May 24th was a very special day for Chuck and Deb Beldo of Sebeka, Minnesota. Not only did they welcome the birth of their granddaughter, but they also welcomed four baby calfs that evening.
What’s even more spectacular is that all four calves survived.
One in 700,000 cows have quadruplets but it is a one in 11.2 million chance that they will survive.
“I’ve been around cows my whole life, and I’ve never seen anything like it before,” Deb told CBS Local.
They were keeping a close eye on the calves when they were first born.
“They’re doing really good. It’s amazing,” Chuck said. “I think we are going to make it now. A week ago, I wouldn’t have bet a dime on it.”
Chuck and Deb were returning from visiting their new granddaughter when they came home to find their cow in labor. They didn’t expect to see two baby cows come out.
But then another calf appeared and another.
“Mom had noticed she was large but didn’t think too much of it. Twins are fairly common,” the Beldos’ daughter, Jamie Belz, told Minnesota Public Radio. “Actually, they had a set of twins born earlier this year, but unfortunately they came during the crazy cold weather we had in April and they didn’t make it.”
The quadruplets were all black and fairly small for their size. A typical calf weighs between 50 and 70 pounds but the quadruplets weighed between 20 and 25 pounds each.
The Beldos call them their “little teeny tiny peanuts.”
The bovine babies were actually too small to properly nurse from their mother. So, they had to be separated and bottle fed which means that Chuck and Deb have to feed them around the clock just like human babies.
“We are looking for volunteers for that midnight feeding,” Chuck joked.
They finally installed bottle holders so they don’t have to hand feed.
Still, having quadruplet calves is a lot of work. Deb said she was grateful to her neighbors for creating a milk product, bovine colostrum, for the cow babies to eat.
“They’re just like any other baby. They get fed, they’re tired, and they lay down,” she told the West Fargo Pioneer.
The Beldos announced the birth of the quadruplets on Facebook.
“I believe there has been, as of today, 80,000 some shares from around the world, which is kind of neat,” Deb said.
Most people’s reaction to the birth of the quadruplets is “holy cow.”
People on social media are helping to come up with names for the calves.
Most cattle farmers don’t name their animals and the quadruplets’ mother doesn’t have a name.
But the babies may end up as family pets.
“It’s a novelty, but I hope somebody else can have the next experience because once is enough,” Chuck joked.
You can learn more about these bovine babies in the video below.
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