Expected but rather sad news from our vet....

I'm sorry, I was under the impression that this girl was a bit special.

Up North, I can be hard nosed when I have to be but even I fall into the trap of having the odd special cow/sheep/pig - and a couple of times, hens

When is comes down to it hobby farmers (we call ourselves lifestylers) can afford to be a bit soppy about their stock because they're not earning their living from them but I've also known real farmers who go off on a bender and will keep some special animal that produces nothing but there is a personal attachment. It would be awfully boring if we were all the same.

Cheers,
Ronnie

She is special, all our milk cows are. But the end will be the same for all of them, a quick death then hamburger. Blossom is almost 17 and still gives us a calf every two years....she is the foundation of our herd so as long as she is contributing *anything*, she will stay.
Now my favorite goats may get a retirement simply because I would have to kill them myself....and I'm not sure I could shoot my Cocoa or Lark, etc.....unless they were in irreversable pain. And goats are sooo much cheaper to feed.

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Emily Dixon
Ozark Jewels
Nubians & Lamanchas
www.ozarkjewels.net

"Remember, no man is a failure, who has friends" -Clarence

Ronnie - This is our Miss Piggy. Approaching 12, calf every year. I expect she'll be with us til she dies of natural causes, LOL. We respect that you have worked around to a point in life where you can decide the fate of each critter on a case by case basis...cheers
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We once butchered a Jersey cow I loved dearly, due to mastitis. As long as they die instantly and with no pain, I have no trouble eating the hamburger. I can't stand waste.

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People are more important than things.

Beautiful old gal.

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Emily Dixon
Ozark Jewels
Nubians & Lamanchas
www.ozarkjewels.net

"Remember, no man is a failure, who has friends" -Clarence

HI Emily.. great to see you here.. sorry about Prissy.. ya know you might try selling her first just in case.. get some $ for her.. I took in Elinor almost two years ago under similar circumstances.. had not been able to carry a calf, aborted twice and was very "shy".. terrified really you couldn't touch her at all, she had never been handled at all.. but she is now a sweetheart, loves to be handled and follow you around and calved the day before easter.. nice healthy jersey/holstein.. so ya never know.. someone crazy as I am might be willing to take the risk on her.. ? just a thought..
Shelby

h&h, people like you are few & far between. Emily said Prissy was a rescue...She's beaten the odds once finding Emily. I doubt Prissy would get that lucky again.

Hi Shelby,
The vet did an internal check on her and said her uterus is so scarred that she will never concieve another calf. She doesn't even cycle. This is dairy country, the vet has a dairy and she knows what she is talking about, so I don't doubt her.
So I can't in good conscience sell Prissie at anything but a slaughter sale and if I'm going to do that, I'd rather butcher her here where I know it will be done right with no stress.

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Emily Dixon
Ozark Jewels
Nubians & Lamanchas
www.ozarkjewels.net

"Remember, no man is a failure, who has friends" -Clarence

I say, ship her to Willowgirl so she can have her as a lawn ornament. ;-)

Sorry Emily about the loss and I agree - you're making the responsible decision.

i raise dairy heifers so when i get 10 freemartins heifers I will ship them to willow girl so they can have a full 20 year life....... the lates cost before high price of hay and corn....it cost $389 to keep a cow...even if she just eats grass of your farm there is still taxes,,, lime,,,fertilizer,,,salt....wormer...just my 2 cents

Emily - Maybe not today, and maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of your life...You'll want to own an Ayrshire
See how we try to corrupt you?...Heh, Heh, Heh.

Up North, she is a beautiful girl and by all accounts, doesn't owe you a penny.

One breed I have never owned is the Ayrshire. They don't make up a large proportion of our dairy herds (I'm not sure why) and there are none that I know of in the Far North at all.

I have just sent a freemartin heifer to the sale yards and didn't bat an eye in the doing so. She's a Jersey/Friesian and would have been bound for the hammer treatment if I hadn't reared her so she's had two years extra so far. A bit different to a cow that gives a calf and untold gallons of milk every year. Some years ago I did a rough costing on what a cow gave me and what I had to give her on an annual basis. This particular cow over a 7 month lactation, had reared two calves, fed four lambs, provided milk for the house and the extra went for the pig. I owed her.

Cheers,
Ronnie

First I vow to own a Milking Shorthorn.....simply LOVE that breed!!

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Emily Dixon
Ozark Jewels
Nubians & Lamanchas
www.ozarkjewels.net

"Remember, no man is a failure, who has friends" -Clarence

We, too, are working on acquiring some MS.
But Hey, no law says you can't own one of each. Or many of each

IT'S A SLIPPERY SLOPE!!...LOL

Well, the gentleman is here to take care of Prissie. We told him where we wanted it done and then I came in the house. I don't even want to hear the shot.

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Emily Dixon
Ozark Jewels
Nubians & Lamanchas
www.ozarkjewels.net

"Remember, no man is a failure, who has friends" -Clarence

While it is the right thing to do, it is never an easy thing to do. Sorry it came to this Emily but your family will be fed and that's important too.

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"They laughed, because he was different"

"He laughed, because they were all the same"

Oh Emily I am so sorry! Once it is all over you will feel better. It is the right thing to do. She is going on to nourish your family and that is a great gift.

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My best,

Melissa

I hope you got in one good last pat on the head and chin scratch. What a hard thing to have to do, but gifting the freezer humanely is better than sending her off down the auction road.

Lynda

We had a retiered cow once. Had 14 calves and retiered at 17. She gave well over 250,000 lifetime. She lived to be 19, watch her age, listening to her creek around and then have to put her down when she was no longer able to stand, dad and I both said never again, on the truck they go.

LOL ... I have two aged dry cows I am feeding already! But if I had more room on my new place, and didn't live so far away, I'd surely consider it.

When I was a herd tester, I think some of my producers thought I was a bit wifty for having pet cows ... but on more than one occasion, I had a producer try to talk me into taking a favorite cow they knew ought to be culled!

BTW, here is one of my old girls, Bitey, with my young cow's calf. Seems Aunt Bitey decided Christine was an inadequate mother, thus *she* had to take over the washing and minding of the calf! She's done such a thorough job of it that the calf follows *her* around, and only goes back to its mother when it gets hungry!

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"I love all of this mud," said no one, ever.