We introduced two newbies into the herd this morning. They came from a ranch up in Oregon House, she was culling some of the younger calves that would be sent to market. Interesting though is that this steer and heifer are Angus twins. Even more interesting is that is was revealed to me that the heifer has not been tested but is probably a "free martin". I've never heard this term before so imagine my surprise when I was told that when twins are born and are of the opposite sex, and have shared the same blood supply - the girl calf will, in all probability, be unable to conceive. This is normally due to the underdevelopment of female parts because of a lack of hormones. ERGO - free martin.
Of course still hoping there was a small chance they might be wrong, I asked the vet to verify and sure enough, this heifer will not breeding but will make a good feeder.
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