Tony and Jackie Ripa had suspicions that their eight-year-old Angus-cross cow might be carrying twins, but they received an extremely unusual surprise when the cow gave birth to triplets on their Canora area farm on March 31.
Triplets in cattle births are so rare, that scientists find it difficult to give an accurate estimation of how often it happens. But most agree that the odds are at least one in 100,000, if not higher.
Tony and Jackie said they were quite concerned with the unusually cold temperatures during their calving season. On March 31 the temperature was hovering around -20 C, about 20-25 degrees colder than normal for this time of year. They had the cow inside the barn, because they expected her to calve at any time.
The births of the two heifer calves and one bull calf occurred in the early evening and took about 60 to 90 minutes. All three births were unassisted.
Tony reported that the cow had never even had twins before, which made the unassisted birth of triplets even more of a shock.
Newborn calves aren’t usually weighed on the Ripa farm, but Tony and Jackie estimate the triplets each weighed around 75 pounds, close to the average weight of their newborn calves in single births. All three calves showed good energy and vigour right from the time they were born.
Tony said that the cow has always shown a calm disposition, and if he could have chosen any of their cows to have had triplets, he would have picked this one.
At less than a week of age, all three triplets appear to be getting more than enough milk, but Tony and Jackie plan to watch them closely and are prepared to assist with bottle feeding if necessary.
