The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: GribinIsaf on November 05, 2016, 05:29:27 pm
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Two weeks ago we heard horrible shrieking coming from the pig area. We rushed down and found a mature sow who had only been with us a week caught by the jaw in the fence. She had put her nose through the six inch mesh and the wire had then caught behind two incisiors on the lower jaw trapping her tongue beneath. We cut through the wire and she seemed to recover quickly, eating and drinking as normal. I don't know how long she had been trapped but if we had not heard her I don't think she would have been able to release herself, the harder she pulled the more the wire cut in to her.
We put it down as a freak accident but today exactly the same thing happened again. The only solution we can think of, apart from refencing in a smaller mesh, is to put electric strands round the whole inside. It must have been very distressing for her, it certainly was for us.
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yeah sounds horrid, electric strand is the way forward, cheaper and easier as well.
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Is there any sensible reason as to why she is doing this?
Electric fencing as you suggest would seem the simplest and cheapest answer.
We had a similar thing in that something which has never happened before happened twice to us. New born litter and one had put it's head into a drainage gap at the bottom of a wall and it would not come out. Fortunately I managed to let the sow out and with some lambing lube extracted the piglet. Mum then arrived back very keen to come back in so I didn't think to put something in the hole. Ten minutes later another did the same.
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Did she put her head in the fencewire in more-or-less the same spot? Don't forget pigs are all about smell. If it's the same place spray the area with something repulsive, like air freshener, spray polish, etc.
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harmony, re possible reason
The pen the other side of the fence contains a single immature boar who we kept on from a spring litter to finish ourselves - he is due to go off on Monday. On both occasions he has been right by the sow on the other side of the fence, expressing concern. Can't tell if he came after she got stuck or if they were communicating first. The rest of the time the sow doesn't take much notice of him and the spacing of the incidents does not much her seasons. On the other side of her is the mature boar who she chats with.
Marches Farmer - the two spots were about ten feet apart - I tied a hurdle to the previous place so she wouldn't try and stick her nose through where I had cut the wire.
Yes - when something happens twice feel a responsibility to make sure it does not happen again.