The day we took our cows in to get their de-worm stuff and shots it was actually relatively easy to put all of them on the trailer and take them to the vet. We got them their shots from the vet and we were loading all the cows up in the trailer. Black Pearl was the last one to get on the trailer and when she was getting on the trailer she slipped and fell and she refused to get back up. At first we thought maybe she was just mad and so she was throwing a fit and didn't want to get up. We didn't think much of it at the time. When we got home and trying to unload all the cows Black Pearl was still in the sitting position and she did not want to get up or get out of the trailer. After a lot of pushing and dragging her we finally were able to get her off the trailer. But at that point we were starting to think that she had the same thing that Chooclate Milk had, but still not 100% sure. For the next week or so, Black Pearl stayed in the same spot where we left her even though she tried to move or get up she couldn't. At that point we were convinced that she would have the same fate as Chooclate Milk. We tried to care for Black Pearl and tried to give her the best chance to get better and she was doing fine for almost a whole week but then the next morning I went out to feed her she did not want to eat. She refused to eat and drink. At that moment I knew she wouldn't make it. The morning before Chocolate Milk died he did not want to eat...
That afternoon I tried to get some friends/neighbors to come over to help me sit her back up because she was laying down on her side, but she kept flopping back down. At that moment, I knew she wouldn't last too much longer but I was hoping she would at least make it through the night. Well she died quicker than I thought. She died that evening and I was actually there to witness her take her last breath. It was hard to watch her die. As much as I don't attach to animals we've had her for the past like 4 years. She might have been a diva at times but nonetheless she was a really good mother to her calves. So I didn't think I would feel sad but I did. So the next day we hired an excavator guy to come out and dig a hole and bury Black Pearl for us. This time the hole is much bigger so we decided it wouldn't be wise to dig it by hand ourselves so we sucked it up and paid for someone else to do it.
Now looking back, we know why both Chocolate Milk and Black Pearl started being a little "distant" from the rest of the herd the last little while. It's not because they didn't want to be around the rest of the herd, but because the parasites invaded their bodies and using up all the protein and fat reserve in their bodies that they were slowly dying and they didn't have the strength to keep up with the herd.
Moral of the story is, if you live in a humid place make sure you de-worm your cows at least 2 times a year! Don't skim on de-worming them!!! And if it's winter time, also make sure you put out some protein for them too. Had we known that our cows wouldn't have died. But the good news is, from what we can tell, the rest of the cows are doing fine and they don't display the same "symptoms" as Chocolate Milk and Black Pearl did.
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| R.I.P. Black Pearl |
