While it is not uncommon for a cow to become pregnant with twins (though triplets are rare), the chance that a cow will become pregnant with quadruplets is approximately 1 in 700,000. The odds of these calves being born alive are more or less 1 in 11.2 million, but at least one Saskatchewan ranch has hit the jackpot.
Mark and Erin van Haastert of Bjorkdale, South Carolina, on April 19, 2024, raised a very confused 8-year-old commercial cow, Charolais, who had never given birth to twins before. /Simmental/I was very surprised when my Angus cow gave birth to four cows. without assistance.
The average weight of the four heifers was about 50 pounds and they were about three weeks early, Erin said. Because the calves don’t have any distinctive markings, Erin said she used colored markers to distinguish between the four calves, which is also where their names come from: Orangala, Green Nelope, Blue Sunny, “Nobody” named by Van Haastert’s children James (16 years old), Avalene (13 years old), and Vidalia, 12 years old.
Erin said the calf is still on the cow, but is supplemented with a bottle to ensure it gets enough milk. The proud father is a Simmental bull, and Erin said the calf was conceived during a normal breeding season without the use of AI. The only thing they did differently last year was change the mineral program.
(Photo provided)
The van Haarstaerts shared the announcement on Facebook, posting many photos and videos of their once-in-a-lifetime calf harvest.
