Rescue Journal

another day not in paradise

Carol  ·  Aug. 21, 2013

I think the staff were a little shell shocked from yesterday, two adrenaline producing crises in the same day is tough. when I checked in at lunch time, everyone was relieved that today was a better and quieter day.
until 4:30.
then the shit hit the fan again.
charlotte and Wilbur suddenly got into a really nasty fight, wills has a few wounds on him, charlotte has many....Wilbur has tusks and he used them to slice her up pretty badly.
Dionne and lexi managed to get them apart and wills is now shut away in the cow barn.
we started the stuff we have to do to permanently separate them..we have their little barn divided off, and I went to the store and picked up gates and hardware so the staff can put up the portable horse fence to keep them apart. hopefully brent will be here on the weekend and can install the new gate for us. we can't keep Wilbur in the cow barn for too long.
I will get the vets out to look at charlotte tomorrow, I am thinking she is going to need an antibiotic injection and probably some pain meds.

these guys have been together since they were small babies, they have had minor arguments before but nothing like this. I don't know why suddenly they lost it so completely today but they did. I am so grateful this happened while the staff were still here because it may have gone much further if they hadn't been here.

thx Dionne and lexi for helping get set up tonight...thx KO for coming and meeting me at the store to haul the gates home in your truck.

thank you shelagh for picking up Tony from Terrace (the new old cat) from the airport and getting him safely to saints and for giving sad and injured charlotte an extra apple for a treat.

hopefully we can pull this separation together fairly quickly because I feel badly for wilbur shut up in the barn plus the cows are totally messed up cuz they can't get into the barn...Emily will deal with it ok but joy loves to sleep in the barn at night.

please let tomorrow be better for EVERYONE here.

Comments

Carol

I am not working this weekend and will be here except for Saturday afternoon (jenn's wedding shower.)

wilburs tusks are not very long, they will periodically need trimmimg but you can't cut them to the point that they really don't exist. charlotte usually is the one pushing him around..yesterday he pushed back.

my leg is ok...its just frustrating that the hematoma is not going down on its own. I have two choices, do nothing and watch the pressure kill off the top tissue and then deal with debriding it and letting it heal, or being proactive and risking infection to get it cut open and cleaned out now and then letting it heal. I waffle back and forth depending on the day and how much it is bugging me.

janet nicholson

Poor little Charlotte - hope the extra apples help her feel better.

Brent

Bunny and I will be there on Sunday, it would be nice if you were there for 9 am to go over with me exactly you want done.

suzanne

I know absolutely zero about pigs so here goes... can you either cut back or file down Wilbur's tusks so that they are at least not sharp/long enough to break skin? what are the chances he might use them on a volunteer?