Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Lost a calf, need some help....

There is a great deal of wisdom and experience in Cowdoc's posts here. Save and read again next February.

You did what you could, she did what she could; go forward from there with the knowledge you gained for the long-term and the sadness that will be with you always, in the memory background, I hope. Do what you can to put it behind you. This is what doers do.

Large animal veterinarians are (or can be) a good partner in your livestock business. We mostly work with herd health management and preventive measures, including reproductive issues, trying to avoid the problem you described and dealt with. We are in business to keep your agricultural enterprise economically vigorous and rewarding.
The decision your niece's employer made is a personal one, but becoming more common for a host of reasons. I won't try to list all of them, but the work is physically and mentally challenging and the older we get, the greater the struggle to find good help or to get a decent night's sleep. Graduating young veterinarians often have crushing student loan debt and are not as attracted to a rural area and a traditionally modest income. Farm experience is less common in the incoming classes and these students have grown up with more technical innovation than previous generations, which points them towards small animal or pet practice.

One of my sons accompanied me on ranch calls and expressed interest in becoming a veterinarian. Scary smart, physically fit, enthusiastic and tech savvy. I didn't try to talk him out of it, but he chose otherwise and earned an MD and a PhD on scholarships, worked at MN Mayo and is now teaching at Nebraska U Medical School. Good income, no night calls, no back-breaking loans for establishing a hospital and no HR problems. Seems sensible to me also.