Post by Tamara on Jun 12, 2015 22:59:07 GMT -5
Grrr. You might recall my post about Tallulah 'drying up' and then I found out it was actually Ginger drinking it. Elia and Judyc were kind enough to send me a weaning ring and halter... but Ginger may as well be renamed Houdini. I'm so sorry if you two are reading this; I appreciate your kindness so much but Ginger is apparently too smart for her own good.
First of all I tried our own homemade weaning mask... it actually worked for 3 weeks before Ginger snapped the plastic. So I tried the metal weaning ring. It was in for 2 nights before I found Ginger one morning without it and she had a bloody scrape in her nostril. Then I tried the weaning halter. It is sturdily made with a rubber flap. The very next morning the halter was hanging from her neck and the rubber flap was gone. We managed to find the flap by scouring the paddock. My brother reattached it with 2 inch screws (we didn't have shorter ones XD), locking washers and nuts. Yet again, the very next morning the halter was hanging from her neck and the rubber flap was gone. I found it in the middle of the paddock; she had managed to undo the nut and washer on one of the screws, pop it out and then pull the rubber off both screws. How she manages all this has be baffled, but it's damn annoying.
My last measure was to separate her. I put her and MacLeod in with the horses. Tallulah is very unhappy with this and keeps pacing the fence mooing. Ginger doesn't care. Yesterday I got 1 litre of milk; Tallulah held up the second litre. Her teats are horribly cut up from Ginger's teeth. I figured she would be uncomfortably full enough today to have figured out that Ginger's no longer drinking and let down. What do I find instead? That Ginger has nursed through the fence and Tallulah has no milk
I am really at the end of my rope. The only other thing I can think of is a cow bra but they are not sold in Australia for a start and they are so expensive. Plus the smallest size is medium... Tallulah is a small cow with an even smaller udder.
My brother and I are going to try one last time with the halter. We will reattach the rubber and this time we'll tie it on as well as screw it on.
If that doesn't work, I can't think of anything else but to get rid of Ginger permanently. I don't want to sell her but she hasn't left me a lot of choice
First of all I tried our own homemade weaning mask... it actually worked for 3 weeks before Ginger snapped the plastic. So I tried the metal weaning ring. It was in for 2 nights before I found Ginger one morning without it and she had a bloody scrape in her nostril. Then I tried the weaning halter. It is sturdily made with a rubber flap. The very next morning the halter was hanging from her neck and the rubber flap was gone. We managed to find the flap by scouring the paddock. My brother reattached it with 2 inch screws (we didn't have shorter ones XD), locking washers and nuts. Yet again, the very next morning the halter was hanging from her neck and the rubber flap was gone. I found it in the middle of the paddock; she had managed to undo the nut and washer on one of the screws, pop it out and then pull the rubber off both screws. How she manages all this has be baffled, but it's damn annoying.
My last measure was to separate her. I put her and MacLeod in with the horses. Tallulah is very unhappy with this and keeps pacing the fence mooing. Ginger doesn't care. Yesterday I got 1 litre of milk; Tallulah held up the second litre. Her teats are horribly cut up from Ginger's teeth. I figured she would be uncomfortably full enough today to have figured out that Ginger's no longer drinking and let down. What do I find instead? That Ginger has nursed through the fence and Tallulah has no milk
I am really at the end of my rope. The only other thing I can think of is a cow bra but they are not sold in Australia for a start and they are so expensive. Plus the smallest size is medium... Tallulah is a small cow with an even smaller udder.
My brother and I are going to try one last time with the halter. We will reattach the rubber and this time we'll tie it on as well as screw it on.
If that doesn't work, I can't think of anything else but to get rid of Ginger permanently. I don't want to sell her but she hasn't left me a lot of choice