Rare Bull Quadruplet Calves Born
by Connie Sieh Groop, Cattle Business Weekly
Excitement always builds when getting ready for the annual bull sale at Stavick Simmental at Veblen, South Dakota. Last week, that was multiplied many times over with the birth of bull quadruplet calves. Since it’s such a rare occurrence, it’s hard to verify how rare that is but some online sources say it was a one in 179.2 million event.
The calves have been named Harry, Lloyd, Curly, and Mo.
Last Monday, owner Mike Stavick worried that something was wrong with one of his cows due to calve in a few weeks. She just didn’t look right and he worried she was going to have twins or abort her calf.
The family plans to have their first and second calvers finish before the annual sale, which they hold the first Thursday of February. With an exhausted but excited sigh, Mike said they’ve been burning a lot of midnight oil. “The older cows weren’t supposed to calve until February 15 or 16, but the cows followed their own schedule with about 40 of the 300 dropping their calves before February 5,” Mike said.
Mike explained he put the cow in question in a pen just before dark on February 3. When he walked by her while working with another cow the next day, he noticed a small water bag at her rear. He worried she was aborting but she kept plugging away. And soon he saw six feet all coming at the same time.
“I sorted that out, pulled out one calf and then went in to find his brother,” Mike said. “I got the second calf out and on the ground. All my life, I’ve taught my son that you always check to see if there might be another calf but I didn’t expect to find anything. I found two feet and a head. I got him out. And again, I figured I’d better check. And way down there, I found two hind feet. When I pulled him out, he was fine. And, just because, I did check for a fifth calf but that was it.”
It wasn’t until all the calves were on the ground that he realized they were all good-sized bull calves, ranging from 55 to 65 pounds. With pride, Mike said, “The momma cow loved them and soon all four handsome black calves were standing and went right to nursing without missing a beat. We got lucky.”
Since no cow would have enough milk for four calves, they have started supplementing the momma’s milk. The Stavick kids are bottle-feeding the calves colostrum. “She’s a 2016 model cow, so eight years old,” Mike said. “She’s not had any multiple births before. Earlier that day, I told my sons that we were way overdue to have a set of twins. She made up for it.”
Owen Stavick with quadruplet bull calves born at his family’s ranch.
Momma cow, with a registered name of Barb, is rewarded with food and water being delivered to her in a pen full of fresh straw. The calves have been named Harry, Lloyd, Curly, and Mo. Mike said, “It’s hard to tell them apart but they all have some white on them. They have a heart, a blaze, or a snip of white across their nose.”
They will probably keep one calf with the cow and the other three calves will either continue to be bottle fed or given to a cow who loses a calf. .
