I am trying to get pictures to post. My buddy had a calve born the had an inlarged head. The palate was cleft and the mouth for the most part looked more like a birds beak. The legs seemed normal. The heifer delivered unassisted. Any ideas? What are the freaky things you people have seen?
Deformed calve
- Thread starter Scotty
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I once had a goat kid that was born with its spine shaped like an "L". Its insides were totally exposed. It was born alive, the vet had to pull it. He said it is a congenital birth defect found in cattle and goats. I had had goats all my life and had never heard of anything like that. It did not live longer than a few minutes. It was awful.
I luv herfrds
Well-known member
Had a calf like that back in '98. Came from our main herd bull. We knew that because we did not throw in our "clean up" second bull until a month and a half later. Calf was born dead. It also had a large hole where the umbilical cord was. Sold that bull immediately and bought a new one. That was the only calf that bull sired. The rest of the herd started calving about the time the second bull was put out. Tired boy. He bred 58 cows in a month and a half, not bad for a yearling. We had about 65 head.
Cow had a normal calf after that one.
Cow had a normal calf after that one.
Caustic Burno
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Was it a snorter common defomity in English breeds by your description you had Herford and Angus cross.
Caustic Burno
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Keren
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angie2":4aspvs2r said:
That sounds like a schistosomus reflexus (sp?). Creepy and very very weird thing to happen.
Scotty, argh, I've got this picture clearly in my head of a deformity like you described . . . but I cant for the life of me remember the name. It was a Poll Hereford calf . . . guess I will have to try and find the book and look it up.
Jogeephus
Well-known member
Friend of mine had a calf with two heads. Cow had it unassisted. They found her standing over it keeping the buzzards at bay. He drug it off in the woods. When I found out about it, it was too ripe. Otherwise I would have preserved it somehow and sold it to a fair or something.
randiliana
Well-known member
Here is a good link. Gives the name of the defect, and describes it to some extent. Enough that you know what you are probably looking at, and can search for more info.
http://kinne.net/ob4.htm
http://kinne.net/ob4.htm
hillsdown
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randiliana":1wvrnzib said:
Randi that is a great link .Thanks.Maybe that link should have a sticky also for the board.
R. John Johnson
Well-known member
Here's one I had last spring. Never saw anything like it before and hope to never see anything like it ever again.
John
John
hillsdown
Well-known member
Wow that is quite the picture.One I would never want to see in person.You should add it to MM's post of pics.Did you have it posted for a definitive from your vet as to the cause of defect?
R. John Johnson
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hillsdown":b5vi6uy0 said:
No. It was in the middle of calving season and I let it go. If there had been another deformed calf I would have had either or both posted. Rotten deal because I lost the cow too. The cow must have been trying to calve for a while before I discovered her. She was laying down and anther newborn tottered by and she gave it that new moma moo, Calf was delivered by section, but her uterus was so thin it tore when the incision was made. Pumped her full of drugs for 10 days before the infection finally won.
John
dyates
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Scotty":3kn3ryog said:
One possible, but not likely, answer is your vaccine. Was the heifer bred at the time of the vaccination? If so, how far along? Despite labels that say otherwise, some of the MLV vaccines can cause severe birth defects if given early in gestation. I have been advised by several veterinarians to never use any MLV vaccine on a pregnant animal. Of particular concern is BVD. I have been told it is OK to use a MLV on a pregnant animal if she had been previously vaccinated with exactly the same strain. Why take a chance. We only use killed vaccines to booster pregnant animals.
