Thursday, January 8, 2009

That didn't last long

One of my bro's Holstein calves died last night.  They had all been hit with a case of shipping fever (the stress of transporting them weakens them till they catch something) and were all starting to show pneumonia so on Saturday night we did an emergency call to a vet and picked up a ton of medications.  They seemed to work and knocked the cough and fever out fast, but things have been going down hill for both the holsteins since then.  I don't know if the other one will pull through or not.  The jerseys seem to be doing much better.  

It sure is hard seeing them pass on though - that much I can tell you.  It ain't fun.  We did a lot for them, but it wasn't enough.

2 comments:

angela michelle said...

bummer. So are you going to butcher it?

Farmer Joe said...

That would be a big no. First, I beleive it is generally frowned upon to butcher animals that die of disease. Second, he was really wasted away from being sick so long and skinny to start with. Third, we had just spent the whole week pumping him full of medications. Fourth, one of those medications is actually illegal to use in animals intended for food unless you are treating them specifically for pneumonia (which we were.)

He hit the bonfire last night :(