A SCOTTISH cow is a one-in-a-million mother after producing two sets of twins that are different colours.
Cows only have a 3% chance of having twins and it is extremely rare for one calf to be black and the other white.
But an eight-year-old Charolais cross Angus recently gave birth to Salt and Pepper – her second set of multi-coloured twins in three years.
Even more remarkable, on both occasions the twins, which had different fathers, were made up of a white heifer and a black bull.
A leading authority on the dairy industry described the double pair of multi-coloured twins as “astonishingly rare”.
Farmer Willie Carruth was amazed when the calves arrived on his Renfrewshire farm on April 2.
Willie, 52, said Salt and Pepper are “very healthy and happy” and have no idea how special they are.
The owner of Lawmarnock Farm, about six miles west of Paisley, said: “When the twins were born I realised they were the exact same combination as another set of her twins from three years ago.
“The black one is once again a bull and the white a heifer – it’s quite incredible.
“The chances of a cow even having twins are quite low and for this to happen must be very rare.”
He added: “It was a fairly easy birth and they’re all doing great,” he said. “The twins can be cheeky at times but they’re very healthy and happy.
“We still have the white heifer from the first set of twins on the farm.”
Bruce Woodacre, an international Dairy Industry Consultant with over 40 years’ experience in the industry said: “This is astonishingly rare and something I have definitely never seen before.
“If I had to predict the odds I would say there would be nearly a one-in-a-million chance of this happening.”
