Two-headed calf defies the odds after birth on US farm
A rare calf born with two faces – four eyes, two noses, two mouths and two ears – continued to flourish today, eight days after its birth at a southwest Louisiana farm in the US.
The calf's mother gave birth on the night of February 27.
The owners of Breaux Farms LLC in Cossinade, a community about 145 kilometres west of Baton Rouge, said the calf, which appears normal from the ears back, was named "Deux Face".
The chance of this type of birth is one in 400 million, Eric and Dawn Breaux said in a post on Facebook.
"We know this calf will have a short life span and will most likely only live a few days," Dawn Breaux said.
"She has beaten a lot of odds by being born alive."
Most calves with polycephaly, the condition of having more than one head, are stillborn. Some live for several hours or days.
According to Ripley's Believe It or Not!, the oldest living two-faced calf survived for 40 days.
At 8 days old, Deux Face is making slow progress under the care of several veterinarians and the Breauxs, the Facebook posts said.
"She has trouble lifting her head but is holding it up more and more as she is getting stronger," Dawn Breaux said in an update.
"She is not standing on her own yet so she is unable to nurse on her mum. We have been bottle feeding her from the start."
Deux Face is using a sling for support as she works on building her leg muscles. An update from the Breauxs says they "brought her outside to get some sun and a little time with the other cows."
The calf is not for sale.
In one of their updates, the Breauxs said they are not allowing any visitors or photos for the calf's safety and for her "wellbeing and our privacy, we are not allowing any media involvement."
The calf is able to breathe through both its noses and can bottle-feed with both mouths.
The Breauxs said its eyes responded to light and movement.
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