A farmer in north Co. Clare was left dumbfounded after a cow gave birth to four identical heifer calves over the weekend.
Tom Clair from Ennistymon found the calves early on Sunday morning, February 19. He spoke about the excitement surrounding the now famous calves on Clare FM this morning.
“I went down to check on the cow on Sunday morning, around 7am or 7.30am. I was expecting her to have twins and she was in a shed on her own.
“When I went down to check on her I was walking down the feeding passage and I could see her lying inside the gate.
There was two calves standing up in front of her and I thought by God you’re grand now, you’ve all the work done.
“It was only then I spotted the third calf lying down by her side; I started to get excited at that stage,” he said.
The Co. Clare farmer stood the three calves up together before hearing another calf moo close by.
It was only then that he realised that another calf had escaped out through the feeding barrier and was standing outside the shed.
I couldn’t believe it; it’s very rare. You would see or hear of the odd set of triplets.
The four identical heifer calves, named Mia, Rosie, Fluffy and Jenny, are out of a Hereford cross cow and a Charolais bull, Clair said.
The farmer was happy to report that the four calves and the mother are all healthy and doing well.
“She’s not quite able to feed them all yet, but we’ll get help for her. I had right to do the lotto on Saturday night.
“Everyone is as excited as myself to see them. The best thing is she managed it all herself and there was no sign in the world of her the night before.
“You could have problems with one, never mind four,” he added.
A Cow with a Colourful History
The mother of the quadruplets is a descendent of probably the ‘luckiest cow to come inside the gate’ of Clair’s farm.
The farmer told Clare FM presenter Gavin Grace this morning how he once sold a springer heifer at the mart, while a number of weeks later a dispute arose over the sale of the heifer.
After a ‘number of ups and downs’ Clair ended up buying the heifer and her calf back a few months after he had sold her for close to £1,000.
“She became known as the £1,000 cow on our farm; she was the luckiest cow to come inside the farm gate,” he said.
