hot calf

so snookie died suddenly today. Definitely the sad part of farm life. She was fine for her afternoon feeding, then we found her on her side later gasping for air and a lifeless body. I've read that sometimes cows can be born "hot" and have no chance for survival. Cows are meant to eat grass, but many cows are fed grain. Grain is hard on a cows tummy, kinda like us eating pepperoni pizza everyday. The lining for their stomach becomes weak and loses all it's good bacteria, causing the cattle to get sick easily. Hints the reason for antibiotics in all our beef. While a full grown cow can live like that, a calf in the womb can not form correctly, and is born with many internal defects. I came to this conclusion with snookie because she had whitish spots on her eyes. At first I thought she might be blind, but then I realised she had more symptoms. Bleeding gums and slept curled up in fetal position. Pretty much all the symptoms of a hot calf. Could have been the reason her mom rejected her. She also never got the colostrum milk, so that can cause serious problems, but I don't think it would have saved her. She was doomed from the start. RIP snookie the cow.