injury ? pics

kranac · #1 12/31/11, 10:50 AM

Her udder is high and tight. What could have caused this? I suspect she stepped on it.

I have pigs in the pasture and I would like to think they didn't do this. They are really docile pigs except when feeding.

injury ? *pics* - Cattle

lakeportfarms · #2 12/31/11, 11:01 AM

Sorry, but it was probably one of your pigs. Pigs like milk too. After this, they shouldn't be in the pasture with your cow. At a minimum divide it up with a hot fence.

L&Jfarms · #3 12/31/11, 11:47 AM

I have had dairy cattle in the past find some barbed wire in our pasture and come up with the same looking wound. Milking is a real rodeo with a teat wound...

allenslabs · #4 12/31/11, 11:54 AM

Don't know much about pigs but if they do spend time in close proximity and smell the blood that could make things hard on your cow. I say that because the local auction barn, when they run a group of pigs in there will always be one with half an ear gone and blood pouring and the others trying to eat it. Or a whole tail gone with a bloody hole there and the others still trying to eat at it. Nasty nasty mess when the pigs go through.

tinknal · #5 12/31/11, 12:48 PM

Kent, it looks to my like it just got stepped on, probably by a hog. Am I correct in assuming the cow is dry right now? If so I would just put some antibiotic ointment on it. It should heal up fine.

Madsaw · #6 12/31/11, 02:08 PM

Either stepped on or hocked herself with a dew claw. Trim off the hanging little piece of skin and use a oniment on it. Also seperate the pigs fromt eh cow. I have seen and heard of others that have had pigs eat the teats and bags off cows no matter how nice the pig is.
Bob

tinknal · #7 12/31/11, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Madsaw

I have seen and heard of others that have had pigs eat the teats and bags off cows no matter how nice the pig is.
Bob

I highly doubt that this would happen with well fed pigs and a healthy cow. My only concern would be with a sick or downer cow. Of course I wouldn't want a cow calving in a pig pen.

kranac · #8 12/31/11, 02:49 PM

No she is currently in milk. Shes giving about 4.5 gallons a day. She did let me milk that teat by hand and a day later she lets me put the machine on it. Its tricky but I can. So the quarter isn't in danger from mastitis.

We don't have barbed wire in this pasture.

The pigs have left her alone. They are content and don't interact with her much. Other than to pick though every cow pie and to eat the hay that falls to the ground below her.

DJ in WA · #9 12/31/11, 04:00 PM

Beautiful cow, by the way.

Ayrshire?

Timberline · #10 12/31/11, 06:29 PM

One of mine stepped on hers and the wound looked nearly identical. I know this is how it happened because she way lying down and I startled her, she stepped on it getting up. What a yell the poor girl let out. It healed up fine.

Your cow is gorgeous!

agmantoo · #11 12/31/11, 07:09 PM

As a previous hog producer, I have seen thousands of pig bites and this does not appear to be from pigs teeth.

**gone-a-milkin** · #12 12/31/11, 07:34 PM

She is a very beautiful lady.
Sounds like she is a very patient one too, to let you handmilk her around that boo-boo.

It looks like the injury didnt affect the milk orifice. That was some great luck, right there!

To me it appears that she stepped on it herself or (maybe) something else stepped on it.
I have seen that type of injury plenty of times. What is worse is when you DONT see it, on her offside and you go to touch it...whamo!

I would think a hog bite would be more shredded?
You know your animals better than any of us so it is your decision to keep them together.

I have seen people who manage them together just fine, and I have heard horror stories as well.

I think that loose bit will fall off all on its own.

kranac · #13 12/31/11, 10:02 PM

I think you guys are right about it being stepped on. Her back leg is all tucked under her when she lays on her side.

She is a milking shorthorn.

BlackWillowFarm · #14 01/01/12, 07:19 AM

It looks like she stepped on it to me too. Hope it heals up okay. She must be a very patient cow to let you put the machine on for milking. How long have you been running the pigs in with the cow? I tried that a couple years ago but one of my cows is too docile and the pigs eventually got around to biting at her udder. Luckily, I was there the first time it happened so nothing bad came of it. My pigs were well fed and not looking for something to eat. Pigs are so curious and pushy at the same time they seem to figure out how to get what they want even if it takes a long time, like weeks.

Thread drift: She's a beautiful cow with a nice udder. I looked at some MS heifer calves a couple months ago with the idea of raising one for a family milk cow. I walked away though because the cows all had terrible udders. If they had an udder like yours does, I'd probably have two or three heifers at my place now.

Ronney · #15 01/01/12, 07:43 AM

I agree with most of the others on two fronts. She is a beautiful cow and you can put her on a plane to NZ anytime you like

And yes, I see exactly this injury in my own cows - they go to stand up and stand on their own teat. Amazingly, it seems to hurt me more than it does them in so far as I can continue to machine/hand milk them. Only once was it a real problem when she had sliced it from top to bottom but luckily missed the sphincter. Milking her like that was out of the question but I got around it by using medical tape to bandage the two bits together which also allowed me to milk her sort of but enough to keep mastitis at bay and to stop the quarter drying off. I used parrafin guaze (how do you spell that word?) as a dressing.

Cheers,
Ronnie

tinknal · #16 01/01/12, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronney

I agree with most of the others on two fronts. She is a beautiful cow and you can put her on a plane to NZ anytime you like

And yes, I see exactly this injury in my own cows - they go to stand up and stand on their own teat. Amazingly, it seems to hurt me more than it does them in so far as I can continue to machine/hand milk them. Only once was it a real problem when she had sliced it from top to bottom but luckily missed the sphincter. Milking her like that was out of the question but I got around it by using medical tape to bandage the two bits together which also allowed me to milk her sort of but enough to keep mastitis at bay and to stop the quarter drying off. I used parrafin guaze (how do you spell that word?) as a dressing.

Cheers,
Ronnie

I had a goat do this once. I milked her with a dialator.

springvalley · #17 01/01/12, 08:20 PM

I concur with my fellow dairy men and women, stepped on , no hog bite, should heal up just fine with some good ointment, > Thanks Marc

kranac · #18 01/02/12, 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by springvalley

I concur with my fellow dairy men and women, stepped on , no hog bite, should heal up just fine with some good ointment, > Thanks Marc

Thanks guys/gals.

Thats what I thought. It's difficult to milk her but somehow I get it done. I only have 5 feeder pigs and 2 black angus calves and they are loving the 5 gallons of clabbered milk a day.

How often does this happen? Teat injury like this to a cow like this? I'm not new to farming but I've only been milking 5 months.

hopefloats688 · #19 01/04/12, 04:05 AM

She has a pretty high udder and short teats which seems a bit odd she would step on it herself. You usually see this with older cows who have loose udders and long teats. You stated you have her in with hogs? Did something spook them and they accidently stepped on it? This is and isn't common with cows. You usually see it more with cows that are in stalls and don't have a whole lot of room to maneuver when they get up or with aging cows with large udders and long teats. You are very lucky it is on the side and that she didn't lose the tip. Looks like it should heal up just fine. She is a nice looking cow!

Welshmom · #20 01/04/12, 08:09 PM

Beautiful cow.