Discover the rare tale of a Saskatchewan beef cow birthing quadruplet heifers. Will they all survive? Dive into this captivating story to find out.
Discover the rare tale of a Saskatchewan beef cow birthing quadruplet heifers. Will they all survive? Dive into this captivating story to find out.While it’s not unheard of for a cow to conceive twins, and though triplets are a rarity, the odds of a cow birthing quadruplets makes the event as astoundingly rare as 1 in 700,000. And suppose the quads are born alive, that likelihood drops further to a staggering 1 in 11.2 million. But guess what? Miracles do unfold, and a cattle ranch in Saskatchewan can attest to having hit this elusive jackpot.
Mark and Erin Van Haastert, the ranchers from Bjorkdale, Sask., were taken by absolute surprise on April 19, 2024. Their eight-year-old commercial Charolais/Simmental/Angus cow – a first-time ‘twinner’ and definitely a greenhorn in the quads department – gave birth to a set of quadruplet heifers organically, without any assistance. While the odds against this prodigious event are high, it’s a fact of life on the ranch, where marvels like these occur.
“The four hulking heifer calves tipped the scales at an average of around 50 pounds each and were delivered, unexpectedly, three weeks early,” shares Erin.
Interestingly, the quads bear no discernible marks, which led to an inventive color-coding system to differentiate between them. This ingenious strategy has been a fount for the calves’ names – Orangala, Greenelope, Bluethany, and Nobody – christened enthusiastically by the Van Haastert kids – James, 16, Avalene, 13 and Vidalia, 12. The four calves continue to stay close to their mother but are also supplemented with milk bottles to ensure they receive adequate nutrition.
The (presumably) proud father is a Simmental bull, and Erin notes that the calves were conceived during the regular breeding season – no artificial insemination was involved. The only difference from the usual routine last year? A shuffled mineral program.
The extraordinary story was announced to the world on Facebook by the overjoyed Van Haasterts and has found a bounty of admirers. Pictures and videos of their once-in-a-lifetime calf crop have flooded their profile, attracting attention and congratulatory words far and wide.
