Calf born with deformed head

[WarEagle73]

We had a calf born yesterday with a pretty major skull/head deformity. The calf was born alive, but exhibited extremely limited/impaired mental capacity. Could not stand. Made no effort to right itself. Wildly kicked its legs. It looks a lot like a Neuropathic Hydrocephalus (NH) calf to me (or at least like the pictures I have found on the internet).

The calf is out of a second calf cow sired by a Mytty In Focus son out of a commercial cow with some Holstein influence (25%). The sire of the calf is a Simangus. After some digging, the bull does go back to Precision 1680, but through a NHF son. EDIT-Kept digging and found a NH Carrier cow on the bottom of the bulls pedigree. Maternal grand-dam, but again through a NHF daughter. Additionally the bull that the cow is sired by appears to be NHF and I actually had a handful of accidental father-daughter matings last year with no ill effects like this.

Below are a couple pictures. I should have taken it to our diagnostic lab, but dad had it buried before I thought about it. Thoughts on possible causes?

 

[dun]

We had a calf several years ago like that. The cows previous calves and later were all normal. Vet split it's head and called it some type of Hypocephalus something. All of the usually open cavities in the head were full of stuff that looked like snot.
He figured she was exposed to something, no idea what, that cause it to form that way.

 

[branguscowgirl]

Was there some kind of enlargement in the abdomen also, or is that a leg?

 

[branguscowgirl]

Looks like the skull did not close and the brain formed outside of it.

 

[Lucky_P]

Hydrocephalus,for sure. Not all cases are due to a heritable genetic defect like NH...but due to recent concerns about it - it's the first thing most of us think about. I know I did, when I saw the photo!

Sounds like you've done the requisite sleuthing on the pedigree... provided that all animals in the pedigree are as represented. (Case in point... there's currently a very popular Angus sire whose dam was registered as a daughter of DHD Traveler 6807... but later was determined to actually be a daughter of Vermilion Dateline 7078).
Sometimes there are errors in pedigrees... whether by mistake(as in the above) or by intent.
Sometimes cows 'switch' calves... black Angus cows with black Angus calves...calving together in a pasture... and you didn't see it happen... how do you KNOW for sure which calf REALLY belongs with which cow? Are you sure the mating you recorded for that cow is what's actually in that bull or heifer calf that she's mothering?

Back in the day, to prove a bull 'free of known genetic defects', you'd have to breed him to 35 of his own daughters... if all calves were normal, there was a greater than 95% likelihood that he was not a carrier of anything bad. A 'handful' of sire/daughter matings with no problems don't rise to that level.

If you're determined to 'rule out' NH as a possibility, you could dig the calf up, cut off an ear and submit that for testing... or test the sire and dam.

 

[wbvs58]

It was said that the cow had some Holstein in her background. Holsteins have many genetic defects recorded, I don't know whether NH is one of them though.

Ken

 

[WarEagle73]

Hydrocephalus,for sure. Not all cases are due to a heritable genetic defect like NH...but due to recent concerns about it - it's the first thing most of us think about. I know I did, when I saw the photo!

Sounds like you've done the requisite sleuthing on the pedigree... provided that all animals in the pedigree are as represented. (Case in point... there's currently a very popular Angus sire whose dam was registered as a daughter of DHD Traveler 6807... but later was determined to actually be a daughter of Vermilion Dateline 7078).
Sometimes there are errors in pedigrees... whether by mistake(as in the above) or by intent.
Sometimes cows 'switch' calves... black Angus cows with black Angus calves...calving together in a pasture... and you didn't see it happen... how do you KNOW for sure which calf REALLY belongs with which cow? Are you sure the mating you recorded for that cow is what's actually in that bull or heifer calf that she's mothering?

Back in the day, to prove a bull 'free of known genetic defects', you'd have to breed him to 35 of his own daughters... if all calves were normal, there was a greater than 95% likelihood that he was not a carrier of anything bad. A 'handful' of sire/daughter matings with no problems don't rise to that level.

If you're determined to 'rule out' NH as a possibility, you could dig the calf up, cut off an ear and submit that for testing... or test the sire and dam.

We run a single bull herd and the neighbors don't have Angus or Simangus cattle so I am pretty certain on the bull. I watched the cow lay down and have the calf so I am 100% certain on that end. I plan on testing the sire and dam both. I have some decent heifers out of the bull this year and about 20 half sisters to the cow, so I want to make sure it isn't genetic. I don't believe it is, but I need to be sure. Can't afford many problems like this with a limited number of cows.

Also, I realize 5 or 6 father daughter matings isn't a real good indicator. The cow that had this deformed calf was one of those heifers though. It isn't enough to rule anything out, but it also does cast some doubt on the genetic defect side of things.

Thanks for the comments! Glad to know I'm not the only one who thought NH quickly though.