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Five sets of twins in quick succession have kept the Tarmey family very busy on their farm in Co Roscommon.
Five of their 28 pedigree Simmental cows have produced twins this year, including two sets of bull calves, two sets of heifers and one mixed set.
Two of the cows are first-time mothers and two of the five dams are twins themselves.
When you have so many twins it’s unusual so you have extra paperwork to do, you have to verify them all, fill in the forms
“We usually have one or two sets of twins but five is the most we’ve ever had,” Mary told the Irish Farmers Journal. “When you have so many twins it’s unusual so you have extra paperwork to do, you have to verify them all, fill in the forms.”
The Tarmey farm at Ballinlough straddles the Roscommon-Mayo border, with the house and six acres in Co Roscommon and main farm in Co Mayo.
Eldest son Sean, 19, is keen on farming, rushing home from GMIT every Friday evening to help his father Emmett with the 28-cow suckler herd.
All of the cows calve down inside and, as soon as the calves are sucking and able, they go outside to a nursery paddock beside the house.
Using his own stock bull, Emmett aims for a compact calving from mid-February onwards. Most of the calves will be sold as stores next year, but some heifers will be kept as replacements. In the past, bull calves have been sold as stock bulls.
Are there more twin calves being born in Ireland?
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