Rosie our Swiss brown cow died a week ago suddenly. It was a shock to the system as we haven't yet had a cow die on Pine Haven. It was a record I hoped would never change but the odds were against us I guess. Of late I have heard many cows going down with "three day illness". It's a illness in which the cows refuse feed, get a temperature and achy joints. They don't move much but if they are strong enough they pull through the three days, mostly a little skinny but are back to their usual diet and put the weight back on. In the cases of pregnant cows, usually they abort their calves but in some cases they die. Rosie, Daisy and Zulu our three dairy cows all looked a bit off colour the morning of Rosie's death. Crystal the Dexter foster mom, was bellowing uncontrollably like she does when we part her from her calf. Irritated, as I had a full day planned and was on my way out. I thought it best to spare a couple of minutes and go check on them. I walked down to the dam where they all stood grazing. Rosie's head was down but I didn't pick up any signs from her. Daisy the jersey cross worried me as she showed signs of distress but was still standing. I made a mental note to come and check on them as soon as I got home. I hoped they weren't coming down with something. My outing took me away from home for most of the day. A friend dropped by in the afternoon and we sat on the porch with a cuppa. Crystal the Dexter cow was still bellowing constantly. Silently I sighed, what could she be on about. I glanced down into the paddock and did a count. I didn't notice Rosie but guessed she was laying down. Honestly I was more concerned about Daisy who had shown signs of illness that very morning more than Rosie. The afternoon rolled past and I had planned to go buy some bales of hay for the girls. We were running low on feed, its been so dry of late and the grass is not growing fast enough for the cattle. On my return I could not bear Crystals bellows any longer so while Jonathan unpacked the bales into the barn I walked down to Crystal. She stood over Rosie and from a distance I saw she was down. As I walked down I held my breath but honestly I did not expect what I found. Rigor mortis had set in already and her stomach was three sizes bigger. It was not a pretty site for sure. Poor Rosie. I quickly rung Johnny who was on his way home already and then I rung Mary, my farm girl buddy from down the road. She's had a fair few losses in this department and was much more experienced than I. She advised me to burn the cow as we did not know what the diagnosis was. What a loss. We had such dreams and aspirations for Rosie. We were going to learn how to make cheese with her milk. We paid a large amount for her and travelled four and a half hours to collect her. I racked my brain to understand why this had happened. She came from a tick free zone so maybe she was bitten by a tick, maybe it was worms as it was a very hot summer this year. Maybe it was "three day sickness". All I could think of was, if only I could have saved Rosie! I looked over to Daisy and Zulu the other two dairy cows. They looked weak too. The Dexter's were OK though which was a big relief. Two of them are expecting calves in March. After Rosie was gone, the bellowing stopped finally. The remaining herd looked somber but life pretty much went back to normal the next day. The remaining two dairy cows came right the following day and Johnny gave them all a dose of wormer just in case. That night as I lay in bed thinking. I was reminded how temporary and delicate farm animals lifes can be. Illness can strike suddenly and they are gone.
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