Published: March 31, 2006 10:07 am      

Whopper junior

Congratulations! It’s a 183-pound baby boy.

Folks at the Blue Hyll Dairy are still amazed and neighbors are coming from miles around to get a look at a bull that was born at the farm on Feb. 28.

Loran Burken, owner of Blue Hyll Dairy, has been a dairy farmer since 1965.

Through the last 41 years, and approximately 1,000 calves born each year at the farm, he’s never seen anything like this.

“Not even close, never ever,” said Burken. “Not at birth.”

He said the average birth weight of a calf at birth ranges from 90 to 110 pounds. This calf, a Montbeliarde and Holstein cross, tipped the scales at birth at a whopping 183-pounds.

“Basically, that calf was like a two-month-old when it was born,” said Burken.

The calf was delivered by Dr. Jessica Bates of the DeWitt Veterinary Clinic. The family and dairy staff members attempted to assist in the birth, but as the mother was having increasing difficulty they called for a vet.

After several minutes of trying to help the mother deliver, Bates delivered the calf by performing an emergency Cesarean section on the cow. The mother did not survive.

Bates said she has heard of cases of large calves being born, but not this big.

“This is by far the biggest one I’ve ever seen,” Bates said. “That was the biggest one I’ve ever tried to pull.”

Burken’s son, Martin, said they had no idea the calf would be that big when it was delivered.

“I have seen a lot of calves born in my time, but this one is in a league of its own,” Martin Burken said. “It’s so far out we can’t even fathom it.”

The calf, now one month old, is still larger than its older counterparts at the farm. While the family usually sells young bulls, Burken said Blue Hyll intends to keep this guy around for a awhile.

“We’re just going to see what he turns in to, how big he’ll get,” said Burken. The family said they intend to look into finding out whether this could be a record for largest birth weight of a calf.

A cow once touted as “the largest calf in the world” was a Hereford steer known as Old Ben. The steer was born in 1902 in Kokomo, Ind., at a weight of 125 pounds at birth.

According to a representative of the Iowa State Holstein Association, calves have been documented to weigh up to 165 pounds at birth.