Three Weeks Later...

Tonight an update on Rosie.  We discussed her terribly tragic torn teat three weeks ago.  It is a painful story to tell.  Our cows loathe summer time.  The sit in the shade and lay in the mud in order to cool themselves.  They only eat in the early morning and late afternoon.  They lose some weight during the dog days of summer.  

Rosie is like a pig.  You can see her below in all her muddy glory.  Well, the best we can figure, after laying in the mud all day, it was time to get up.  She reached her back leg underneath her and lifted herself up.  Except her hoof was on top of her teat.  When she stood up it tore 1/4 of her teat off, exposing the 'meat.'  It didn't help matters that we had just trimmed her hooves so they were sharp.

Now, before you scroll down, I want to warn you: the photo below is graphic!  It shows the injured teat a full 3 weeks after the event.  She doesn't allow LuLu to nurse on that quarter - only the other three quarters.  Each afternoon for 3 weeks now, to prevent mastitis, Tricia and I are engaged in a bit of a rodeo.

We catch Rosie, who is VERY reluctant at this point to come into the barn, and we tie her up, pick off the scab that covers the opening in the teat, lubricate it, and milk out all of the milk, emptying it to prevent infection and save the quarter.  Rosie is not happy with any of this.  She expresses her displeasure vehemently and vociferously.  Once we are finished, we spray the teat with iodine and set her free.

HERE IS THE PHOTO:

I warned you, didn't I?  That makes me feel really bad for the old girl.  Our hope is that it will heal (SOON) and she will allow LuLu to nurse down the injured quarter.  This would eliminate the need for our afternoon routine with Rosie.  Up to this point, however, LuLu is promptly kicked away when she tries to nurse on the hurt teat.  We will keep doing what we're doing and try to learn more fully the virtue of 'patience!'