Two-Headed Calf Born on Edmonson County Farm

Submitted photo of a two-headed calf born on Tarter Farms in Pig. (Cassie Tarter)

Darren Doyle, story:
No, this is not out of a horror movie, nor is it satire. This is a real thing that happened right here in Edmonson County.

Cassie Tarter, granddaughter of local farmer and former county magistrate Charlie Tarter, shared her story of a rare, two-headed calf that was born on their farm on Tuesday, September 24th and lived only a short time.

"He was born Tuesday afternoon but sadly passed before sunset Tuesday night," Cassie said. "It happened right in the heart of Pig, Ky on Tarter Farms."

She said that reasons the calf died included being born partially undeveloped and with a damaged spine.

"I did take him to my reproduction and physiology class at Western Kentucky University to do an autopsy on him," Cassie added. "During the autopsy we found that all his organs and everything were perfect for just one calf. He had one esophagus and trachea for the two heads. Both heads had a mouth, nose, two eyes, and two ears so in total the calf had two mouths, two noses, four eyes, and four ears."

According to U.S. News and World Report, the owners of Breaux Farms LLC in Cossinade, near Baton Rouge, LA, who also experienced the same on their farm, said the chance of this type of birth is 1 in 400 million. However, some veterinarians say it may even be rarer than that. When it happens, the calves don't normally live very long.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the longest time a two-headed cow has lived is 17 months 15 days. Gemini, a heifer Holstein calf, was born on August 4, 1991 on Russell and Perry Stowells' Farm in Woodland, Michigan, weighing 749 lbs and died on January 19, 1993.

Cassie said the family was going to have the head mounted for preservation.