This morning I had a calf from a 12 year old cow, that I am assuming is part bull, part heifer. It has the back end of a female, but long 4" hair hanging down in a tuft. Then between the rear legs, like the crease area, there is what appears to be a small sack on each side. One in the crease of one leg, and one in the other. Each "sack" is about the size of my thumb, but nothing in them. Do I need to do something with this calf? Will it be okay? I have just never seen anything like this, so sorry to be "dumb". It appears fine, although I have not seen it urinate, so I am a little puzzled, as to how this will work if it has boy and girl parts?
hermaphrodite calf concerns, update
- Thread starter Dee
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Jeanne - Simme Valley
Well-known member
It may have been a set of twins and one died and was obsorbed. If it is able to urinate & defocate, I would just raise her/him as a steer.
The calf is still alive, but seems slow, and somewhat uncomfortable. I pulled it off mom yesterday, I thought it wasn't going to make it another day. I have given it a little milk replacer. I have called 2 different vet clinics. One has never seen anything like it, and didn't even want to look at it. The other said they didn't know what to do, but offered to send someone to euthinize (sp) it. It seems to strain to poop, but does manage to get a little out. The vulva is very low, but also has a small opening, not even the size of a pencil, that it may be able to pass a little urine out of. After getting nothing positive from the vet, I had my AI tech stop. His opinion was to cut the openings for manure and urine a little bigger. Should I attempt a "do it yourself" surgery, or assume that at 5 days old if it isn't dead yet it should be fine?
Caustic Burno
Well-known member
Dee put a 22 bullet in its head and skin it out some you can't save. The best this calf has to look forward to is chili meat today or next month or so.
GMN
Well-known member
Dee":yu8d0551 said:
I'd just let nature take it course. I definetely would not shoot it as Caustic man suggested!! Hope it all works out.
IMO it's pretty close to the same cost to keep the cow with or without the calf - I'd just leave the calf with its dam, (no milk replacer!), and as long as the calf appears healthy and isn't in pain, I'd just adopt a wait-n-see approach. If it's 5 days old it must have a working input and output system, so I wouldn't worry too much.
Might be a freemartin heifer calf where the bull twin was absorbed at some point. I've heard that they can range from looking perfectly normal to having some additional parts or extremely messed-up vulvas, depending on the severity. And there's no problem with raising a freemartin...I have one here and she's fine.
Might be a freemartin heifer calf where the bull twin was absorbed at some point. I've heard that they can range from looking perfectly normal to having some additional parts or extremely messed-up vulvas, depending on the severity. And there's no problem with raising a freemartin...I have one here and she's fine.
Caustic Burno
Well-known member
GMN":10eos8jh said:
Man that sounds like a responsible Cattleman just let it suffer through life to be hamburger in a month or two. Or sink enough money into to still turn it into hamburger. Lesson one ruthless culling of the herd time to cull Dee.
J
Well-known member
If you can see that it is suffering then yes you need to put it down but if it's not and your not having to pump alot of money into it to keep it alive I say keep it till you can sell it.
Bama
Well-known member
If it ain't suffering now, wait until the poop stiffens up. You can bet it will be suffering them. I'm with Caustic. Cut your losses while you can. Quicker you do the less of a loss on your part and less pain and suffering on the calfs part.
SPRINGER FARMS MURRAY GRE
Well-known member
Bama":6aza4iot said:
Agreed! ;-)
:cboy:
Ryder
Well-known member
Dee said:
