Losing any cattle on the farm is hard. The sudden and unexpected loss of calves is even harder. This month, we lost two beautiful calves to a situation we wished we hadn't encountered. We monitor, hope and pray no more lives of healthy cattle are taken from us this year.
On Wednesday, September 14, I noticed one of our red calves, a girl born in March, was acting lame. She wasn't walking with the herd, she had a limp to her movements, but I couldn't see any cuts or visible injuries. Usually when this happens, we assume a sprain or a snake bite. The next day, my father in law took a break from cutting hay and saw a mama cow acting strange by the pond. He looked in the pond and the red calf was laying on her side in the muddy shallow area, dead. She had a little blood coming from her mouth. What happened to her? Did she get stuck and die of starvation? Did she have a heartattack? We were left with questions and somber hearts.
A few days later, on Tuesday, September 20th, I noticed a mama and her calf away from the herd behind the house. I went out to see and immediately recognized the mama - it was Sackhead Jr. Her calf was a black haired boy, born in early May. There he was, our strongest calf of the spring, laying on his side in the damp morning grass. I tried to get him to stand up but he wouldn't. I couldn't find any visible injuries and immediately called my father in law (Rusty) and my husband. Rusty came over and couldn't figure out what was wrong and advised we get him into the shade and get him some antibiotics (a shot of LA 200). He had to leave to go to a doctors appointment. I ran home and got dressed and grabbed the needle with LA 200. I was nervous since I had never given a shot before to a cow, but I looked it up and felt confident I could do it. I gave him the shot and pet his sweet face. Drew left work, called the vet, and rushed home. This wasn't normal, this wasn't good. While it was still cool out (it wasn't peak sun yet), Drew and I rushed to the local store to get penicillin. When we returned, it was too late, the beautiful boy had passed away.
I bawled my eyes out. I felt so many emotions. What was happening? He was strong and healthy?! There is nothing sadder than watching a mama cow have that terrified and disbelief look in her eye, and then watch her (for days) look all over the pasture for her baby. We decided to load him up in the truck to bring him in for an autopsy. If we know what happened, we hope to prevent any further illnesses and losses on the farm. I share this story because it is real. Life on the farm isn't always easy. You have to take the fun and happy days with the hard and tough decision days. A small glimmer of joy - that evening, SuperSport gave birth to a cute, healthy, black calf. A boy. Sometimes when one angel goes up, God sends another one down.
