Calf deformities at birth are caused by a wide range of issues, including physical, nutritional, infectious, and genetic. Some remain a mystery. Alex Roberts, from Garston Veterinary...

An easily observed sign of a difficult birth is brown or yellow staining of the calf’s hair coat from the meconium. If a calf does not stand and nurse within one hour of birth, the calf must be fed colostrum either milked from the dam or use a commercial colostrum replacement.

When a pregnant cow consumes the lupine plant between days 40 to 60 of gestation, their calf may be born with crippled-calf (crooked-calf) disease, a crooked-leg condition. Two-headed calves and calves with extra legs may be the result of fetal development mistakes.

• Calves born dead or die shortly after birth • Water-logged appearance, small lungs, no lymph glands • Fetus begins to accumulate fluid by 6th month of gestation, gestation may be shorter than usual, calves may be enormous (> 200 lb.) • Missense mutation identified, testable Protoporphyria • Found in Limousin cattle

Feeding silage, baleage, or apple pulp to pregnant beef cows requires careful management or congenital defects may affect calves. A calf affected by congenital chondrodystrophy of unknown origin (CCUO) with characteristic shortened and bowed legs.