A farmer in Co. Mayo said the surprise arrival of rare triplet heifer calves has created "a great buzz" in the local area.

A second calver Limousin cross cow, owned by Thomas Carter, a suckler and sheep farmer in Killawalla, Westport, Co. Mayo, recently gave birth to the calves.

Thomas bought the cow in November 2024 at the annual in-calf heifer sale in Balla Mart.

By coincidence, the animal had been born and raised on a neighbouring farm.

"I had her scanned at the back end of the year, and she was scanned for two [calves], so that's what I was expecting.

"I observed her calving the first one, and I assisted her with the second calf.

"I fed them and went for some lunch. When I came back from lunch, there she was after having the third one, not a bother to her. I was shocked," he said.

The sire of the triplets is the farm's Charolais stock bull, who is bred from Fiston.

Triplet heifer calves

Thomas said the arrival of the triplet heifer calves was a "great surprise" to everyone and has created much excitement in the locality.

"Down through the years we've had some twins, but we've never had triplets," he said.

The birth of triplets is understood to be as rare as 1/100,000 births in some cases, with even greater odds reported for the birth of three live calves to term.

"They got extra feeds for the first couple of days and have been thriving since," he said.

The farmer has bought a foster cow to help with feeding the calves.

Thomas said his father, Frank, who had the farm before him, was "over the moon" by the arrival of the triplets.

"It was him that said you'd want to get a photographer and get a photograph taken because he said it's once-in-a-lifetime, you might never see it again.

"He's as proud as punch. He's going around telling everybody he meets," Thomas said.