Calf without Mom

A cow with infection in her uterus, if it's bad enough to kill her, will be looking pretty ill beforehand. Getting sick three months after birth, for that reason, is extremely unlikely. Not seeing any afterbirth, doesn't mean anything. I keep a close eye on mine and there were still a couple this year I didn't see, who presumably ate it up before I got there. If anyone looks sick a week or so after birth, that would be my first suspicion, but not three months later.

Something else got her, but guessing isn't going to answer it. If she was eating and producing milk normally the day before, I can't even start to guess!

I could tell you what happened to my cow around the same time, but she was obviously very uncomfortable and increasingly ill.

Actually what the vets thought in my cow's case could be a reasonable guess in yours: they presumed a stomach ulcer which ruptured, possibly with the stress of coming in season. If an internal bleed was serious enough, you might well see what you did. It would have been really interesting to cut her open. Sharp knife, long boots, gloves ... fascinating to answer the question, rather than wonder for ever.

I doubt it was an infection, too. She had the calf, she had a lot of opportunity to be passing left overs from the uterus for several months. If that had been happening, you would see discharge and stink for quite awhile. Retained placenta is going to come out and not as blood (that looks like blood).

Sounds to me more like some kind of hemorrhage that happened suddenly, and you may not ever see anything like it again. Of course, having said that, about every year I find myself saying "I never saw THAT before" when dealing with a cow.

Hope calf comes along OK.

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-Northern NYS

Ok thanks everyone! Definitely keeping me thinking. Glad from the thoughts on here and what I have been reading, it's not something that is contagious. Too late to get a necropsy on her, buried her the day she died, but the next unexplainable death will be examined by a vet.

Calf is doing great! Been able to get him his own grain and hay. He seems to be thriving.