What the heck is going on here

[cowgirl8]

OK, not my calf. It belongs to my non-cow daughter. Her husbands grandparents raise reg brangus. This calf was out of one of their heifers, they had to pull it. The heifer would not take the calf so the grandfather gave it to my daughter.
Apparently it was a hard pull which probably had something to do with it, but i've never seen it and we've had many hard pulls in our years.
The picture doesnt do the weirdness justice, but in person this looks so weird. They plan to make him into burger. Along with his weird shoulders, he isnt growing good. I almost wonder if his shoulders were dislocated and stayed that way...although he looked find as a newborn.

 

[OwnedByTheCow]

Maybe don't rebreed to the same bull next year?

 

[tater74]

I hope he's intact. He could be next year's Craigslist herd bull prospect.

Can you get a better picture? Tough to see much from this angle.

 

[Kingfisher]

That's a shame...

 

[dun]

Demetrius reincarnated?

 

[cowgirl8]

I'm sure he'll taste as good as any other calf. Really hoping someone knows what caused this.

 

[ga.prime]

Traditionally called a birth defect. Not being up on PC terminology, I still call it that.

 

[cowgirl8]

Traditionally called a birth defect. Not being up on PC terminology, I still call it that.

Have you seen this before or are you just guessing?

 

[ga.prime]

I'm not guessing, seems to me the definition of birth defect.

birth de·fect
noun
plural noun: birth defects
a physical or biochemical abnormality that is present at birth and that may be inherited or the result of environmental influence.

 

[cowgirl8]

I'm not guessing, seems to me the definition of birth defect.

birth de·fect
noun
plural noun: birth defects
a physical or biochemical abnormality that is present at birth and that may be inherited or the result of environmental influence.

He seemed normal at birth...

 

[ga.prime]

OK, but you said it could have been caused by a hard birthing. Hard birthing would be an environmental influence.

 

[Koffi Babone]

Can you provide us with another photo?
Is the shoulder muscle development normal?
How does the calf walk around?
Did they use a calf puller or pulled by hand?

 

[cowgirl8]

Here is a front shot. The shoulders are even more pointy now, this picture is about a month old.
This calf was pulled with a wench. But heck, we've pulled some calves that brought tears to my eyes and the calf did not do this. I do have a calf with what we have concluded to being a heart defect and his shoulders are a little like this but not so exaggerated.

 

[OwnedByTheCow]

What do his parents look like? His grandparents? Is it recessive?

 

[Koffi Babone]

How is the gait of the calf and how do the front leg muscles look like? Smaller than usual?

If that is the case, it could be that there was a bit of nerve damage during the calving. It is not necessarily how hard the pull was, but rather how the calf is pulled. It is important to make sure not to "jack horizontally".

The brachial plexus (bunch of nerves that pass through the "arm pits") could have been stretched during the pull. Certain nerves are important for muscle movement (other are responsible for "sensation"), if they are damaged, the muscle is no longer stimulated and shrinks. It is kinda hard to tell from your photographs, so this is just a guess...

Treatment for this problem would have been anti-inflammatories right at the start of the problem (dexamethasone 20 mg for 3 days). However, if it has been several weeks after the trauma, I am not sure it would help any.

Hope this helps a little, good luck and keep us posted...

 

[creekdrive]

Does he get around alright? It sure looks uncomfortable?
Koffi Babone's suggestion of nerve damage seems logical to me. If it's painful for him that could explain why he isn't growing good for your daughter. Maybe it's something else though - he looks better/healthier in the 2nd picture than the top one. His expression in the top picture looks like he is unwell in some way or another...whether that's from pain or something else going on it's impossible to tell from a picture though.

Hope he picks up & starts putting on some pounds for your daughter so they at least get some good burger.

 

[cowgirl8]

How is the gait of the calf and how do the front leg muscles look like? Smaller than usual?

If that is the case, it could be that there was a bit of nerve damage during the calving. It is not necessarily how hard the pull was, but rather how the calf is pulled. It is important to make sure not to "jack horizontally".

The brachial plexus (bunch of nerves that pass through the "arm pits") could have been stretched during the pull. Certain nerves are important for muscle movement (other are responsible for "sensation"), if they are damaged, the muscle is no longer stimulated and shrinks. It is kinda hard to tell from your photographs, so this is just a guess...

Treatment for this problem would have been anti-inflammatories right at the start of the problem (dexamethasone 20 mg for 3 days). However, if it has been several weeks after the trauma, I am not sure it would help any.

Hope this helps a little, good luck and keep us posted...

Makes sense. His front end isnt growing like it should. I wasnt there when he was pulled, but i've seen some really crazy pulls where the calf was ok in the end. This is the first time i've ever seen this.
The calf walks stiff legged on his front. I dont think he's in pain and even though he's stiff, he moves pretty fast when he doesnt want you near him.

 

[Supa Dexta]

That calf isnt growing right in its other ends either though.

 

[cowgirl8]

Yep, but he'll taste the same as any other. Will be fine as burger..

 

[OwnedByTheCow]

Maybe slaughter him sooner rather than later? Do you think this might hurt his joint as he continues to grow?