BROWNTOWN - Triplets naturally bring attention to themselves, even when they're calves.
Two sister heifers and their bull brother were born Monday, April 2 on the Rosenstiel farm, operated by brothers Marvin and Keith, north of Browntown.
The calves, all black and white in actual color, are from a Red and White Holstein bloodline.
Weighing between 40 and 50 pounds at birth, they have reached 65 to 70 pounds drinking about 6 pounds of milk by bottle a day, Marvin Rosenstiel said Thursday, April 19.
The calves were so little at birth that the Rosenstiels were worried about their survival. And yet, because they were all so small, their mama, an 8-year-old dairy cow producing about 100 pounds of milk a day, was able to deliver them successfully.
"After two weeks, they're doing better," Rosenstiel said. "They'll make it now."
The calves are the third - or possibly the fourth - set of triplets to be born on the farm in the past 40 years; Marvin and Keith have different recollections of the number.
Multiple births are not the most welcomed event on a dairy farm. Twin or triplet calves can come with fertility problems, including sterility, especially in the case of a male/female twin.
But a veterinarian, who checked the babies when they were born, reported the heifers would be fertile, Rosenstiel said. The little girls will most likely grow up to become like their mother, producing a respectable amount of milk for the farm.
Their brother, like most baby bulls, will be raised until he's big enough to sell at auction.
Two sister heifers and their bull brother were born Monday, April 2 on the Rosenstiel farm, operated by brothers Marvin and Keith, north of Browntown.
The calves, all black and white in actual color, are from a Red and White Holstein bloodline.
Weighing between 40 and 50 pounds at birth, they have reached 65 to 70 pounds drinking about 6 pounds of milk by bottle a day, Marvin Rosenstiel said Thursday, April 19.
The calves were so little at birth that the Rosenstiels were worried about their survival. And yet, because they were all so small, their mama, an 8-year-old dairy cow producing about 100 pounds of milk a day, was able to deliver them successfully.
"After two weeks, they're doing better," Rosenstiel said. "They'll make it now."
The calves are the third - or possibly the fourth - set of triplets to be born on the farm in the past 40 years; Marvin and Keith have different recollections of the number.
Multiple births are not the most welcomed event on a dairy farm. Twin or triplet calves can come with fertility problems, including sterility, especially in the case of a male/female twin.
But a veterinarian, who checked the babies when they were born, reported the heifers would be fertile, Rosenstiel said. The little girls will most likely grow up to become like their mother, producing a respectable amount of milk for the farm.
Their brother, like most baby bulls, will be raised until he's big enough to sell at auction.