GRAPHIC: Rare 2-headed calf born on farm

EDMONSON COUNTY, Ky. (WBKO/Gray News) - A rare event occurred on a Kentucky farm late last month when a calf was born with two heads.

Cassie Tarter of Tarter Farms discovered the calf on Sept. 24.

“I had gone to class and got all my classes out of the way,” Tarter said. “My dad sent me the pictures of the calf at the house. With my grandfather holding it I said, ‘What is he going to do with that?’ He said, ‘I don’t know. You’ll have to talk to him.’ I said, ‘I want it.’”

While two-headed animals are rare, they often face serious health conditions and have a short life expectancy.

Sadly, Tarter’s calf passed away shortly after it was born due to a birth defect.

“When they have two heads like this one did, you have to watch for birth defects,” Tarter said.

The calf has experienced an abnormally shaped spine that inverted into his chest cavity. As a result, it made it difficult for the calf to breathe.

In addition to the irregular spine shape, the calf experienced a cleft palate in one of its mouths, arthrogryposis, or multiple-jointed legs, and an underdeveloped rectum. These health conditions did not provide much chance for the calf to live properly.

Warning: The images below may be graphic for some viewers.

Tarter, an agricultural student at Western Kentucky University, shared the story with her professor. This unfortunate event turned into a valuable learning opportunity for her class.

“It was amazing being able to learn from it,” she said. “When I walked in the classroom with the calf, everybody was like, ‘Oh, is that the two-headed calf?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, it is.’”

Despite the loss of the calf, Tarter’s Farms continues to thrive with other farm animals, corn, and soybeans.

According to Tarter, she said the chances of this calf being born with two heads is about one in 400 million.

Copyright 2024 WBKO via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.