Six calves cloned simultaneously in Henan

A cloned male Blonde d'Aquitane calf at Henan Gold Cattle Agriculture Development Co., Ltd in Xuchang city, Central China's Henan province, on Dec 10, 2015. [Photo/IC]

Six male Blonde d'Aquitane calves were cloned from a small piece of their father's ear in Central China's Henan province, marking the first time that the nation has ever cloned these many Blonde d'Aquitane calves at one go, Dahe Daily reported.

Being raised at Henan Gold Cattle Agriculture Development Co., Ltd in Xuchang city, the calves, all more than one-month-old, are nearly one-meter-tall, plump and sturdy with wheat yellow hairs.

"With three meals every day, the calves have two-kilograms of milk powder, pellet feed and some hay for each meal. When they are three months old, they will be gradually weaned," said Lyu Bo, a technician at the company.

The six are the only calves of Blonde d'Aquitaine cows, a French cattle breed in China, since "there is only one male Blonde d'Aquitane around the country, and cloning is the only way to have more Blonde d'Aquitanes," said Liu Hongbo, a technical director at Greengens, a company cooperated with Henan Gold Cattle Agriculture Development Co., Ltd in the cloning.