Utah farmer witnesses rarity: 2-headed calf

Updated: Sunday, February 03, 2013 10:51 PM

YOUNG WARD, Utah (AP) -- A northern Utah farmer is donating a rarity to Utah State University for research: a two-headed calf.

The calf was delivered by a veterinarian Wednesday night on Brad Tolman's farm in Young Ward.

Logan's Herald Journal reports (http://bit.ly/WHRIbL ) that while the calf was alive when labor started, it had died by the time it was delivered.

Veterinarian Aldon Watkins says it was only the second two-headed calf he has delivered.

USU veterinary technician Sarah Behunin says the two-headed calf will be used by veterinary students to study birth defects.

She says it's unclear why two-headed calves occur, but a popular theory is that an egg begins dividing into identical twins but doesn't finish the process.

The Angus heifer that gave birth is expected to make a full recovery.

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Information from: The Herald Journal, http://www.hjnews.com