Farmer Barry Mulgrew from Killeeshil, Co. Tyrone “couldn’t believe” his luck this week with the birth of triplet calves from his first calving heifer.
The three Limousin heifers born this Wednesday, February 26, weighing about 20kg each, were the first triplets to ever be born on the Mulgrew farm.
The farmer said the birth came as a “complete surprise” for him, as he had only just bought the heifer and she had not scanned for triplets or twins – “It didn’t even cross my mind that there could be a third born,” he said.
“Even when she was calving, I thought I had a set of twins at first and was delighted with that. I went away to get a bucket of water and came back to her giving birth to a third,” Mulgrew said.
The surprise comes at a busy time of the season for Mulgrew, with calving currently in full swing. He has already had a heifer and cow that calved, and is awaiting another eight.
The birth of triplets is understood to be as rare as 1/100,000 births in some cases, with even greater odds reported for the birth of three live calves to term.
However, there must be something in the water in Northern Ireland, as the news follows the momentous birth of triplets on a farm in Redrock, Co. Armagh already this month.
Once again on this occasion, the birth reportedly came as a total surprise for the farmer, who only discovered the cow was expecting triplets when he was in the process of delivering them.
The triplets, two heifers and one bull, arrived in the early hours of February 12, following a “challenging” calving.
