Twin cows born 11 days apart may be first-time occurrence

Written By PAULA BROWN

Patsy Glover and Doug Martin, owners of Morningcall Farm, never expected that when one of their cows gave birth to a calf last month, that 11 days later a second one – a twin  would be born alive and healthy. 

“We never expected it, there were no signs, she [the cow] wasn't doing anything,” said Ms. Glover in an interview at the Mulmur-based farm. 

She added, “It's quite an experience, because nobody have ever heard of this before, ever.” 

The duo, which Ms. Glover has taken to calling the miracle twins, are now better known as Renee and Rambo. Both are names picked out by Ms. Glover. 

“I call him Rambo because he was in there for 11 days, ramming to come out,” she said. “I call her Renee because I like the name.” 

Scrumptious, the 6-year-old mother to the duo, first gave birth to Renee back on June 10th. Ms. Glover recalls that it was just beginning to get dark when she noticed, looking through an upstairs window of their home, odd behaviour from a few of the other cows in the pasture of their Mulmur farm. When her husband Doug went out to check, he found a new born calf. On June 21, 11 days after Renee's arrival, Glover says her husband was cleaning a part of their barn out when he found Rambo. 

“[He] noticed a calf and questioned how it had gotten out of the field and into the barn,” said Glover. “Looking closer he realized that it was a new calf – it was still wet.” 

Scrumptious, Rambo, and Renee are a breed of cow known as Hereford, which according to the Canadian Hereford Association, an organization that handles registry of the breed and its profitability, is known for being fertile and docile. 

When the calves were first born, Ms.Glover reached out to some of the bigger breeders in Western Canada, none who have heard of an experience like this one. Contacting the Canadian Hereford Association, she's been asked to have the DNA of Renee and Rambo tested. 

“We just take two hairs out of each of their tails,” said Glover. 

Laying on the hay of their pen in the barn, the duo are curled together, sleeping through the heat, Ms. Glover says they're always together. The two also have their own personalities.  

“She's a wire, she loves to be would up and he's kind of laid back,” she said.

Looking on at the calves, Ms. Glover still speaks about the surprise of Rambo being alive and healthy – “11 days in there and still living, I can't believe it”.