Against the odds: Hereford cow delivers healthy triplets

  • The oldest of the triplet calves faces the camera while her sister, who was born last, seems more shy. Both heifer calves are doing well. The triplets are the first surviving calves this cow has had, as her two previous pregnancies ended in a loss of each single-born calf. JOYCESARAH MCCABE | DISPATCH RECORD
    The oldest of the triplet calves faces the camera while her sister, who was born last, seems more shy. Both heifer calves are doing well. The triplets are the first surviving calves this cow has had, as her two previous pregnancies ended in a loss of each single-born calf. JOYCESARAH MCCABE | DISPATCH RECORD
  • JOYCESARAH MCCABE | DISPATCH RECORD
    JOYCESARAH MCCABE | DISPATCH RECORD
James and Mayela Banks had quite an unexpected blessing last week when their Hereford cow, whom Banks calls White Face, gave birth to triplets. The occurrence of triplets in beef cattle is about 1 in 105,000, according to a frequently cited report published in a 1920 edition of the “Journal of Dairy Science” by Jones and Rouse. Dan McBride, DVM and the treating veterinarian for these bovine…

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