So Long Rosie, May You Graze Greener Pastures, Always

 

 

"Final update on Rosie (our Brown Swiss) for those who were asking about her. As of last week she had been down for 30+ days. She was still eating, but had just begun to show signs of getting worse instead of better. I put her down on Monday afternoon - it was quick and painless.

Her behavior leading up to this week and what I could tell from examining her seemed to indicate there was an injury of some sort to one of her hind legs. She did not seem to be in any pain, but she had full movement of only three of her legs. If we'd been able to identify that sooner we might have done something different, but I don't know what that might have been.

The girls said a prayer for her and we thanked her for what she provided us. We will take what we've learned from this and continue.

If folks have specific questions about what was done / how you can PM me and I'll share. I don't want to go into it in detail here, but if our experience can be of help to someone then as always we're willing to share information and answer questions. " -Chad from our farmpage on facebook.

Chad went out to check on the animals and Poppy, our lead ewe, was grieving. She refused grain, would not come out to eat hay. She is sad, Chad thinks a little afraid too. We double checked her for illness or injury and she's healthy and strong. Just sad.

Rosie never really liked me, would often pin me against posts in the pasture. Not an aggressive pinning, just a you shouldn't stand there silly girl, see? I loved her though, and I wanted to milk her and make cheeses from her sweet cream always. She was a good mother, easily birthing and nursing. She was kind to the sheep and the children. She loved to have her nose and forehead scratched.

Rosie. Thank you for the gifts you gave us, the farmer's you made us. Thank you for your milk, your calves, your motherhood. Our fields are emptier without you and your friends are grieving. We will  take care of them, I miss you too.

May you rest in greener pastures, always.