Eye screw in eyebrow

I now know what happened to the eye screw that went missing on my south and middle pasture gate.  August 31 is when I first saw that the eye screw was missing.

Here is where the eye screw was located.

This is what the eye screw looks like.

I looked and could not find the eye screw. Last Friday I bought a new one at Home Depot and installed it on the railroad tie.  Today I found the eye screw.  I had let the cattle into the middle pasture and walking around the cattle I noticed something on the head of the cow with no tail.  It was the eye screw.  The screw was in the skin of the cow in the eyebrow about the right eye.   What?  How did that happen?!

Donna came over and helped me separate the cow from the rest of the cattle.  Not easy as she didn't want to leave the herd.   After a number of attempts we let 'No tail' and two other cows through the gate into the north pasture.  Then we had to herd 'No tail' into the corral.  'No Tail' and another cow went into the corral.  Then we had to herd the other cow out of the corral.  That done we got 'No tail' into the loading corral.

Earlier I had gone to the ranch store and got Betadine, a disinfectant.  A fly 'spray or wipe' to keep flies away.  And some gauze sponges to apply the disinfectant and the fly spray.  $47.

Donna and I needed Donna's daughter, Kari, to help us.  'Doctor Kari' as I now call her even though she isn't really a doctor.  Kari had to work at the hospital ER today until 9 pm.

While we waited I put out another large hay bale in the south pasture for the cattle.  Donna handled the gates so I didn't have to get in and out of the tractor, and she also kept the cattle from coming through the gate.  Donna's dog Rusty was along and he wanted to ride with me in the tractor.  So he did.  He sat on my lap and looked around as I drove.  He also licked my neck and chin a number of times.

It was dark when Kari showed up.  I had the barn light turned on and we wore head lamps.  Donna and I had 'No tail' in the head gate by the time Kari arrived.  Even so we also needed more to stop 'No Tail's' head from moving when we worked on removing the eye screw.  Kari has a harness she uses on her large horse's head and the harness fit on 'No tail'.  With a rope attached to the harness we wrapped the rope around a fence to hold the head in place.  Still a little movement of the head was possible but for the most part 'No tail' didn't jerk her head.  She was calmer than expected.

Kari worked on removing the eye screw but couldn't get it out.  The skin had swollen and made it hard to remove the screw.  I then worked on removing the eye screw.  The gap in the eye screw is small but I worked on pushing and pulling the skin through as it bunched up.  I finally got the eye screw off.   Thankfully.  Otherwise I would have to take 'No tail' to the vet tomorrow and they would have to cut the skin to get the eye screw off.

Kari applied the betadine to the wound and also the fly spray around the wound.  No real bleeding by now.  The bad news is that it looks like it affected 'No tail's' eye.  The eye looks blank.  No eye movement when passing the hand nearby.  The left eye seems fine and there is eye movement when passing a hand nearby.  I let Kari and Donna do the eye check as the look of the eye now 'creeps' me out.

I am keeping 'No tail' in the corral for now.  Better to keep her away from other cows who may want to fight. Also it will be easier to check on the state of the wound.  As of now it doesn't look infected.  Tomorrow Donna and I will herd 'No tail's' calf into the corral for them to be together.  The calf is with the other calves in the south pasture.

As I now have replacement heifers I had planned on selling Panda as she is the oldest cow.  The last time I planned on selling Panda a few years ago something came up with another cow and that cow was sold and not Panda.  Once again Panda is saved.  I now plan on selling 'No Tail' along with the calves.  While 'No tail' could survive with only one eye working, it is time for her to go.

As you can see in the photos it is unlikely and amazing she got the eye screw stuck in her skin. A freak accident.  She must have rubbed her head on the eye screw and did it in a way her skin got into the small gap.  Not only that, she pulled the screw out of the railroad tie and did not tear her skin loose.  Poor 'No tail'.  We all feel sorry for her.