A farmer in New Zealand has confirmed that a cow on his farm gave birth to quadruplet heifer calves, after DNA tests came back this week.
Despite farmer Michael Kavanagh assisting the cow – affectionately known as Becky – to calve three of the heifer calves himself, he sent DNA samples off to be tested to confirm that the four calves were quadruplets.
Speaking to Rowena Duncum from The Country, the South Taranaki farmer recalled the fateful morning when the calves were born.
Kavanagh, who farms in partnership with his parents, never thought that the cow would have twins let alone quadruplets. With 11 years of dairy farming experience behind him, he has never witnessed anything close to this.
Arriving out into the paddock to find the cow with one calf by her side, Kavanagh then set about assisting the cow to give birth to the remaining calves.
When he kept reaching in to find more hooves, the farmer was left dumbfounded. Because the four calves were all heifers, he plans to keep the four heifer calves as replacements.
In case you missed it – Farmer Michael Kavanagh got a bit of a surprise when cow Becky gave birth to quadruplets!
?: Polished MediaPosted by The Country on Friday, September 15, 2017
Kavanagh’s mother Eileen has lovingly named the new arrivals Blossom, Bluebell, Bonnie and Belinda. Because the heifers are not identical, it means the cow managed to carry four separate embryos to term.
Irish quad calves reach celebrity status
Earlier this year, a farmer in north Co. Clare was left stunned after a cow gave birth to four identical heifer calves. Tom Clair from Ennistymon found the calves early on Sunday morning, February 19.
The identical heifers made appearances on various news channels and also made it onto the Late Late Show. Recently the calves were special guests at the National Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Tullamore.
The Clare farmer intends to keep the calves as replacement heifers.