What happened to 86

86, the big black cow with the attitude of a Queen. Most years she gave birth to twins. She knew that meant a month or more, of controlling my everyday, and she enjoyed it.

Every morning I would let her out of barn. Like any mother knowing she could have the day without the kids, she would almost plow me over to get out to pasture.

Every evening she would start mooing, I would head to the barn to let her back in. She would take her time, nibbling along the way, she knew I would wait. She also knew the best hay and a can of grain was waiting for her with the twins. 

Now she was dead, his ignorance, his arrogance and his inability to ever admit he did anything wrong will never be associated with her loss.

The pen was too wet and slimy from years of being used, but not cleaned. She tried to find a dry corner, but there wasn't one. She tried to get up, but she could not get any footing.

He would go in yearly and pretend to clean the pens. Mainly just digging out a hole where they stood to eat. To even mention adding chips or even sand, would result in one of his many blow ups, usually ending with threats to sell the farm.

He would scream about costs, yet could not grasp the concept of the money he lost when ever a calf died due to his ignorance.

This calf  was just to big for the old cow to have. We dug our heals into the muck, trying to help her, by pulling the calf. The calf was dead by the time we were able to get it out. 

Twenty years later he still blames the breed. The breed he chose, without taking into consideration of calf size. Calves to big for a cow to safely give birth to.

“Stupid Simmental calves, too stupid to eat, too stupid to walk".

Heads were so swollen you did not even know what the calf really looked like until the swelling went down.

They could not eat, I would hold the bottle in their mouths, their swollen tongues would not allow them to suck. Tube feeding was an all to common occurrence.

Calves with curled front legs, unable to straighten them enough to stand. Most of them were bigger than me, trying to help tham stand was a sad joke.

If I dare mention it was his choice of bull that caused these problems, he will scream his denials, he will scream his excuses, he does no wrong.

To this day, I look through the gate he was willing to pay money to have painted. The picture of her laying there, is still fresh in my mind.

He still has not added any chips. He still has not done anything to make it a clean place for the cows to calve.

He cuts and condemns the neighbors for allowing their cows to calve in a pasture with a hill, but does not even see the problems with his calving areas.
 
The old cow never stood up again, she couldn't. He packed her food and water for ten days waiting for her to get over the fever they get when calving. He had her butchered and made into hamburger.

Nowadays she would be referred to as a Downer Cow, some think they are sick and should not be eaten. She was not sick, the man who owned her was.