Triplets for Cow 123
Tatuanui farm manager Boaz Rayhin thought Cow 123 was just having a bit of trouble giving birth to twins, so he stepped in to make things easier for her.
He took her into the cow shed yard, and couldn’t believe it when not two, but three healthy little girls were born.
‘‘I thought there were two and then the third one popped out. She (Cow 123) really didn’t need much assistance with the first two, but the last one was getting hard for her,’’ he said.
‘‘I honestly wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t been there and pulled them out myself. For them all to be heifers and survive, is quite extraordinary.’’
In 10 years of farm management, Boaz has never seen triplet calves, let alone had a cow in one of his herds that has had them.
He said this season on the Tatuanui farm had so far brought between eight and 10 sets of twins in a herd of 295 cows, which he also found fascinating, considering while farming in the South Island he’d had none.
It’s not uncommon for cows to produce twins, but triplets are extremely rare.
The fact that they are all female and survived carries odds of about one in eight million; in other words, you have more of a chance of winning Lotto.
Boaz and wife Han thought it was also quite uncanny that the cow who produced the triplets was number 123.
‘‘Cow 123 and she had three babies,’’ Han said.
Boaz said Cow 123’s recovery was fairly rapid and she was back grazing in the paddock.
While they were small at birth, at three days old, the calves were getting bigger and frolicking in their pen with the other calves.
Their colouring had also changed. One was distinctively brown and the other two black - the lineage playing a major role in this, as their mum is a Friesian Visit the Piako Post, Neighbourly.co.nz page to view the video of farm manager Boaz Rayhin and his prized Cow123. and their dad an Angus.
‘‘They are energetic, healthy and feeding well,’’ he said.
And when asked what the calve’s names were, Han laughed.
‘‘One, Two and Three, of course!’’
‘‘They are energetic, healthy and feeding well.’’