Zim cow gives birth to identical triplet calves

Lifestyle

Muchaneta Chimuka with translation by Rumbidzayi Zinyuke ---
In an unusual incident that left scores of villagers in a district in the southern - central part of Zimbabwe shocked, a cow gave birth to identical triplet calves, an occurrence which experts say happens once in 8 million cows.

The calves, which were born on August 8 this year in Matizha village under Chief Serima’s area in Gutu district, are all female and bear the same colour and markings on their bodies.

Gutu district is in Masvingo province, in the southern – central part of the country.

Gwebi Agricultural College principal, Dr William Matizha witnessed the birth and says it is rare for cows to give birth to triplets and same sex triplets are even rarer.

“Normally, cows are expected to give birth to one calf and sometimes they give birth to two, but very rarely. For a cow to birth triplets, it is highly uncommon,” he says.

“Studies show that the probability of triplets in beef cattle is estimated to be one in 105 000. However, the odds of a cow giving birth to same sex triplets like this is 3 million to one.”

Holstein World's website further states that the per cent of triplet births where all three are born alive is twenty-five per cent which means that the chances of a cow having triplets, all female, and all alive, are about one in eight million.

Dr Matizha said the cow, which belongs to local farmer Mr Stan Matore, has previously given birth to single calves on four occasions, without needing any help from veterinarians.

“We advised the farmer to ensure that the calves suckled as much colostrum (first milk) as possible to help them grow and protect them against diseases. The cow should be fed dairy meal to increase the production of milk for the calves. At about 2 weeks, the calves should be introduced to calf starter meal and later, calf grower meal,” says Dr Matizhe.

While cases of triplet calves are rare, many in some cases go unreported.

A combination of poor veterinary extension services, lack of knowledge and poor livestock farming support has made the recording of such births difficult, not only in Zimbabwe, but in most parts of the continent.

In most parts of Africa, superstition still holds sway. And whenever such births occur, some communities believe it’s a bad omen and often kill the animals.

But there have even been a few cases where cows have given birth to quadruplets.

One such case occurred in the USA in 2012, where a cow on a California dairy farm, gave birth to all-girl quadruplet calves that actually survived. The odds of that is 1 in 180 million.

The rarity of a live triplet birth in cows means that culturally, it is perceived as a bad omen in most communities.

They believe that the only natural thing for a cow is to give birth to one calf.

The owner of this particular cow was no different.

Mr Matore says he was really disturbed by the triple birth at first, but he later accepted that it happens and is now very happy this happened. He says the calves are healthy and have not experienced any problems since birth.

However, most superstitious villagers in Serima do not share his joy. They believe that this is a sign of bad things happening in their community.

Chiredzi-based traditional healer, sekuru Jonathan Shonhiwa Mupamombe believes that a cow giving birth to twin or triplet calves might be a bad omen.

“This sort of thing rarely happens and the farmer might need to consult traditional healers to see if there is no problem in his family which needs to be solved sooner rather than later,” he says.

He however acknowledges that this might just be nature’s doing, an event that could be compared to a situation where humans give birth to twins or triplets.

“We look at both sides. In our culture, this might be a good or bad thing. The same could be said scientifically. It is shocking even when a woman gives birth to triplets, such a birth can be recorded in history books because it is not a common occurrence,” says Sekuru Shonhiwa.

But experts say there is nothing bad about a cow giving birth to triplets or even quadruplets. It is just rare.

Some livestock experts believe that the fact that the cow is a cross between the Brahman and Mashona breed of cattle could have made it easier for the cow to give birth to three live calves.

Research shows that crossbreeding beef cattle combines the strengths of the breeds used to form the cross.

The important advantage to crossbreeding is the ability to take advantage of the strengths of two or more breeds to produce offspring that have optimum levels of performance in several traits.

Mashona cattle are strong and diseases resistant.

The breed is also known for its good mothering ability, survivability, easy calving and fertility.

Studies have shown that the Mashona has the lowest percentage of calving difficulty after the Brahman, which is renowned for producing calves of relatively low birth mass.

The Brahman has been crossbred extensively with other breeds globally and its hardiness and fertility makes it an excellent choice to cross with other breeds. Brahman cattle normally live longer than many other breeds.

-Adapted by Zimpapers Syndication Services from Kwayedza, a popular Shona language weekly

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Zim cow gives birth to identical triplet calves

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