‘Really wonderful miracle’: Two-headed calf born on Utah ranch

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PAROWAN, Utah (ABC4) — Of the more than 35 million calves born each year, only one or two are born with two heads. This year, one was born on a Southern Utah ranch.

Dry Lakes Ranch in Parowan has been raising cattle for over 50 years, but in the hundreds of calves that have been delivered on their land, they had never delivered one with two heads, until Friday.

On May 1, a pregnant cow on Dry Lakes Ranch went into labor. Kacie Carballo, one of the farm owners, told ABC4.com that although they are typically left to labor naturally alone, her husband stepped in when this labor seemed to be going awry.

“When there was no progress made after a couple of hours, they decided they needed to intervene,” said Carballo.

Calves typically present with their front feet and head folded between their legs, which was what happened here, except this time, another head followed.

“They just were absolutely shocked and did everything they could,” Carballo said.

Unfortunately, the calf was stillborn, but Carballo said that she sees the opportunity to witness something as rare as this birth as a blessing.

A two-headed calf, known as dicephalus parapagus, is extremely rare. According to a study in the International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences (IJCMAS), only about one in every 35 million calves are born with this deformity.

“It was a special thing,” she said. “We see it as a really wonderful miracle that we were given on our farm and ranch. We feel like it was almost a sacred experience and we’re grateful to have had a part in it.”

Carballo praised her husband’s care with both the mother and calf saying that a lot of people would have lost the mother due to lack of care in the process of intervening.

According to Carballo, it would have been impossible for the mother to pass the calf on her own. The width of the two heads and two necks would have caused something called “dystocia,” or abnormal labor.

“My husband and his helper were able to very delicately turn and twist it and pull on it when she was having contractions and bring it out of her womb safely, as safe as it could be done,” Carballo said. “We feel like her body has been through a lot. It was somewhat traumatic for her.”

Most two-headed calves are just born with separate heads; however, this calf was born with one completely formed body that split at the shoulder blades, creating two entirely separate necks and heads.

“There were just no other deformities whatsoever. I think this little calf is actually really pretty. Her markings are beautiful,” said Carballo. “She’s a little miracle baby.”

Fortunately, Carballo told ABC4.com that the mother is recovering well. She is eating, drinking, and moving despite losing her young.

“She was given time to see the calf and lick on it, and I think she realizes that it was gone,” Carballo said. “I think she understands and is happy to just be at rest right now, too.”

As for the little “miracle baby,” Carballo said that they feel they have been given an opportunity to educate and inspire others.

The family decided that the calf would be taxidermized to preserve her unique form, and her body would be donated to science.

“I think it’s important to learn from that. We can see where the body was split, where they shared organs, and where they split, and I think it’s a vital thing to use. I think some farmers would just hurry and want to dispose of the body, bury it or compost it or whatever, but I just think that that’s a loss of a life in more than one way,” Carballo said.

Dry Lakes Ranch is a local ranch in Parowan, set on about 9,000 acres of land, that produces and sells high-quality beef. It can be found here and here.

Watch the Instagram video here.