The good die young... It hurts to get attached.

[glacierridge]

We shipped Eve Thursday.
It was very hard.

She was a great cow during her years of service, despite the odds.

She was orphaned at month cause her mother didn't bond with her, we tried many times to help but the dam nearly killed her. Shipped the mom.
At about 500# she broke both her front legs in the stantion, somehow managing to get them stuck which led to it, sometimes you wonder how they find themselves in such pickles. My brother got her legs set, she healed enough to function, Joe was gonna beef her, thought with her awful dam she was gonna be a wentch of cow too and wouldn't be able to handle pregnancy having had the front legs get broke in that freakish way so young.

My niece who was showing bought her and bred her for a club calf, she liked the animal and saw potential and took a chance.

Her dad forced her to sell all her females so my brother bought her back as she was an excellent momma. She helped nurse other calves that needed supplementing.
Had all heifers until her last one. Never needed assistance.

Gentle as could be.
Led without being broke.

And a month or two before having her fifth and final natural calf she got hurt, real bad up in the hip.
She was a dominant cow and likely was challenged.

She never healed.
She was in so much pain her body wouldn't get pregnant after always getting bred just by practically showing her the AI gun...
She had and an unsurpassed conception rate until this incident.

Joe didn't want to just lose her, have her go down and not ever get back up. A farm has bills. She wasn't getting better after nearly 8 months, hurting more all the time, it was time to face the hard truth.
That final walk onto the trailer was as hard for us as it was her. She was in so much pain she hardly could push her body up with that final step. Our hearts broke in so many directions that morning.

But before her final hour.
I made arrangements to get her flushed.
Probably the first and last time we'll ever do such thing.

The good news tho. It was fruitful. And I thank God for that. I actually did pray for a favorable outcome. I'd rather an expensive success than an expensive failure.
We got 15 #1s and 2 #2s.

I hope we have success on getting most of those as live calves on the ground too.

 

[TCRanch]

So sorry! Especially seeing her in such pain (been there). Was it a stifle injury?

 

[glacierridge]

Not real sure but possibly.
Brought her in the barn so she wouldn't get roughed up more.
Had the hoof trimmer look at her and he's who told us it was not the foot but up the the body, he thought it was more up in the hips.
We were hoping time in would help, cause many times just time away from others gives them a chance to get better.
She did seem to improve a little but not permanently, seemed to improve but then began to favor her leg again.

 

[Williamsv]

So sorry. It really hurts to lose one that you are attached to. I get too attached to some of mine.

 

[branguscowgirl]

Sorry for your loss. It pains me to put every one of them through the sale barn. Certain ones will just get put down at home when it's time.

 

[Nesikep]

It's always hard to see good cows go... My last was my old girl Rosie at nearly 18, I put her down here, she was in no shape for a 4 hour truck ride to the sale barn, and who knows how many after that (probably 8-10). She'd also had meds that weren't approved. She had 11 heifers, I have 4, but am getting rid of one this fall.

 

[A.J.]

Sorry to hear about her. It's never easy to let a favorite go even when you know it's time . It's like a kick in the gut and it takes a long while to get used to not seeing or hearing them . Hopefully you will get some good heifers out of her and carry on where she left off.

 

[chippie]

I am sorry to hear this. you gave her a good life and did the right thing by her. It is never easy.