Calf split down the middle

Help Support CattleToday:

Fate

Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2017
Messages
10
Reaction score
5
Hello! I'm very concerned for one of our newborn calves. I've never seen anything like this before. To explain the picture, he has TWO scrotums and hardly a sheath over his penis, my finger is holding one scrotum up, the other is below the split. The split runs from his rectum to about 2 inches from his umbilical cord. There is no bleeding and he doesn't seem to be in pain. He is otherwise seemingly healthy. So, I'm thinking he just didn't develop correctly. Has anyone encountered this? He is washed and in a clean pen with shavings. The vet is coming to have a look in the morning.

 
Interesting, it looks healthy enough. Have you seen him pee and where it came from. It sort of looks as though his urethra hasn't formed a tube and is just open.

Ken
 
Hypospadias is the scientific term for this condition. Fairly common in humans, but I've never seen one, in person, in a calf.
Pretty sure that Sizmic posted photos of one born in his herd several years back, though his, IIRC, was perhaps not so extensive as yours
 
I'm certainly not knowledgeable on the condition. But I know exactly what I would do.
I would observe and as long as the calf looked comfortable and functioning ok I would let it be and hope for a check.

As soon as I saw a down turn I would immediately administer a highgrit.
 
callmefence":2dpthis3 said:
I'm certainly not knowledgeable on the condition. But I know exactly what I would do.
I would observe and as long as the calf looked comfortable and functioning ok I would let it be and hope for a check.

As soon as I saw a down turn I would immediately administer a highgrit.

I would also count to 4 when putting on bands
 
M-5":3dwa9x8g said:
callmefence":3dwa9x8g said:
I'm certainly not knowledgeable on the condition. But I know exactly what I would do.
I would observe and as long as the calf looked comfortable and functioning ok I would let it be and hope for a check.

As soon as I saw a down turn I would immediately administer a highgrit.

I would also count to 4 when putting on bands

Count To four....When did you get that kinda education?
 
callmefence":1q66t36t said:
M-5":1q66t36t said:
callmefence":1q66t36t said:
I'm certainly not knowledgeable on the condition. But I know exactly what I would do.
I would observe and as long as the calf looked comfortable and functioning ok I would let it be and hope for a check.

As soon as I saw a down turn I would immediately administer a highgrit.

I would also count to 4 when putting on bands

Count To four....When did you get that kinda education?

Fate":1q66t36t said:
he has TWO scrotums and hardly a sheath over his penis,
 
Just because he has "two scrotums" does not mean 4 testis. If you looked up the label Lucky put on here, the information and pictures show a single scrotum that is split, with one testicle on each side. The problem lies with the urethra, and how the calf can urinate. I hope Fate reports back with what the vet said, interesting situation here. I would like to see a picture of the underside, from the scrotum to the sheath...
 
The vet came around 11. We had preg checks today so we didn't get to see him until about 3pm. It turns out, he had no anus and no penis. He had one hole, where a female vulva would be, that he was passing urine AND stool from. This meant that he wasn't properly developed inside. We opted to euthanize him and do a dissection, as he would never be able to pass a more solid stool from his only hole. During, we found his testicles were near his kidneys, his colon was attached to a ureter directly from his kidney. His right lung had never inflated. His kidneys were enlarged and discolored as well. He had milk in his rumen. He did also have a deformity of his spine. He was up and walking around but didn't look as bright as he was last night. She took some photos of the dissection and is sending them to me when she gets home. I can post them here if that's ok with everyone.
 
Fate":8fr8drtz said:
The vet came around 11. We had preg checks today so we didn't get to see him until about 3pm. It turns out, he had no anus and no penis. He had one hole, where a female vulva would be, that he was passing urine AND stool from. This meant that he wasn't properly developed inside. We opted to euthanize him and do a dissection, as he would never be able to pass a more solid stool from his only hole. During, we found his testicles were near his kidneys, his colon was attached to a ureter directly from his kidney. His right lung had never inflated. His kidneys were enlarged and discolored as well. He had milk in his rumen. He did also have a deformity of his spine. He was up and walking around but didn't look as bright as he was last night. She took some photos of the dissection and is sending them to me when she gets home. I can post them here if that's ok with everyone.

Appreciate the update. Been at it a long time, and never seen one of those.
 
Fate":2ont20jf said:
The vet came around 11. We had preg checks today so we didn't get to see him until about 3pm. It turns out, he had no anus and no penis. He had one hole, where a female vulva would be, that he was passing urine AND stool from. This meant that he wasn't properly developed inside. We opted to euthanize him and do a dissection, as he would never be able to pass a more solid stool from his only hole. During, we found his testicles were near his kidneys, his colon was attached to a ureter directly from his kidney. His right lung had never inflated. His kidneys were enlarged and discolored as well. He had milk in his rumen. He did also have a deformity of his spine. He was up and walking around but didn't look as bright as he was last night. She took some photos of the dissection and is sending them to me when she gets home. I can post them here if that's ok with everyone.

Please do, many of us are interested in learning about these things. Was this a purebred calf, and if so, what was the breed? If not, what was the breed make up? Does the vet think it was just an anomaly causing the birth defect, or could it have a genetic link?
Sorry to hear you had to put him down, but you made the right decision after all the deformities were discovered!
 

Latest posts

Top