Risk Factors for Twinning in Dairy Cows

Records for 52,362 lactations over a 10-yr period from 260 dairy farms in North America that used a common commercial software for record keeping were evaluated for potential risk factors for twinning. Records were evaluated for the associations of reproductive disease, parity, production, drug therapy, and the occurrence of subsequent twins. The rate of twinning on these farms steadily increased over the observation period from 1.4% in 1983 to 2.4% in 1993. The rate of twinning also increased as parity of the cow increased, from 1.0% for cows in their first lactation to > 4.1% for cows in their fifth or higher lactation. No association between twinning and season of year was detected. A multivariate logistical regression analysis found that the rate of twinning increased with increases in milk production, incidence of cystic ovarian disease, and the use of common pharmaceuticals, including GnRH, PGF2 alpha, and antibiotics. Results of the regression model also indicated that the single most important reason for the recent increase in the rate of twinning was a concurrent increase in milk production.