Post by blaire on Jun 7, 2007 12:30:46 GMT -5
I don't know what happened. The weather changed yesterday (from high70's to freezing rain) and we put her in the stall that I milk her in for the night. We ended up getting a couple inches of snow by this morning. She seemed fine when we put her in the milking stall and Rigby in the horse stall across the aisle.
My husband left early for a meeting and called a little later to see if I had been to the barn yet (I hadn't). I was putting together the milker when he called. She's dead like a resting cow. her feet are tucked under and her head is resting in her nose. She looks asleep.
I'm so perplexed and sad. Poor Rigby is bawling so we put him in with the goats. She had been a little bloated in the evenings (can cows be a "little" bloated?) but always seemed perfect by morning. I quit giving her alfalfa at night and only gave it to her in the morning. The stall I put her in last night had alfalfa in it...could she have bloated and died overnight? I feel so terrible and negligent. She was laying so peacefully though...is bloating painful, wouldn't she have thrashed around? She could have been about 13 years old, how long to cows live? Could she have just died in her sleep? There's also a tiny bit of blood coming out of her nose. Is that just what an expired body does?
I wish I knew the reason, I guess I may never. I feel very empty and defeated, she had become more than a little bit of my identity, I think, does that make sense?
My DH is now home early to help deal with the body. This won't be pretty. Luckily some landscaper guys are here with a mini-excavator. We can bury her here.
My husband left early for a meeting and called a little later to see if I had been to the barn yet (I hadn't). I was putting together the milker when he called. She's dead like a resting cow. her feet are tucked under and her head is resting in her nose. She looks asleep.
I'm so perplexed and sad. Poor Rigby is bawling so we put him in with the goats. She had been a little bloated in the evenings (can cows be a "little" bloated?) but always seemed perfect by morning. I quit giving her alfalfa at night and only gave it to her in the morning. The stall I put her in last night had alfalfa in it...could she have bloated and died overnight? I feel so terrible and negligent. She was laying so peacefully though...is bloating painful, wouldn't she have thrashed around? She could have been about 13 years old, how long to cows live? Could she have just died in her sleep? There's also a tiny bit of blood coming out of her nose. Is that just what an expired body does?
I wish I knew the reason, I guess I may never. I feel very empty and defeated, she had become more than a little bit of my identity, I think, does that make sense?
My DH is now home early to help deal with the body. This won't be pretty. Luckily some landscaper guys are here with a mini-excavator. We can bury her here.