Calf born with fifth leg attached to her head finally gets her forever home

A calf born with a fifth leg on her head has been given a forever home by a loving couple.

Elsie the baby Black Angus cow had been separated from her mother at a livestock auction and faced a horrible future if she wasn’t cared for quickly.

Matt Alexander, a 38-year-old farmer, spotted the unusual animal and immediately texted some pictures of her to his fiancée Maghin Davis.

‘As soon as I saw her I said: “We have to have her”,’ said Maghin, 29, who helps run a farm with Matt.

‘No one was going to bid on her and her mum wasn’t there, so she won’t survive.

‘She had just been born and she was so helpless, we couldn’t let her die.

‘I take on rescues. You never know what there’s going to be at our house, I actually feel weird if I’m not bottle feeding something.

‘Most people think of cattle as their livelihood, they don’t rescue animals, so when they see a calf like Elsie they just see her as a problem, a waste.’

Maghin and Matt managed to track down the mother, reunited her with Elsie and brought them both back to their pastures in Hathaway, Louisiana.

‘They seemed really happy to be back together and Elsie’s mom started feeding her right away,’ said Maghin.

‘We were also bottle feeding her to build up her strength.’

Elsie is now happy and healthy at three weeks old.

‘She’s a little spitfire now, she has a very curious personality, she likes to explore, she’s brave, she wants to be out and about and roaming, she’s so spunky and cute.

‘She’s thriving big time and her mom is very protective over her.

‘She started bucking for the first time the other day.’

Maghin learned that Elsie’s condition is called polymelia and occurs roughly once in every 100,000 births.

The caring farmers are currently consulting with veterinarians to assess whether they should have Elsie’s fifth leg amputated.