Good Bye Onyx

In the beginning……

We never wanted to have cattle or any farm animals…..

A friend of my brother-in-law had a cow and her bull calf. 

The cow was loud and lonely and whenever she was lonely or hungry she would moo, the neighborhood kids would throw rocks at her.  My brother-in-law asked if we would keep the cow and calf in our pasture.  We said sure but they had to take care of them, we didn't want animals and the responsibility of caring for them.  We worked together to fix the fencing in the lower pasture and then we started caring for Onyx and Marshal two Lowline Angus Cattle. They were both halter trained and walked on a leash better than my dog does.  Onyx and Marshall had very good blood lines and Marshal would go to different ranches in Central and Southern California to be the herd stud for a while and then come home.  At one point they decided to breed Onyx so they took her from our pasture to their corrals to try to get her to lose some weight.  Then, they sent her to have a vacation with a nice bull.  She came home after a pregnancy test showed she was pregnant.

Two weeks later she had a bull calf but again Onyx mooed every time she was out of food so they brought her back to our pasture and the boys asked to name the calf Hulk the owners thought that was a fun name. 

The owners hoped they would be able to have both Hulk and Marshal continue to be leased out as a stud and breed Onyx every year or so.  They were busy trying to fix up a new piece of property that they could keep their animals on so we took over more and more of the cattle care. Then the market changed and no one wanted Marshal anymore as a stud.

 As Hulk grew we were reminded to be very careful of the names you give animals.  Neighbors were working on their fence and gate across the street from us and Hulk would want a closer look and he would put his head over the fence and start walking.  The fence bent over and Hulk would check out the tool boxes and anything else he wanted.  Sometimes Onyx and Marshal would follow Hulk, sometimes they stayed home.  Their owners and I installed an electric wire to keep them in but Hulk didn’t mind.  One rainy night someone called us saying they thought they saw a cow on the road.  If you have never experienced the joy of looking for a black cow and 2 black bulls at 1am on a cold foggy rainy night on a black road you don’t know what you are missing, then when you hear the running footsteps of said bull as he comes running to you because he hears you calling and shaking the grain – you really haven’t known fear and joy.  Fear that your 1000 lb bull isn't going to stop and slide right into you.  Then the joy of scratching the bull on his chin and walking him, his mom, and brother back into the pasture knowing everyone is safe.  Then there is always the joy of 2am fence repairs. 

We contacted the owners, we were sad but we couldn't keep the bulls any more.  They were busy and without Marshal’s stud fees and with things not going well on their property, they decided to send all 3 to be slaughtered.  We were so sad but we couldn't risk the bulls getting out and damaging something.  The day before the butcher was to come, Teen Son asked if we could keep Onyx, and since then we have had Onyx as a pet.  She lives with the other cows and when we throw the food to the other cattle we will often hand feed Onyx and give her special treats.  When the cattle get out we throw a lead on Onyx and the rest of the cattle will follow her back into the pasture.

Yesterday, Onyx had a difficult childbirth and we had to pull the dead calf from her.  We left her to see how she would recover and she did get up and move about a little but then she laid down again and didn't

get up, she started shaking and acting like she was in pain.  I contacted a vet and he was hours away and after hearing her symptoms he suggested I call the butcher.  Luckily the butcher was able to come and ease her suffering.  The calf’s foot had ruptured her rectum. 

I want to thank Onyx for all the lessons she taught us.  I want to thank her for helping us move from a family living on a large piece of property to a family who grew things on and cared for the property.  I will always think of her with love and fondness.