TexasJerseyMilker
Well-known member
With a 15 year old cow it's always expected but you don't know when. I kind of knew 3 days ago when I sang to her with the Viking cattle call and she did not come.
She was standing at the opposite end of the field under the trees. I walked her in and kept her in the yard because she likes to stay there and look in the windows. But she would not eat her feed or hay, only grazed listlessly on green grass. I took her into the vineyard where the grass has never been grazed and held her lead rope. I picked grass for her and she took it from my hands.
The second day there was no improvement. But she still would lick me, it's her way of showing affection. The first day I ever saw Daphne was at a place in east Texas where a man raised bottle heifers for sale. I leaned on the fence looking over the heifers, felt something licking my leg and looked down. It was Daphne so I took her home.
Daphne was my first dairy cow and she raised 8 calves in her life. They were half Angus and were sold. Then, as you know, I asked God for a pure blood Jersey heifer from her. And if she did not settle with AI or if she died having it I told the Lord thy will be done and I accept it. Being an old fat cow and having no heat periods for a couple of years she conceived and delivered her miracle calf. Willow is 8 months old now and looks a lot like her mother.
There are no vets that see cattle here. That Daphne did not fill her rumen or poop much concerned me. I listened to her gut sounds with my stethoscope . There were contractions, that's how the rumen mixes it's contents, but very hypoactive. There should be about 3 a minute but there was only one. My dairy friends gave me probiotic capsules you give with a balling gun. I gave her 2 and also a vitamin B shot. She had been lying down when we did this and she did not get up. I thought, well, now we have a down cow which is usually the beginning of the end. But two hours later I sang the Viking cattle call to her and she got up. She walked over to the tree she likes to stand under. I picked her a 5 gallon bucket of fresh grass and sprinkled a little rolled corn on it to attract her. She nosed at it. It was getting dark so I went in the house and cooked dinner and we watched the rest of a movie. When I went out with a flashlight to check on her she was lying dead. I remembered the day when I first met Daphne and even on the last day of her life she had licked me. Now I will learn to let go and love her with an open hand, like God loves.
She was standing at the opposite end of the field under the trees. I walked her in and kept her in the yard because she likes to stay there and look in the windows. But she would not eat her feed or hay, only grazed listlessly on green grass. I took her into the vineyard where the grass has never been grazed and held her lead rope. I picked grass for her and she took it from my hands.
The second day there was no improvement. But she still would lick me, it's her way of showing affection. The first day I ever saw Daphne was at a place in east Texas where a man raised bottle heifers for sale. I leaned on the fence looking over the heifers, felt something licking my leg and looked down. It was Daphne so I took her home.
Daphne was my first dairy cow and she raised 8 calves in her life. They were half Angus and were sold. Then, as you know, I asked God for a pure blood Jersey heifer from her. And if she did not settle with AI or if she died having it I told the Lord thy will be done and I accept it. Being an old fat cow and having no heat periods for a couple of years she conceived and delivered her miracle calf. Willow is 8 months old now and looks a lot like her mother.
There are no vets that see cattle here. That Daphne did not fill her rumen or poop much concerned me. I listened to her gut sounds with my stethoscope . There were contractions, that's how the rumen mixes it's contents, but very hypoactive. There should be about 3 a minute but there was only one. My dairy friends gave me probiotic capsules you give with a balling gun. I gave her 2 and also a vitamin B shot. She had been lying down when we did this and she did not get up. I thought, well, now we have a down cow which is usually the beginning of the end. But two hours later I sang the Viking cattle call to her and she got up. She walked over to the tree she likes to stand under. I picked her a 5 gallon bucket of fresh grass and sprinkled a little rolled corn on it to attract her. She nosed at it. It was getting dark so I went in the house and cooked dinner and we watched the rest of a movie. When I went out with a flashlight to check on her she was lying dead. I remembered the day when I first met Daphne and even on the last day of her life she had licked me. Now I will learn to let go and love her with an open hand, like God loves.
I had a few of them myself over the years. But I never had a pet of any kind that didn’t appreciate every little act of kindness that I gave it from a simple pat on the head to an occasional bone, treat or something of the sort. Sad thing about it most pets are more neglected than the people you think you can trust.
