Is this possible?

[DFSC]

I had a post on here a few weeks ago about a cow and whether we should induce. Spoke with several vets about the fact that she was approaching 10 days overdue (she was AI'd and had never been out with a bull). The general opinion was wait until 10 days and see what happens. On Wednesday the 22nd we took her to the vet to be palpated. He attempted to palpate at least 4 times and said that the baby was so far back that he could barely touch it. He did not feel any signs of resistance or movement. He also performed an internal and external sonogram and could not find a heartbeat or obtain a picture of the baby. At this point he told us it COULD be sleeping, but most likely something was not right (dead). The decision was made to induce her since she was 12 days overdue. On Friday at 6 am she delivered at calf which was alive. It was very weak and its breathing was extremely labored and raspy. The calf was not able to stand due to it its front legs buckling evertime it stood. We gave him a ml of Dexamethasone to help with breathing and suctioned his mouth and nose. We attempted to feed colostrum, but the calf could simply not breathe. Long story short the calf died. Other observations aside from the problem breathing. The front hooves were very soft, yellow,  and chunks of the hoof had started to fall off. The genitalia on the calf was almost like a skin tag (he was a bull). His eyes were very tiny and lacked hair around them. He probably weighed around 70 pounds and otherwise, looked like a healthy calf. SO my questions are, was the baby premature even though he was 12 days late? Is this possible? Would the baby have developed and been born if we would have not induced and let mother nature take care of it? I'm a nurse and the only thing I could think of is that this baby had some sort of utero-placental insufficiency. I really wanted to get my hands on the placenta and check the arteries and vein, but momma was very protective and it was not worth my life. What do you guys think? Could it be possible that this baby is almost like a "failure to thrive" case? This cow has had two other calves, both of which were healthy and grew.

 

[OH Breeder]

You had no coverage on the bull end. She only could have been AI? Sure of AI dates.
If the cow was 12 days overdue it is unlikely the calf would appear premature. I would say their was something else at work here. Way you describe the physicial appearance is a bit premature.

 

[DFSC]

There is NO way the dates were wrong. That is why it is so confusing! She was AI'ed and we do not have a bull nor do any of our neighbors.

 

[OH Breeder]

sounds like something else then if not premature and was overdue.
We had one born premature in January and i had it sent for necrospy. I also sent an ear in for evaluation. Never heard anything about ear from Beevers folks. But state replied back and said there were no viruses or bacteria that caused my abortion. It was purebred shorthorn so we kind scratched our head.

 

[DFSC]

Bump!

 

[flacowman]

It's called uterus didelphys or 2 uteruses.  It could possibly be pregnancies in both horns but in women that latin name is the term for it

 

[DFSC]

Bump

 

[comercialfarmer]

Sorry to hear about your calf.
Without a necropsy, you will never know anything for sure.  It is your cow and you know her surroundings better than anyone, but the most logical answer from the info provided  has already been given- premature calf.  Your delivering vet would be the best source.  If your a nurse, you know that lack of surfactant does not allow lungs to expand or exchange oxygen appropriately- in my mind this can explain his respiratory distress and failure to thrive. 

Mother Nature tends to do a pretty good job of knowing when its time.  Notice, (all genetic defects that I am aware of) calves may be defective but are born (or labor started) around the appropriate due date.  The defective calf does not stop the uterus from contracting.  Just the calves that are too big to be delivered cause a dystocia- they can't fit through the birth canal. If  their is an issue with the uterus not contracting, it is due to something only involving the dam-such as  low calcium, low energy, etc.  Fetuses that die are generally aborted quickly.  There is a complex hormonal feedback system that the calf, uterus, and mom are all apart of.  My take is that when something goes wrong and communication is lost, autopilot is preset for abort and try again next time.

Extrapolating too much human medicine into cattle can get us into trouble.  My understanding, inducing women is generally done with babies so they don't get to big before the come on their own- but they will be coming on their own with a big birth weight.  Your kiddo was still small. 

Could be immaculate conception- it is reported in teenagers quite frequently.