On November 7th we posted about Luna giving birth to a stillborn calf. We estimate it was two months premature. We don't know what caused this to happen. Luna was fat and healthy. She delivered the calf and placenta and acted normally... until about a week later. She began to stiffen and then she lost her appetite. Her jaws appeared to lock tight! We called the veterinarian to come take a look at her. His diagnosis was tetanus.
Tetanus is an infection caused by a bacteria that spreads from the nerves to the brain. It occurs many times after calving. The symptoms are stiffening, a protruding tail, unsteady gait, and lockjaw. This is not good.
We diligently cared for Luna day after day, giving her the injections, trying to get her to eat, drenching molasses water into her clenched jaws, but in the end, Luna's recovery just wasn't to be. Saturday morning when I went out to do the morning chores, Luna was down.
When cows go down like this, it is almost never a happy ending. We tried to push her, to pull her to her feet again. Her neck was stiffened to the side. She would kick, wanting to get up, but her body, ravaged by the infection, would not obey. She wanted to eat and to drink, but her body would not comply as it was damaged by the toxins created by the tetanus.
The rainy, dreary day became even more dreary. We'll miss ol' Luna, but this is life (and death) on the farm. You work hard. You play hard. You rejoice in victories and you come to accept defeat at times. 2020 has been a rough year in many, many ways.
But as the Good Book says, "Though the sorrow may last for a night, His Joy comes in the morning." There is death, but there will also be new life. This spring (hopefully) Rosie and Clarabelle will calf, ushering in new life to our little acreage. Farewell, Luna, we'll miss you.
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