Lessons learned on the farm............

This is Molly - the new cow we brought home last Monday. It seems we have finally filled her up and she's beginning to gain weight. Annie, her little heifer calf is also growing and seems to have adjusted to her new surroundings. I had planned on moving Molly out with company today after the vet came to check her out. I'm very sad to say that Molly isn't healthy and will be leaving the farm. She has a condition called Lump jaw which is a bone infection of the jaw. By the time cattle have outward signs, the jaw deterioration isn't likely reversible and death is inevitable either by losing condition because a cow cannot eat or the jaw bone can deteriorate to the point where it will actually break. I had never heard of this before - I'm sure I"ll never forget it now. It's definitely a lesson learned and a sad one. She's really a kind, gentle cow and I was getting attached to her already. We will keep her calf and hopefully she will grow into a beautiful cow like her Mom and live a healthy, productive life on our farm.