The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: Glaswegian on June 12, 2010, 04:11:33 pm
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Hi all.
i have 2 tamworth weaners.i bought them three weeks ago when they were 8 weeks old. they have been fine up untill this weekend when i noticed they're legs seem to be buckling under them from time to time. they are eating and drinking as usual,and still running around,but when they stop to feed or are rooting around this is when the legs start to go weak. is this a serious condition (these are my first pigs).
regards.johnie.
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Is it just the back legs and they sit down very quickly, in which case we had this in a group of bought in tamworths, never discovered what caused it, they went on to slaughter with no problems. If its all four legs then sorry have no idea.
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Hi hilarysmum.
sometimes it's the front,sometimes the back,sometimes both together.
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hi all.
been out to check the pigs this morning,and both are back to normal.no signs of yesterday's goings on. could heat affect pigs like this? a farmer up the road told me pigs can suffer badly from heatstroke/cramps.
regards.johnie. ???
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Hi I asked the only "expert" I know and he thought heatstroke. Do they have a wallow and plenty of shade? Not that this will necessarily prevent sun stroke, they do love to sunbathe. Glad they are well now.
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HI.
i was out this evening and dug a wallow for them.they don't have much shade apart from their shed,but i will rectify this as next week is promised a scorcher.
cheers.
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I have just today noticed one of my Berkshires behaving the same way - it's terrifying! Looks terrible like he's dizzy then falls over. It is very overcast but hot here and they do have a wallow but must admit I feel a bit like it as well! Will check them again later and tomorrow but it panicked me and I knew somebody else had written about it on this forum. I feel a bit better - let's hope the pigs do soon too!
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Keep an eye on it.That is how Spotty started then her head started to hang squint and she could only stagger in circles. We got the vet out and he treated her for Meningitis. I think I started a tread about it on here. She never got back to 100% but went to slaughter as scheduled this morning.
I don't mean to scare monger, but just keep an eye on them to see whether it looks neurological rather than general weekness.
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Yep - he got worse as yesterday went on so I called the vet out. Listeria (like meningitis) diagnosed and treated with antibiotics. Apparently frequently picked up in spoiled food (not aplicable here) or through the soil or bedding. He's a lot better this morning thankfully a bit bloodshot in the eyes but not staggering about. Fingers crossed!
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BLimey - what a scare. Glad yr pig is getting better greenerlife.
What's the score about bedding?
We have straw in the pig palace but we haven't changed it. We just add more when it looks a bit threadbare. They don't soil in their palace at all.
Should we be changing it completely?
Susanna
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Glad he is ok.
susiequeue, we only ever top up the bedding they shouldnt soil if they have access to outside.
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Good to hear your pig is getting better it is such a worry when they are sick, I lost one last year and still have no idea why.
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What's the score about bedding?
My post was a bit unclear - sorry. Listeria can be picked up through listeria germs being on the straw or bedding, or through the soil where the pigs are kept. Can't tell which. The good news is that the other pigs are fine and apparently it isn't contagious, although the others may pick it up in the same manner.
I tend to find that most pigs don't soil their bedding!
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Sorry to hijack your thread but have another update on my Berkshire. Sadly, this morning he was staggering about again with his head held high not seeming to be able to see where he was going and didn't eat anything, I was scared to tears! Phoned the vet and then had to administer the injections of penicillin and some other stuff (I forget what) myself, which was easier than I thought it would be - he was very easily led into a coralled area and quiet when I injected him. Poor little piggie. Have to do this every day for 5 days now and hopefully all will be well. (Hope so I can't afford any more vet bills!)
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Fingers crossed all turns out well.
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I hope everything works out well for you and your pig :love: :pig: :love:
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hi all.
just a wee update on my two. the weak legs seem to have gone now.i put a few planks from the top of the shed to the ground,and covered them with an old white sheet to make a kinda tent.they seem to spend a lot of time in here when the sun is out.
hi greenerlife. hope your wee pig gets better.
johnie.
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Hi that's good. All mine have access to natural shade which is wonderful, yet the 4 that have access to the most shade are the ones who ALWAYS lay out in the sun, and are constantly having to be smothered in sun tan lotion. So much so that OH now has sun burn cos the pigs used the last drop.
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Very sad to report that my poor little piggie died yesterday in the sweltering heat. Despite our best attempts at trying to get him to stand at the trough and also to drink, he just gave up. He spent his last night stuck in the wallow, exhausted and unable to get out himself. Vet thinks that a mixture of the meningitis and the heat probably brought on exhaustion and dehydration which were causes of death.
If it's one thing I'd like to pass on as advice is that if anyone gets in the same situation is to go for the extra shots from the vet after the initial one just to double ensure. He was fine for a few days in between, but didn't show the same improvement after the second shot, and subsequent daily top ups.
Horrible, horrible to see, and I am very upset, blaming myself for not knowing he was stuck at night, and not spending more time trying to get him to eat and drink. Had to drive his carcass to the local disposal incinerator this morning and am much more upset today than when they usually go to slaughter. I cried like a baby when I had to feed my other 3 today as I had to work out what three quarters of their usual feed was!
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Sorry to hear that the wee one lost the battle, I think everyone that keeps livestock will know just how dreadful you shall be feeling. :) You did do everything you could and you have also learnt valuable knowledge from the incident. Chin up.
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I am so very sorry. You did your best, please dont feel bad.
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Greenerlife
So sorry to hear that your little pig died, when I read your post I actually cried too having lost one last year I know just how you feel. Taking a healthy happy pig to the abattoir is what we are all aiming for so enjoy your other 3. You know that you did all you could it was just bad luck.
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I know exactly what you mean, one of my GOS had this a few weeks ago with this back legs (he's now 4.5 months old). The farmer where we keep our pigs and who is experienced in pig keeping said it happens to pigs who grow too fast (even though ours are slow growing), usually with hybrids which he used to have. It has something to do with connections between bones / tissue etc, ours only had it for one evening. It's called something that's abbreviated to OCD (not obsessive compulsive disorder, but a real pig-disease). Can't remember what it's called exactly, but ask a veterinarian about pig OCD and they should know. Luckily it stopped after a few hours.
Good luck.
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Osteochondritis dessicans
It's a "flakiness" of the joint cartilage surface.
Often get it in dogs - labradors - so our vet told us and humans can get it in their knees.
Susanna
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Thanks, Susanna, our little chap had it again tonight, squeeling and grunting and dragging himself around for about 5 yards on his bottom. He went into a wallow right away so I feared he had a heatstroke and started pouring water over him but the farmer (thank god he's around!) told us it was still the same OCD causing it - I suddenly thought of the poor piggy mentioned above in this topic and feared the worst!
I know they're meant for the freezer but these piggies are still my little babies!
Eve :wave:
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Hope he is well now ...
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Don't know, it lasted a few hours again, I really hope it doesn't come back. The farmer has some horse tranquilizer in case it happens again. The boar who fathered these piggies had a limp and was put down after we had bought these weaners, so I wonder if leg problems could run in the family, so to speak. A limp is not quite the same as growing pains, I know, but still...
Eve :wave: