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In Ceyhan, a farming district in Türkiye's southern Adana province, veterinarian-assisted artificial insemination leads to an outcome breeders rarely witness: a single Holstein cow delivers three calves in one birth last month, an event estimated to occur in only one of every 100,000 births.
Mustafa Avşar, 60, and his wife Hediye have raised cattle in the area for 40 years, yet neither has previously encountered a triplet birth on their farm.
Veterinarian Ahmet Mert confirms the scientific rarity of the case, noting he used both Holstein and Simmental semen during treatment of the cow.
The couple names the three calves after their grandchildren, Tulin, Tuana and Taner.
Mustafa Avşar describes each calf as comparable to a baby, saying he and his wife wake at midnight and 1 a.m. to feed them so they do not go hungry.
Alongside their mother's milk, the calves receive supplemental bottle feedings that include whey and sweetened tea, a routine the Avşars maintain multiple times throughout the night.
Mustafa Avşar credits his wife's dedication, noting she manages the feeding schedule in addition to raising the couple's three children.
Hediye Avsar tends to the calves around the clock, using a syringe when one refuses to feed before switching back to the bottle.
She waters and grazes the animals herself, saying her only concern is that each calf continues to eat and grow.
Veterinarian Ahmet Mert explains that triplet births result from rare hormonal conditions in which a cow's egg cycle deviates from the typical 20-day pattern, sometimes requiring external treatment support.
He adds that a breeder's daily care remains as important as any medical intervention in ensuring the calves' survival.
Now settled into a daily rhythm of feeding and care, the triplet calves have become a fixture of life on the family farm.
For a couple with four decades in cattle farming, the animals mark a rare and memorable chapter.
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