A farmer was baffled after her pig gave birth to a bizarre mutant piglet with two heads and three eyes - which has survived for FIVE MONTHS.

Bernadeth Borromeo Buendia was excited when her farm animal she was breeding went into labour in Bicol province, the Philippines, on August 18.

Six little healthy piglets were born but they were shocked when the seventh baby emerged.

The male piglet had two heads that were stuck together with three eyes and two mouths on a shared body.

The farmer said the piglet was unlike anything she had seen before, but she thought it was special so she kept it as a pet.

Bernadeth, who this week handed the pig over to government chiefs for research, said: "The pig is unique so I want him to stay with us. I want to take care of him because he is special."

Bernadeth made a small bed for the strange piglet and fed it milk using a baby bottle. She also let her children play with it like a pet puppy.

The malformed creature survived throughout the months after receiving special care from the farmer.

It is now five-months-old and appears to be growing healthily without other serious health conditions.

The proud pet owner said: "We did not expect him to live this long and we can say he is lucky because we have received many blessings in recent months."

Details of the piglet emerged this week after a worker from the Department of Agriculture who heard about the mutant creature asked to adopt it instead so they can use it for animal research.

The farmer agreed to surrender the pig and said she understands that her pet could help the agency more.

The piglet is scheduled to be handed over to the authorities before the year ends, but the farmer could still visit it while it lives at the research facility.

The piglet is believed to have Polycephaly, a genetic mutation which results in the offspring having more than one head. The most commonly observed two-headed animals are within turtle and snake species.

Two-headed piglets happen in the same way that Siamese twins do. A developing embryo begins to split into identical twins but then stops midway, leaving the twins joined.