The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: Tala Orchard on February 05, 2014, 09:37:37 am
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Last week we had two sows produce litters, both had nine survive the birth all was looking fine.
This morning on going down to feed them all I could see was carnage one of the arks had been blown over and smashed strewn over the ground was the bodies of nine piglets and one mother nudging the little ones to no availe.
What do we do with the sow? Do we take one or two from the other sow for her to adopt or should we just leave her and let her dry up?
We are all distraught at this loss and any advice will be very much appreciated.
Tala
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thats just awful, so sorry for you :bouquet:
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I'm so sorry to hear about this - a truly horrendous thing to have happen :'( :'( :'(
I've never had to try and cope through a situation like this - so what I'm about to say are just my personal thoughts.
I suppose the normal thing would be to leave the sow without piglets to dry up and get her back in pig asap, but if she seems really distressed (and pigs are clever animals so I would think she will be) you could try to foster one or two from the other litter and see how she reacts to them. You'd need to stay with them and watch her reaction carefully to make sure she allows them to feed and shows no aggression towards them. I would pick 2 of the biggest/strongest piglets to try her with. Do you have a shed or stable you could bring her into just to let you watch really closely ? If she was in an arc and took a dislike to them you could end up losing them too :(
Keep us posted :bouquet: :hug: :hug: :hug:
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This wretched bloody weather, I am so sorry for you :hug:
For me the best thing would be to lure her away from the site of the carnage and let her dry off, make sure she's out of the sight & earshot of the other mother and piglets. She will dry up in 3 or 4 days, take her feed back to her normal ration prior to farrowing, access to water. Her udder will be full and painful for a few days so push a couple of 400mg ibruprofen (ketofen is usual for animals but same stuff basically) in a banana or tomato and administer for pain for a couple of feeds. She will be vociferous and restless for a few days but generally they get over it fairly quickly, after she's dried up she'll come back into season and you could put her back in with the boar to occupy her mind.
I wouldn't try to foster other piglets on her it won't work in this case.
How old were the piglets? if they were only a couple of weeks old then I would make a huge really hot bonfire and burn them, however if they're bigger and older you may have to call the fallen stock people out to collect them. This is such a sad thing but get cleared up as quick as you can because of foxes etc, you don't want them tempted to your other piglets.
HTH
All the best :hug:
mandy :pig:
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I'm with Mandy on this one. Whether it's ewe, cow or sow they do feel the loss of offspring very keenly, and fostering on can work well with the fist two, but we have to bear in mind that pigs are omnivores. If you did try and foster on and she turned on the piglets you'd have an even more horrible situation to deal with.
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No advice as I am very inexperienced with pigs, but I am very sorry and hope your sow is OK.
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I'll respect Mandy's advice on this one - I've not had to go through this so was just thinking out loud (and from a mother's point of view)
BUT I wouldn't advise burning the carcasses - you could end up in hot water unless you have authorisation to do so http://www.defra.gov.uk/ahvla-en/disease-control/abp/fallen-stock-faq/ (http://www.defra.gov.uk/ahvla-en/disease-control/abp/fallen-stock-faq/)
Our fallen stock guys collect bagged piglets from us (still borns, early losses etc.) and normally only charge £10 for this, or nothing if we drop the bag off to them for incineration.
Karen x
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BUT I wouldn't advise burning the carcasses - you could end up in hot water unless you have authorisation to do so http://www.defra.gov.uk/ahvla-en/disease-control/abp/fallen-stock-faq/ (http://www.defra.gov.uk/ahvla-en/disease-control/abp/fallen-stock-faq/)
Our fallen stock guys collect bagged piglets from us (still borns, early losses etc.) and normally only charge £10 for this, or nothing if we drop the bag off to them for incineration.
Karen x
Very true HH BUT if like us your nearest fallen stock are an 80 mile round trip away and given the current weather conditions in the south and state of roads and transport in general it is a viable option. common sense dictates its more hygienic to dispose of by burning. Mixed with all the other ash from a molten hot fire the remains are negligible. At least this way rotting carcasses etc aren't smelling away waiting to be disposed of and attracting vermin. Its also upsetting to have them around in this state.
Just my thoughts in this particular situation.
Mandy :pig:
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I'm not disputing that Mandy and of course there are always circumstances beyond our control - I'm just pointing out the legalities that pig keepers are supposed to be bound by :innocent:
Burning on site is not widely used as one of the approved disposal methods - I just wanted folks to be aware of that ;) :-* :hug:
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What a horrible thing to happen. :'(
Agree with Mandy and get her away from the site and dry her up. Had a similar thing a few years ago and within a few days the sow was back to normal. As to the disposal of the piglets I would burn them, not technically the right thing to do but it won't hurt.
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ref burning carcusses - my knackerman charged 60p for the collection and disposal of a newborn piglet -and hes an hour away. if you havent time/access because of bad floods etc - just stick inside a bag in the freezer til he can collect. obviously not with your food.
quite heart-breaking.
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That is very sad indeed. I would get her away from the scene as soon as you can. Get her somewhere comfortable to recover for a few days then back to the boar. She'll forget it a lot quicker than you will.
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So sorry about your piggies :'( :bouquet:
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So sorry to hear about the devastation :( :(
Can't give any advice, just condolences :bouquet: :bouquet:
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What a rotten thing to have happened and horrid for you to find. So sorry :bouquet: :bouquet: :bouquet:
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What a dreadful thing to happen. So sorry for you, and also your sow. The high winds blew over two of my goat shelters (like pig arcs only bigger, with doors). Thankfully, no livestock harmed, just scared.
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:bouquet: awful situation, I really feel for you :hug:
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Thank you one and all for all the advice and the kind words, we have both found the advice helpfull and the kind words heart warming.
Tala
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How sad for you and the poor sow. :bouquet:
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I'm really sorry to be seeing this so late - so many problems with the weather and flooding etc hasn't given me much time to browse the forums properly, I'm afraid. Hope your sow has settled now. The last one I had who lost a litter (all stillborn) was fine - I just restricted her feed for the first three days after farrowing, to help the milk dry up.
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How is your sow now?
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Sow is doing fine niw although a little grumpy will let her nea a young bore within the next few days that will be the telling time in my opinion.
Thank you everyone for allthe kind words of support.
Tasla