Triplets Born near Valpo
Published: Friday, January 31, 2025
Of all the unexpected things that can happen on a farm, a cow giving birth to multiples is a good thing – a really good thing.
Earlier this month, Amaleah Goetz of Valparaiso had that surprise when one of her father's beef cows gave birth to triplets. That was on the afternoon of Jan. 9.
Little did she know that still another surprise was in the works. A week later, one of Goetz's own cows delivered a set of twins.
Five calves born in the span of one week—that reality is still sinking in for Goetz, who at age 20 saw more multiple births in eight days than most cattlemen will see in a lifetime.
On the morning of Jan. 9, Goetz had to drive to Michigan but first stopped in the barn to check on the 7-year-old cow. She realized that the full-blooded Simmental would be giving birth that day, so she asked her father, Luke, and the farm hands to keep an eye on her. Goetz was expecting just one calf, but she was stunned when she received a text from her father that afternoon saying that the Simmental cow had delivered three healthy bovines.
"For me, this is like, huge," she said.
Although the triplets belong to her father, Amaleah does the chores every day and cares for the herd of 36. For the Goetz family, having healthy triplets is a shared joy.
Seven cows were due to give birth at the farm in December, so they were overdue by a couple of weeks. The triplets, including a heifer and two bulls, were the first births of the new year.
"I was ecstatic," she said when asked to describe her reaction.
Triplets are rare, occurring once in every 105,000 births for beef.
She said her father started the beef herd back in 2017, the same year she started showing beef at the Porter County Fair. This was the first set of triplets they have had in the farm's brief history.
Twice before, the Goetzes have had twin births, but in each case, one of the calves died.
In situations where there is a multiple birth, sometimes the momma cow won't accept one of the calves. However, Goetz said the mother has accepted all three. Their nicknames are Shawn, Gus and Juliet, all named after characters on the TV show "Psych."
Because they are triplets, the calves have smaller frames. But the cute factor is way off the charts.
Amaleah, who is the second oldest of eight children, said she hopes her younger siblings will take a liking to the newborn calves.
"I hope we can show them," she said.
On Jan. 16, another cow in the herd—one which Amaleah showed in 4-H —gave birth to twins, a bull and a heifer. Both the momma cow and the twins are doing well.
When asked to pinpoint the reason for the multiple births, Goetz pointed to the herd bull.
"This is the first year that we've used this bull for our whole herd, and it was born and raised on our farm," she said.
With such good fortune, Goetz was asked if she plans to play the lottery. She shrugged off that idea with a vigorous laugh.
"Cattle are more my forte," she said.
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