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A bull calf born on Christa Dillon’s farm last week caused some surprise, weighing approximately 15kg and reaching 18in in height.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, she said: “According to scans, he’s a month early.
“He’s a little bit bigger than my small terrier and the dog’s coat fits the calf perfectly. He’s approximately 15 kilos and about 18 inches tall.”
His sire is a Limousin bull called Rosemount Icarus and Christa said that from a batch of 10 autumn calves, they have had one monster born by c-section, the small calf and eight normal calves.
Born on Friday 10 November, Christa said that they initially tried taking him out to the cow for very short intervals, but he simply wasn’t able for it, so now he is living in the kitchen under the radiator.
“We have had great help from dairy farmer Darren Grennan, who has supplied [colostrum] and fresh milk for the calf.”
“I haven’t named him yet as I’m still terrified he won’t make it, but so far he’s trying very hard to stay alive.”
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