Post by finallyfarming on Feb 1, 2016 11:52:40 GMT -5
So Nelly is gone. She was a nervous cow, not much fun to be around, but she never did a thing wrong in her short life. She tested positive for BLV last fall, I had her tested because of a large lump in her udder. So she has been feeding her calf, my other cow's calf who had died last summer and a foster that did not want to be weaned. I dithered and tried to figure out what to do for the last 4 months and finally had the vet out to do a DNA test on her, but that morning found a second lump in her udder. I could not sell her, wouldn't drink her milk, and could not take her somewhere else to be butchered as she was way too smart and sensitive, so having her murdered killed at home seemed like the best option. (I feel lucky to have that option, I know lots of you have to haul in animals.) I talked to the owner of the company, he does all the killing himself, and he had no problems with inspecting the carcass and making sure the meat was good. It was, perfect liver and heart, not a speck of anything wrong. I just couldn't look at the udder, just wouldn't know what the difference would look like between a cancer tumor or scar tissue so there was the point. Besides, I was already crying and sniveling in front of everyone, did not want to humiliate myself anymore than I was. I wish Matt had found her to be full of tumors and growths and not even good for dog food. I feel horrible that I had a perfectly healthy cow butchered and can't stop crying. Although, of course, she wasn't perfectly healthy and had a quick, merciful death vs something must worse down the road.
So now I have 4, 8 month old calves to sell, clean the barn, and start looking for another cow. Nothing will ever step foot on this property without having every test known to man being done first.
So now I have 4, 8 month old calves to sell, clean the barn, and start looking for another cow. Nothing will ever step foot on this property without having every test known to man being done first.