The Farmers Mart Aug/Sep 2013 - Issue 29

CATTLE DAIRY COW PRODUCES ‘ROYAL’ TRIPLET CALVES A Wirral farmer was stunned when one of his dairy cows gave birth to triplet male calves. Jon Appleby of Green house Farm,Greasby,Wirral, has named the three new arrivals after the new Royal baby - as they arrived in the same week. Jon’s farm is part of the Prince of Wales Dairy Initiative, and he has offered to present the triplets, George, Alexander and Louis, to HRH Prince Charles as a thank you gesture for his support. He is now waiting for a response to his offer. The 44-year-old said: “We’ve had twins before but never triplets. I looked it up and the odds of having three of the same sex are around 700,000-1, going up to 1,000,000-1 if they all survive and are healthy like our three are.” Male calves born to Jon’s 180-strong dairy herd are usually sold off to a farmer in Neston for beef, but these three “special deliveries” could become a gift fit for a Prince, or if that doesn’t happen, they will be kept on the farm where they are already a big attraction. HAPPY ENDING TO FARM DRAMA Performing a caesarean section on a cow is a difficult enough task for any veterinary surgeon in an operating theatre – but it presents even more problems when emergency surgery has to be performed in a farmyard. That was the case when veterinary surgeon Chris Murphy from Churchfields Vets in Barnsley, South Yorkshire attended Cannon Hall Farm in July, where a Highland had been struggling in vain to give birth for hours. Chris decided the only way to get the calf out alive would be a caesarean section - and there followed a real life drama that could have come straight from the pages of a James Herriot novel. As dozens of people looked on, Chris and his team managed to produce the healthy calf and took care of an exhausted mother. Mother and son are both doing well. Cannon Hall farmers Robert and David Nicholson are pictured with the Churchfields team – Chris who was assisted by Kelly Hutchinson, Vicki Beck and Becky Morris. Great job everybody! 22 Aug/Sep 2013 FarmersMart To read more, visit www.farmers-mart.co.uk

The Farmers Mart Aug/Sep 2013 - Issue 29 | Page 22