Yes, you need to kill that precious cow today!

Fractures have a poor prognosis; that is their chances of healing are minimal especially in adult animals. This is worsened in heavy breeds like Friesians or when the animal is pregnant. But in young animals under one year old fractures involving bones and not joints can be corrected. PHOTO:COURTESY

There comes a time when a farmer has to get rid of an otherwise productive dairy animal. It is a difficult decision but there are health conditions that dictate you get rid of a dairy animal through safe disposal or at a throw away price.

This is the situation I found myself in last month. Mama Shiro; a small scale dairy farmer at Ololua village in Ngong is one of my clients. She called to inform me that one of her two Friesian cows had fallen in a ditch. They pulled it out but it was unable to stand up.