Kieran O’Neill, a dairy farmer from Moy, has more than 85 cattle in his herd.
He said that a cow calving twins would be “very rare”, something he had not seen in around 10 to 15 years, but to get three healthy calves is “weird”.
Former MP Michelle Gildernew was among the locals who took to social media, amazed by the arrival of the triplets, which she noted came just days after another set was born in the area.
The triplets came as a surprise to Kieran, who was initially told by a local vet that his cow was expecting twins.
“There’s a local vet here from Dungannon, called Peter Campbell, who pregnancy tested the cow in July and told me she’s got twins” Kieran explained.
“It’s very hard to see triplets, because it never happens.. So I put it down as twins.
“The cow was getting absolutely massive coming up to Christmas, so I put it into the calving pen — it isolates them from everybody else.
“That’s where I have the camera, where I could watch it from my phone.”
Uno, Dos and Tres
Kieran continued to keep a close eye, noting that the animal’s exceptional size grew larger after Christmas.
One night, he noticed the cow was particularly agitated.
“I was keeping a good eye on her, but on that particular night I looked at her at about 1am and I could see that she was getting a bit agitated.
“So I looked at her again on the phone and then fell asleep. I woke up again around 4am and there it was — one calf out and number two slightly out.”
By the time Kieran rushed out to the calving pen, the second calf had been birthed.
He then carried out a routine check every farmer gives a cow after she gives birth and, to his surprise, his hand touched another foot.
“The normal procedure after that is to just check the cow over after it gives birth. And there it was — another foot!
“I was very confused, as it was 4am, and thought: ‘Hold on, I thought I pulled number two out?’
“So I pulled down another foot and stood there for a while looking at it, thinking: ‘This is strange’.”
The triplets taking their turn to feed
By the morning, all three calves were suckling the cow and were also using suckle buckets, which are filled with feed that mimic a cow’s teat.
The calves are in “perfect” health so far and, despite always giving his calves good care, Kieran said his “celebrity calves” are getting that bit extra.
While farmers don’t usually name their cattle, the Co Tyrone man has decided to name the special trio Unos, Dos and Tres.
Kieran’s 85-year-old father, Brian, who has been a farmer his whole life, said he has never seen anything like it in his career.
“He’s been farming all of his life and he’s never seen it — twins the odd time but never triplets.”
Through old wives’ tales, it’s believed that the birth of triplets on a farm is a sign of good luck, which Kieran is counting on: “The older people tell me that’s extremely good luck to have on your farm — and I hope so.”
The triplet calves
News Catch Up: Friday 17th January