Two-headed calf shocks farmer
By Dani-elle Dube, Ottawa Sun
First posted: Wednesday, June 24, 2015 05:45 PM EDT | Updated: Thursday, June 25, 2015 06:39 AM EDT
What Duane White witnessed in his barn last April was legen ... wait for it -- dairy.
It was so rare, in fact, that it was more likely for him to win the lottery 14 times, be eaten by a shark 35 times and be struck by lightning 571 times.
He saw the birth of a two-headed calf.
"It was very odd," said White. "My son Wesley and I were just in shock."
It was April 26 when one of White's cows went into labour in his Beachburg, Ont., barn. At first, the delivery was fairly routine but that all changed when the calf became stuck.
So the two farmers each took a hind leg and pulled.
After 45 minutes of labour, there she was in all her Ripley's Believe It Or Not glory -- the segmental cross calf with two heads, four eyes, two snouts and only one body.
He quite literally had a cow.
"I've never seen anything like this in all my years of farming," said White. "Neither has my father who has been a farmer for all of his life too."
But sadly, the calf had died in the birth canal and was just laying on the barn floor motionless.
The mother stared at her calf waiting for it to move -- but nothing.
Knowing that her calf was dead, she still took the time to clean her off before she went back to her herd.
White's first thought was to call a taxidermist and get the animal preserved. The taxidermist said he would make arrangements to pick up the calf, but in the meantime to keep in in a cold place so it didn't decompose. So White placed it in a large freezer.
But after a couple of days he went back to check on the animal and saw that his freezer had given out.
The animal was no more.
Not only did White lose about $1,000 for the calf, but he lost a piece of home decor that would have been priceless.
Oddly enough, despite the one in 400,000,000 chance of a cow birth like this happening, another cow with the same condition, known as polycephaly, was born in Baker County, Fla., that same week.
Her name was Annabel and she survived the birth. However, it isn't clear if she is still alive.
According to Ripley's Believe It Or Not, the longest a cow with two heads has lived was 40 days.
Twitter: @danielledube13
The two-headed calf that was born in Duane White's Beachburg, Ont., barn April 26, 2015. The calf did not survive the birth. (Submitted photo)
By Dani-elle Dube, Ottawa Sun
First posted: Wednesday, June 24, 2015 05:45 PM EDT | Updated: Thursday, June 25, 2015 06:39 AM EDT
What Duane White witnessed in his barn last April was legen ... wait for it -- dairy.
It was so rare, in fact, that it was more likely for him to win the lottery 14 times, be eaten by a shark 35 times and be struck by lightning 571 times.
He saw the birth of a two-headed calf.
"It was very odd," said White. "My son Wesley and I were just in shock."
It was April 26 when one of White's cows went into labour in his Beachburg, Ont., barn. At first, the delivery was fairly routine but that all changed when the calf became stuck.
So the two farmers each took a hind leg and pulled.
After 45 minutes of labour, there she was in all her Ripley's Believe It Or Not glory -- the segmental cross calf with two heads, four eyes, two snouts and only one body.
He quite literally had a cow.
"I've never seen anything like this in all my years of farming," said White. "Neither has my father who has been a farmer for all of his life too."
But sadly, the calf had died in the birth canal and was just laying on the barn floor motionless.
The mother stared at her calf waiting for it to move -- but nothing.
Knowing that her calf was dead, she still took the time to clean her off before she went back to her herd.
White's first thought was to call a taxidermist and get the animal preserved. The taxidermist said he would make arrangements to pick up the calf, but in the meantime to keep in in a cold place so it didn't decompose. So White placed it in a large freezer.
But after a couple of days he went back to check on the animal and saw that his freezer had given out.
The animal was no more.
Not only did White lose about $1,000 for the calf, but he lost a piece of home decor that would have been priceless.
Oddly enough, despite the one in 400,000,000 chance of a cow birth like this happening, another cow with the same condition, known as polycephaly, was born in Baker County, Fla., that same week.
Her name was Annabel and she survived the birth. However, it isn't clear if she is still alive.
According to Ripley's Believe It Or Not, the longest a cow with two heads has lived was 40 days.
Twitter: @danielledube13
The two-headed calf that was born in Duane White's Beachburg, Ont., barn April 26, 2015. The calf did not survive the birth. (Submitted photo)