Pregnant cow was big, sure: Triplets'll do that

Four-year-old Betsy gave birth to three males early in the evening at Silver Spur Ranch in the Picture Rocks area.

Cattle experts say triplet births are uncommon.

"It's very rare, but it does occur," said Julie Murphree, a spokeswoman for the Arizona Farm Bureau.

Betsy's triplets are even rarer still because the calves are the same gender.

The 1,100-pound Holstein cow gave birth to a calf last year.

"She was a lot bigger than the first time. We were thinking maybe twins or it was a big baby, but there was three. I was stunned," said 14-year-old Tianna Valerio, who has raised Betsy since she was 4 months old.

This time around, Betsy delivered 51-pound Dallas, 45-pound Peewee and 51-pound Spade.

Valerio uses the heifer as a show cow for her work with the Marana Stockmen 4H club.

The triplets were delivered by Jerry Crum, Valerio's stepfather.

Valerio and her mother, Kristine Crum, and grandmother, Dottie Brenneman, were there to help.

"He was up to his elbows inside her and Tianna and I caught them as they came out," Kristine Crum said.

Betsy and her calves are all in good health. "So far, they are doing just fine," Brenneman said. "They are absolutely adorable."

The black-and-white bulls have been separated from their mother and are being bottle-fed by the family to preserve Betsy's udder.

The former grand champion heifer is a show cow, after all, and Valerio does not want udder displacement.

The family has no immediate plans for the bulls, but Valerio does want to enjoy having them around the ranch.

"It's fun when they are young. They like to play around a lot," she said.

Contact reporter Andrea Rivera at arivera@azstarnet.com or 807-8430.