A dairy farmer in Co. Kerry has told Agriland how his uncle, who is a priest, has encouraged him to keep surprise Belgian Blue triplet calves that were recently born on his farm.
Pat Talbot who is farming in Aghadoe, close to Killarney, said the mother of the bull calves, a Friesian cow now in her seventh lactation, was expected to have twins.
“It’s a nice surprise, she was scanned in calf to twins alright but she had the third one.
“She calved herself, more or less. I was with her but she calved away herself,” he said.
The cow had been put in calf through artificial insemination (AI) using a Munster Bovine bull.
Triplet calves
The Belgian Blue triplets, now around ten days old, are doing well and are being fed by their mother twice a day.
Talbot said that the cow, who only ever had single calves previously, was “shook for a few days” after calving, but is “coming around” now.
When asked about his future plans for the bull calves, Pat said that he is “under pressure”.
“My uncle is a priest in Killarney town, Fr. Paddy O’Donoghue, he’s telling me to keep them as they are good luck.
“If I go to the mart with them I could be struck down coming home, you wouldn’t know! We’ll hang onto them for a while anyway,” the farmer said.
Although twin calves are “normal enough” on the Talbot farm, Pat has never had a set of triplets before and it has added some excitement to area.
The calves have been named Fernando, Luca, and Bo by Pat’s neighbour’s daughter, Aideen Blennerhassett.
The farmer, who has calved around 80% of his herd, has already had two sets of twins and is still expected another set.
Last month, the odds were beaten after a set of triplet heifer calves were born on a farm in Co. Monaghan.
Farmer Niamh Monahan told Agriland that the cow was an Angus cross and this is her sixth calving. She has now had nine calves.
“She has defied the odds 400,000/1,” she said.