Triplet Calves Born To Bloomfield Farmers

Loren and Kathryn Lauck have been breeding Angus cattle since 1977 when they first married.

Now almost 42 years later, they have had their first set of triplet calves. Two bulls and one heifer are trailing their mother and she is very accepting of all three.

“Sometimes, even with twins, the mother doesn’t always claim both,” Loren said.

The Laucks are happy to see the mother take in all three.

“She’s such a good mom,” Kathryn said.

A bit of a rare occurrence, triplets in beef cattle is averaged at 1 for every 105,000 births, according to Herd Health. Cows birthing triplets is one thing, but keeping them alive is a whole other task.

The Laucks watched as the mother delivered her first calf and almost immediately laid back down.

“We found that a bit odd. We thought, ‘Why isn’t she cleaning her calf?’” Kathryn said.

Shortly after that, the second calf was born - but the strange behavior wasn’t over.

“We saw her third calf starting to come out and we thought ‘No way,’” Loren said.

The Laucks have been told that most triplets are born a bit smaller, maybe 35 pounds each. But
according to Loren, the smallest of their three is around 50 pounds and the others are 60 pounds each and in great health.

The Laucks plan to take two from the mother and start bottle feeding to give her a bit of a break and ensure that all calves are getting an appropriate amount of milk.

They do not expect the protective mom to take it well when the calves are separated from her.

“It’s for her own good,” said Loren.

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