Unprecedented Surprise: Astonishing Birth of a Cow Leaves Onlookers Baffled, Defying Explanation
David and Julie Ingram, beef cattle farmers in Bonang, east Gippsland, were left astounded when their purebred Hereford cow delivered a rare set of quadruplets in May. This marked the second pregnancy for the cow on their property, with twins born the previous year.
Mr. Ingram recounted, “I said to Julie the night before she calved, ‘there’ll be a set of twins there tonight.’ But when we went down the next day, we counted one, and then two, and then three, and then oh … there are four.”
While the Ingrams are familiar with multiple births, having experienced 12 sets of twins in 2018 and eight in the current year alone, the arrival of quadruplets was a remarkable surprise.
Anticipating the likelihood of multiple births, the couple had prepared a special paddock with abundant feed for the expecting cow. However, the birth of two heifers and two bull calves, three to four weeks premature, caught them off guard.
“We were amazed she actually fed two of them and she’d cleaned and mothered the four of them,” Mr. Ingram expressed.
Concerned for the premature calves, the Ingrams brought them to a shed near the house for protection. Recognizing the need for extra care, they decided to hand-rear three of the calves, leaving the strongest one with its mother.
After a week of close monitoring, one heifer calf was reunited with her mother, while the remaining three were nurtured as poddies—hand-reared for the best chance of survival. Following six weeks of careful observation in a private paddock, the trio was eventually released to join the rest of the herd. The extraordinary birth of quadruplets added a unique chapter to the Ingrams’ farming experience.
