Guinness World Records and Ripley’s Believe It or Not visited Davidson on Monday, March 25th, to certify the birth of a three-headed calf.
The tricephalic red angus cross calf was born around two in the morning on Gordon Willner’s farm west of Davidson. Its weight was 113 pounds. It had been a routine day on the farm during calving season before to the historic event. The cow was being kept an eye on since she was about to give birth. It became apparent that the birth was not progressing as anticipated as her due date drew near. Concerned, Willner placed his arm inside the cow and felt one head, then another. He asked for help, thinking it was a set of twins.
Dr. Olaf Lipro, a big animal veterinary medicine resident at the University of Saskatchewan, responded to the need for help. He got at the location, looked around, and came to the conclusion that there were two heads there. After the delivery stalled, he decided to do an s-section. It was Lipro’s first time administering a ,,C-s” to a cow. He claimed to have performed one on a pug who was having trouble giving birth to her pug/Rottweiler babies around three weeks earlier. Lipro added: ,,That went incredibly well. I thought getting these twins out of Gord’s cow should be a piece of cake.”
After giving the cow a topical anesthetic, Lipro performed the procedure as outlined in his textbook. He took hold of the second hind leg, fastened it to a calving chain, and then pulled it out with a great deal of force. The calf stood still. He was surprised at how difficult it was to remove the calf. The pug/Rottweiler puppies, he observed, came out easily. They had to act quickly to get the calf out safely since they were running out of time and the cow’s life was in danger. Lipro exerted all of his force against the restraints. Finally, the calf became free. He was shocked to see that what he thought was the first of a pair of twin calves was really a three-headed calf.
,,I was very stunned.” Lipro said. He asserted that he has heard of two-headed calves giving birth in the past but never a three-headed calf. He said that his immediate response was to get out his phone and post it on social media. Then he realized he had to return to his job. To make sure the calf could breathe, he looked at all three of its airways. The central head of one of the heads looked to be in the sss position. According to Lipro, he had to clear the animal’s snout of amniotic fluid. While some people utilize a piece of straw, Lipro claims to have discovered a new method. He asserts that he uses the straw from a Tim Hortons Iced Capp to suck the bothersome fluid out of a nostril.
He said: ,,Other cattle producers might want to employ this tactic on their cow-calf ranches.” He suggested that a Twisted Sisters milkshake straw may work in a pinch. Given that Twisted Sisters is still closed for the season, farmers should be cautious about relying on this. When he managed to get the calf breathing, he turned his attention to the cow. He cleaned it, then stitched her up. The calf was laying on the ground, and Lipro tubed colostrum into its left head since it was having trouble sucking a bottle. Then, realizing that there would be no second opportunity, I tubed the right head as well to see if I could.
The calf required bottle feeding for the first 48 hours as it struggled to stand, but after that time it started sucking on its own. By the third day, it was able to hold itself. All three heads clashed as they attempted to latch on, making nursing difficult. According to Lipro, the calf’s prognosis is not good. A two-headed calf seldom ever survives more than a few days, whereas a three-headed calf rarely does. Only time will tell, said Lipro. Although a three-headed calf was born in Illinois in 1893, it’s conceivable that this one is the first ever to exist.
A three-headed calf was born in the area. Southeast and slightly north of the Monroe school building, according to a Lafayette farmer’s story in the Mattoon Gazette in Mattoon, Coles County, Illinois, on January 13, 1893. He requests that his name be kept secret so that the guilty party can be prosecuted. …whatever it involves.
When Lipro shared a picture on Instagram, Guinness World Records and Ripley’s came running into Davidson, according to Lipro. He expressed regret for bringing up the Willner property so extensively. ,,I let my ego get the better of me, Lipro said. According to the author. As soon as I realized it was a tricephalic calf, I began considering how I may use it as a thesis topic for my PhD under Dr. Newt Scamander at the College of Large and Unusual Animals at veterinary science.”