Calf born with six feet undergoes successful op in southern France

A cow born with six feet in southern France has successfully had an operation to remove his extra hooves, and is recovering well, vets say.

The calf was born with six feet – four normal, plus two smaller extras – in Aveyron, Occitanie, two months ago.

Vets at a clinic in Pézenas, Hérault, took care of the animal, and he went under the knife a few days ago. The two extra legs were removed, to enable the calf to lead a normal life and avoid further possible complications due to the extra limbs.

The surgery took two hours and 30 minutes. The animal is now recovering and in good health, the clinic said on its Facebook page.

Facebook users who saw the post congratulated the vets on their successful work, and some suggested that the calf may have originally had a twin in the womb.

One commenter who runs a farm said: “Incredible. We had the same thing five years ago with a Montbéliard calf, and I didn’t think I’d ever see it again. In our case, it was twins, one was normal, and the other had two extra feet.

“There must have been three calves at the start of the gestation, so one must have absorbed the third calf. We didn’t get it operated on though. Our local vets had never seen such a case!”

Another commenter congratulated the vets on the successful procedure and said: “The profession still has good times ahead of it.”

One user joked: “It could have been quite practical, two extra arms for scratching your back and behind your ears!”

A calf with five feet was born in Doubs in 2019.

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