A real pain in the neck!

Rosie is the name of one of our Jersey milk cows.  She's expecting a new calf in mid-December, so we just stopped milking her so that she can save her energy for her baby and dry off prior to freshening.  We jokingly call her Nosy Rosie, because she is so curious.  That girl is always getting her head into things.  She's also gluttonous.  Well, the other afternoon, she was acting funny and had something on her neck.  She wouldn't let me get close to her.

I'm a pain in the neck

After circling her several times, I got a picture of the problem.  She had gashed her neck open!  How'd she do that?  It was a pretty deep cut.


Ouch!

I went out to feed the pullets and found out how Rosie hurt herself.  Rosie the gluttonous pig had rammed her head through the chicken wire on the end of the chicken tractor in order to eat the troughs full of chicken feed inside the tractor, and in the process, sliced open her neck on the wire or a nail or something.  Of course all the pullets were loose and running around and I had to catch them with a net so a hawk or owl wouldn't feast on them.  Aggravating, for sure.  To patch it up quickly, I stapled some rice sacks over the hole.  Of course as the picture below shows, Rosie busted through that as well.  She acts as if she's starving and she's as big as a tank.


All you can eat chicken feed buffet

While we are looking in on them, the 31 Barred Rock pullets are really growing nicely.  We can't wait until they begin laying some nice brown eggs.


Pullets growing nicely

 So armed with my drill, some screws and an old piece of tin, I fixed the busted, rusted chicken wire where Rosie was getting into the chicken feed and injuring herself in the process.  After I snapped the pictures I used some wire cutters to cut off the mangled chicken wire.  Every day, a new adventure, I tell you.



Fixed up - for the time being

Tricia is applying Neosporin, triple antibiotic cream on Rosie's neck to fend off any infection.  Hopefully, my repair job will keep Rosie from having (and being) a pain in the neck!