Post by AnnB (NE) on Aug 3, 2005 22:37:42 GMT -5
Pixie killed Freedom.
That's the only explanation.
He was hale and hearty last night, dancing around the pen with his tail straight up in the air. This morning he was dead, laying next to the fence, kind of spraddled out.
There was no apparent sign of illness or injury, the only thing unusual was that while the front half of the body was stiff with rigor, the hindquarters weren't.
DH & I took the body to the backside of the property where the vultures would take care of it in short order.
I went out this evening to examine the carcass and discovered that the spine and pelvis were broken and the knees and fetlocks were bruised. The position he was found in started to make a bit more sense -- it had looked like he'd been scrambling to get away from something coming down on top of him.
Then when I was coming back from examining the carcass I saw Pixie flat out attack Nina and throw her 20 ft across the pen where she bounced off the feed bunk, she then turned on Lunch and tried to grind him into the ground with her head. Fancy came to Lunch's rescue (he's fostered to her). But I see no other explanation than that Pixie killed the calf. He was a lot smaller than the 2 she went after this evening. He was a 1 month old Mini Jersey, they're 3 month old Angus and Angus cross.
Lunch is shaken up, but seems to be okay. Nina though, she seem to be hurt. She wouldn't take her bottle and refused her supper.
Needless to say, Pixie is penned by herself tonight.
I have no idea what's going on with her, it makes so sense.
She's always been a loving mother to her 2 foster calves and had, up until now, been quite tolerant of the other calves.
Ann B
That's the only explanation.
He was hale and hearty last night, dancing around the pen with his tail straight up in the air. This morning he was dead, laying next to the fence, kind of spraddled out.
There was no apparent sign of illness or injury, the only thing unusual was that while the front half of the body was stiff with rigor, the hindquarters weren't.
DH & I took the body to the backside of the property where the vultures would take care of it in short order.
I went out this evening to examine the carcass and discovered that the spine and pelvis were broken and the knees and fetlocks were bruised. The position he was found in started to make a bit more sense -- it had looked like he'd been scrambling to get away from something coming down on top of him.
Then when I was coming back from examining the carcass I saw Pixie flat out attack Nina and throw her 20 ft across the pen where she bounced off the feed bunk, she then turned on Lunch and tried to grind him into the ground with her head. Fancy came to Lunch's rescue (he's fostered to her). But I see no other explanation than that Pixie killed the calf. He was a lot smaller than the 2 she went after this evening. He was a 1 month old Mini Jersey, they're 3 month old Angus and Angus cross.
Lunch is shaken up, but seems to be okay. Nina though, she seem to be hurt. She wouldn't take her bottle and refused her supper.
Needless to say, Pixie is penned by herself tonight.
I have no idea what's going on with her, it makes so sense.
She's always been a loving mother to her 2 foster calves and had, up until now, been quite tolerant of the other calves.
Ann B