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Elba's triplets
Jan 15, 2011 1:06 pm
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Black Angus Elba with her three new triplets on the Punsit Valley Angus Farm in Spencertown. Photo by Lance Wheeler of Mid Hudson News Network."]
[/caption]Who would have thought a story about a local cow giving birth to triplets would have gone viral, at least on a regional basis. And yet the story's spread to all our local publications. Seems that at least with beef cattle, the odds are 1 in 105,000 for triplets. Which, given the storms of the past two weeks, the news from Tuscon, and all the policy stuff out of Albany, Hudson, Catskill and other county seats, makes the January 3 birth of Elba's triplets on Spencertown's Punsit Valley Angus Farm in Columbia County the feel-good story of the year to date. According to Karolyn Shepard — who co-owns the farm with her husband, Mark; mother, Dorrie Kern; and friend, Bobby Pinto — the story of these triplets began back on April 7, 2010, when Elba, a registered black angus, was bred to Select Sires bull, TC Total. On May 25, the veterinarian confirmed that Elba was expecting on Jan. 11. But then on January 2, the farmers decided to pull Elba inside the barn and set her up early. The next morning they showed up expecting to find one calf, discovering two, and then stumbling on a third behind a hay bale, getting its footing. The three are currently named A, B and C, at least until further calving completes over the coming week. For the best of the stories on Elba's little miracle, go the Register Star's account here.
[/caption]Who would have thought a story about a local cow giving birth to triplets would have gone viral, at least on a regional basis. And yet the story's spread to all our local publications. Seems that at least with beef cattle, the odds are 1 in 105,000 for triplets. Which, given the storms of the past two weeks, the news from Tuscon, and all the policy stuff out of Albany, Hudson, Catskill and other county seats, makes the January 3 birth of Elba's triplets on Spencertown's Punsit Valley Angus Farm in Columbia County the feel-good story of the year to date. According to Karolyn Shepard — who co-owns the farm with her husband, Mark; mother, Dorrie Kern; and friend, Bobby Pinto — the story of these triplets began back on April 7, 2010, when Elba, a registered black angus, was bred to Select Sires bull, TC Total. On May 25, the veterinarian confirmed that Elba was expecting on Jan. 11. But then on January 2, the farmers decided to pull Elba inside the barn and set her up early. The next morning they showed up expecting to find one calf, discovering two, and then stumbling on a third behind a hay bale, getting its footing. The three are currently named A, B and C, at least until further calving completes over the coming week. For the best of the stories on Elba's little miracle, go the Register Star's account here.