Cow gives birth to triplets defying 100,000 to one odds

A 13-year-old girl who has looked after cows since she was little has had the rare pleasure of seeing one of them give birth to triplets.

The National Farmers' Union estimates the chances of it happening are about one in 100,000. Sophie, who lives on a farm near Baschurch in Shropshire, said it was "amazing".

She has named them Tia, Tilly and Tiffany and said five-year-old mum Lucky Lady was doing well.

Cows usually bear one calf at a time after a nine-month pregnancy.

Although rare, it is the second time in Shropshire within months that a cow has had triplets.

"I grew up on a farm, so we've always had cows," Sophie said. "I [have] had my own since I was six months old, so it started from there really.

"The vet said she was carrying twins [so] we didn't know she was having triplets until the morning we found out."

"I couldn't believe it because we'd always joked that she was having three, but we didn't imagine it could actually happen," she said.

The calves were given names on the morning they were born, with Sophie adding that because they were a pedigree breed their names had to begin with the same letter - in this case "T".

"I've been at school as well which hasn't helped, because I haven't been able to spend loads of time with them," she said.

Although rare, this is not the first time triplets calves have been born in Shropshire this year.

James Chatham, who farms near Shifnal, had the same experience back in May, when one of his cows also gave birth to triplets.

At the time, Shropshire's NFU adviser Ed Garratt said: "Triplets are significantly rarer than twins in dairy and beef herds."

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