we weren't looking have had no problems calving. Some have been as young as 19 months when they calved and the bulls were Limousin and Simmental. We watch our cows and heifers, but because Jerseys have large birth canals, calving problems are seldom. We wouldn't be overly concerned that the bull was a Charolais, but we would watch the cow. We do all of ours, regardless of what bull is used.
