The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: Barrett on January 04, 2012, 11:39:44 am
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Hi guys, one of my young gilts has gone off her food and is loosing weight she is 5months old and in with my 2 other girls both 10 months old and Bob my boar, she doesn't want to come outside at all don't blame her we have had so much rain here in the SW the pens are like bogs, my OH is going to build another shed so they can all go inside, could she just be down in the dumps or something else. :P
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Hi
Could be bullying at mealtimes, if she has to fight for her food all the tme its likely she's just give up,
Other things check her temperature if its high you'll need antibiotics and/or to separate her. Also more worrying to me is that you say she's in with your boar, be very careful as even at this age he'll have a try at serving her and may well squash and injure her which will make her extremely off colour.
just some ideas until others are along
HTH
Mandy :pig:
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Bullying or the boar hurting her were my first thoughts too. But it could be any number of things :-\
I'd get her in, on her own, as soon as possible.
Check temperatures and feel all over her body (sore areas, especially in the legs will feel hot & you'll know if it's causing her pain ;)) You'll also be able to check her poo - it could be that she's constipated, but unless you manage to catch her having a poo in the field it'll be impossible to tell. When it's wet & muddy pigs will often avoid going to the drinkers (cos round the 'feeding station' is usually worst affected) so constipation could be a possibility.
She might just need a couple of days peace from all the big ones, or she might need treatment of some sort.
Get her in first and come back once you've checked her over :thumbsup:
HTH
Karen x
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Hi guys, one of my young gilts has gone off her food and is loosing weight she is 5months old and in with my 2 other girls both 10 months old and Bob my boar, she doesn't want to come outside at all don't blame her we have had so much rain here in the SW the pens are like bogs, my OH is going to build another shed so they can all go inside, could she just be down in the dumps or something else. :P
Don't like to get the needle out too often (even though I am an ex-commercial pig farmer, ho, ho), but my thoughts are Pneumonia!!! Open those vents up and give her a good dose of penicillin, especially considering the time of year!!! :wave:
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Thanks guys, she was supposed to be with the other ones her own age but we couldn't get her out of the pen when I took the others out, I don't think she will put up much of fight now.
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Hi guys, well managed to get Fiona out of pen and under the heat lamp in a spare shed for a couple of days sadly she did not survive I found her this morning cuddled under the heat lamp, I was hoping for a better outlook for her as she was picking up a little and starting to enjoy her food again. Lessons learned by this though I do fear that big Bob may have rolled on her whilst a sleep, nothing under 9 months to go in with him. :'(
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Sorry to hear your news Barrett :(
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Oh Barrett, I am sorry to hear that :bouquet:
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my thoughts are Pneumonia!!! Open those vents up and give her a good dose of penicillin, especially considering the time of year!!! :wave:
is pneumonia not contagious to the other pigs?
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Sorry to hear you lost your gilt. A sad day :(
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So sorry to hear your news, :'(as you say lessons learn't but a tough way to do it.
Mandy :pig:
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Hi guys, thanks for all your kind words, my eldest boy has been away with Scouts this weekend so I had to tell him the sad news last night. I do still find the loss of one of my pigs really hard to deal with, I think the day I don't feel something when I take them to the abattoir or they pass away is the day I will pack it all in. :pig:
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my thoughts are Pneumonia!!! Open those vents up and give her a good dose of penicillin, especially considering the time of year!!! :wave:
is pneumonia not contagious to the other pigs?
That is sipmly not so, just because one pig in a pen contracts Pneumonia then they will all get it. It does not work like that. A pig under "stress" is more likely to suffer from a disease problem ie being bullied and not eating and drinking.
And I believe that it was in the end a disease problem that eventually caused this pig to die.
Sad but true.
Best would be to ask your Vet. :wave:
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pneumonia can and does just affect one pig in a batch we have had quite a bit of it last year with the shite weather check there temp then jag them it is rare to lose them if caught in time you can also inoculate against pneumonia
i doubt very much if the boar rolled on top of her maybe humped it to death
even mixing pigs of similar ages and size can cause bullying
piglets just hours old will fight it all come down to observing and learing from these observations and mistakes
:farmer:
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a local pig farmer near us has lost alot recently to pneumonia so its a conversation iv recently had, i was told that its contagious, same with cattle, cos when one gets it, it whips thru all of them in the same shed.
is it contagious with cattle? or are they just kept in identical conditions.
what do u inject? penicillin?
is it the same conditions that cause it in pigs as cattle?
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a local pig farmer near us has lost alot recently to pneumonia so its a conversation iv recently had, i was told that its contagious, same with cattle, cos when one gets it, it whips thru all of them in the same shed.
is it contagious with cattle? or are they just kept in identical conditions.
what do u inject? penicillin?
is it the same conditions that cause it in pigs as cattle?
If your piggery/pigs are Pneumonia free then this problem can occur but most piggeries/pigs are not?
If that is the case then his immediate response sholud be infeed medication.
He should also start a vaccination programm ie Stella immune one with piglets at weaning, gilts vacciated and sows at weaning.
Penicillin does work as a general rule, especially if treat is early. There are plenty of other drug available as well ie OTC,CTC, Tiamulin, etc.
And, as Robert states, any mixing at any age can cause problems, but if that happens then removing the pig from the situation is the best policy, sooner rather than later.
And once the pig is isolated and yet is not recovering, then medication should be another consideration, as bullying and lack of feed and water may not be the only reason for its lack of recovery.
Unfortately in this case scenario, time was not permitting, but that comes down to more immediate action needed to be taken.
The mixing of pig is always an option, even though nit always ideal, and if plan a does not work, then plan b should be adopted.
My point is that the loss of this pig is not solely down to mixing at a different age.
If you like, learn from this mishap. :wave: :thumbsup: