Twin Calving and Its Connection to Other Economically Important Traits in Dairy Cattle

Gáspárdy, András; Sheridan, J.J.; Ari, Melinda; Gulyás, L.

doi:10.5772/intechopen.72905

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…After decades of little research on the economic impact of twinning, ref. [ 21 ] presented a review study, in which they concluded that twinning is a double-edged sword, because it presents some pros and many cons that cannot be easily reconciled. Economically negative factors included increased incidence of abortions, ketosis, mastitis, dystocia, lower birth weight, and stillbirths; lower fertility; increased risk of culling; and, reduced milk yield.…”

Section: Economic Impacts Of Twinningmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Economics of Twin Pregnancies in Dairy Cattle

Cabrera

Fricke

2021

Animals

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Twinning in Holstein dairy cows has increased over time concurrent with increased milk production. Twinning in dairy cattle is not desirable due to the negative effects on both cows that calve twins and calves born as twins that result in economic losses to dairy farms. Although a twin pregnancy could bring additional income from extra calves and shorten gestation length, twinning compromises milk production, increases the incidence of dystocia and perinatal mortality, decreases calf birth weight, increases the incidence of metabolic diseases, decreases fertility, increases the incidence of freemartinism, increases overall culling risks, and shortens the productive lifespan of cows. Based on a summary of economic analyses from several studies, the estimated losses due to twinning range between $59 to $161 per twin pregnancy. Most twinning in dairy cows is dizygotic and directly related to the incidence of double ovulations, and economic losses are greater for unilateral than for bilateral twins. Hormonal manipulation before artificial insemination that allows for timed artificial insemination is a primary strategy for decreasing twinning in dairy cows before it occurs by decreasing the incidence of double ovulation thereby decreasing conception of dizygotic twins and the associated negative economic consequences. When twins are diagnosed early during gestation, management options might include doing nothing, terminating the pregnancy, or attempting manual embryo reduction. Based on a recent economic analysis of these options, attempting manual embryo reduction decreased the economic losses of a twin pregnancy by $23 to $45.

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Section: Economic Impacts Of Twinningmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ref [ 21 ] reviewed the literature regarding the possible causes and consequences of twin calving during the gestation and in the subsequent lactation. They reported that twin pregnancies have a shorter gestation period, better reproductive performance, and shorter calving interval (desirable traits).…”

Section: Economic Models To Assess Twiningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Economics of Twin Pregnancies in Dairy Cattle

Cabrera

Fricke

2021

Animals

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“…Decades later, an article published in Science suggested that fraternal twin calves often have two distinct blood groups, i.e., their own and that of their twin, and this was the base conceptual foundation of acquired immunological tolerance ( Owen, 1945 ). Between 3 to 5% of all pregnancies in dairy cattle result in twins ( Gáspárdy et al, 2018 ). However, the incidence of twins in beef cattle is less frequent generally not exceeding 1% in most beef herds ( Esteves et al, 2012 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A rare case of heteropaternal twin calves after natural mating in Brazil

et al. 2020

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Twin birth is a complex condition observed in most livestock animals, when the female gives birth to two or more offspring, generally out of the same mating. In cattle, it is a rare condition (3 to 5%) and depends on the genetic background and environmental factors. Twin birth is a result of multiple ovulations, being more common in dairy rather than in beef cattle. Calves could be monozygous or dizygous, with the same or of different sexes. When twins are born with different sexes, a sexual condition called Freemartinism occurs in between 90 to 97% of pregnancies, causing infertility in the female calf. Knowing that the twin rate is rare in commercial beef cattle, here we present an even rarer case of twin birth from two different sires after natural mating, also called heteropaternal superfecundation.

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“…The events of the peripartal period require special attention in dairy cattle, since the majority of those animal health problems that may potentially reduce productive and economic performance occur during this period [7]. The prevalence of twin calving is approximately 10 %, on average, although it varies widely among dairy farms [6,12]. Twin pregnancies increase the risk of pregnancy loss, dystocia, stillbirth, calf mortality, and culling of the dam, moreover, gestation length and birth weight of the calves are reduced.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Twin pregnancies increase the risk of pregnancy loss, dystocia, stillbirth, calf mortality, and culling of the dam, moreover, gestation length and birth weight of the calves are reduced. Freemartinism occurs in 92-98 % of those twin pregnancies, when calves from both sexes are born [6,8,12].…”

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confidence: 99%

The impact of twinning and stillbirth on reproductive and economic performance in large Hungarian dairy herds

Fodor¹,

Kern²,

Varga-Balogh³

et al. 2019

Bìol. Tvarin

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The aim of our study was to quantify the effect of twinning and stillbirth on the main reproductive parameters, and to estimate the resulting economic loss on large-scale commercial dairy farms. The data of 3.660 calvings that occurred on five large Hungarian Holstein-Friesian farms in 2016 and 2017 were analysed retrospectively. Information about twin calvings, stillbirths and uterine treatments were gathered. The main reproductive indices (i.e. calving to conception interval-CCI, services per conception-SPC, and first service conception risk-CR1) were calculated based on cow-level data. Statistical analyses were performed by using linear and logistic regression, and Dunnett-test. The economic losses related to twinning and stillbirth were estimated by partial budget analysis (1 EUR = 320 HUF). Overall, twinning and stillbirth occurred in 4.1 % and 6.9 % of the calving events. Twinning was more likely, whereas stillbirth was less likely in multiparous cows (odds ratio [OR]: 4.18 and 0.64, P<0.0001 and P=0.0015, respectively). Following twin calving, CCI and SPC were increased by 12.8 days and by 2.8, respectively, whereas CR1 was reduced by 7.1 percentage points. Twinning caused an estimated loss of 50.4 EUR/case. The analysed reproductive parameters were not impaired after stillbirth. Although, the reduction of calf number and the excess semen usage led to 112.5 EUR estimated loss per stillbirth case, on average. Twinning and stillbirths are significant sources of economic loss on dairy farms, therefore, their prevalence should be reduced.

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Twin Calving and Its Connection to Other Economically Important Traits in Dairy Cattle

Cited by 8 publications

References 41 publications

Economics of Twin Pregnancies in Dairy Cattle

Economics of Twin Pregnancies in Dairy Cattle

A rare case of heteropaternal twin calves after natural mating in Brazil

The impact of twinning and stillbirth on reproductive and economic performance in large Hungarian dairy herds

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