The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: Fowgill Farm on November 28, 2012, 10:26:35 am
-
Oh what a crap day! Bloody rain won't stop .Came home late yesterday afternoon to find one of my fatteners laid in hedgeback, from the marks in the mud it would appear he had shuffled there to get out of the appalling weather hnd had been there sometime as was very cold, when tried to move him he howled his head off so rang OH and he came home and we got a pallet on the back of the tractor and managed to roll him on and bring him into the farrowing house(only pig free building at mo!) where we cleaned him up, wrapped him in sacking and covered him with straw, managed to get soem warm porridge in to him and left him for a couple of hours until we could examine him. We now suspect he has broken his back as he sits like a labrador and seems content to eat and drink as normal in this position but if you try to lift his back end he screams out, waiting for vet to come but suspect he will have to be pts which is a bugger as he was due to go to the butcher on Monday, cannot believe it, i knew i'd left them too long out in that bar steward of a muddy field but just so short of space for them and i like them to be out free ranginf if they're meat pigs so they can have the best life. He was also the runt which you may remeber i bottle fed and have nurtured to slaughter weight so double gutted. :'( >:( :(
This is the part of keeping stock i hate, off for a good cry and to straighten my head out before vet comes :-[
Mandy :pig:
-
mandy could he have slipped in the mud and splayed his legs ? this causes them to sit like dogs with a shot of metacam & anti b's he could be mended (not much help for d day though )
the reason i say this is i had a pig slip a few months back that acted just the same she is 110% now due to farrow on the 2nd jan.
fingers crossed :pig:
-
Kja that crossed my mind too as have seen pigs recover from it before but think this is more than that, we shall see, thanks for trying to uplift my spirits.
mandy :pig:
-
:fc: keep us updated mandy
btw the hunt number was dialed she was so bad screaming out when ever we tried to touch her but we gave her 24 hrs kept jabing anti b's the d day came we looked in on her and there she stood :relief: it took 2 weeks for 100%
xx :pig:
-
Aww sounds like a rubish morning
Maybe he's just being he's just being a sulky man about it, there very melodramatic. Hope the vet has some good news for you :fc:
-
I third all this! Hope he's ok!!
-
I recon they have either pulled something or tore a muscle, otherwise, if the back was broken would they not be more floppy, lack of any control in the legs?
I am by no means an expert but hope that its not a break!! :fc:
-
Mandy
Hope that things are not as bad as you suspect and good luck :bouquet:
-
So sorry to hear your news. If it's any use, I had a gilt who went over a fence - badly. She was so badly injured, I thought she'd have to be shot. Turned out she had torn ligaments. Took two months of anti-inflammatories and daily physio (walking round, holding the tail), but she went on to be a brilliant breeding sow.
Another gilt slipped in mud whilst being chased by a young boar. Didn't walk for a fortnight and didn't eat for three weeks and hardly drank, either. She went from being a slightly overweight show pig (breed champion) to a coat rack. That was in March. She's since made a full recovery.
Pigs seem to have an amazing capacity for coping with pain and injury. Hope you get some good news soon. Liz x
-
Awful news, hope it is just a severe pull rather than more serious :fc:
:bouquet: :hug:
-
:fc: for you Mandy :bouquet:
-
My piggies always sound like they are in death throes, even when it is as small a something as having their feet cleaned up for inspection, or ears cleaned out to check for mites etc. When it is as serious as having ears notched, you'd think we were actually performing illegal torture on them. So, I am now somewhat deaf to their noises and try to look at the individual instead of listening to it (hard - it is a pretty insistent noise, a pig in pain...).
If he can sit and eat, I don't reckon he can have broken his back. Hopefully it is something ligament related - a bit like sciatica, maybe?
Aren't you glad you aren't a vet, though, when you have this sort of thing to try to work out...
Thinking of you all and hoping there's another good outcome for this little piggy xx
-
sorry to hear about your pig Mandy any news yet. :fc:
-
What a bar steward of a day. Hope it's good news by now. :hug:
-
can only echoe the others - hope all is ok, and let us know :fc:
-
Hope it's good news about the pig :fc:
-
:fc: for you and pig. all the best :tree:
-
:bouquet: :fc: thinking of you Mandy and the little chap
-
Oh what a bummer......any news yet? :fc: :fc: :bouquet:
-
Dear of him. Hope it's just pulled muscle or something else rightable :fc:
-
:fc:
Hope it's nothing terminal. I'd be surprised if he's broken his back: pigs' spines are very well protected and it takes a LOT of force/energy to break one. A fall from a serious height or being hit by a car would do it, but not just slipping & falling in the mud. More likely to be pulled ligaments which can usually be treated with anti-inflammatories, though of course you then can't slaughter him until the withdrawal period is over.
This mud is SUCH a bastard. We're running out of sound paddocks to put our pigs in too.
Hope it's not as bad as you fear!
-
Poor wee pig, any news :fc:
-
Hi everyone thank you so much for your kind thoughts & words, all the positive karma must be coming thro as vet agrees with you all about it being musclar or ligament tearing, so we start the metacam and massage and see how he goes. The good news is that he has eaten all his tea &had a good drink, he has somehow managed to have a dump which wasn't squashed so suspect he managed to crouch/ which is all good news. he's also peeing ok :thumbsup:
After all the effort i've put into him i really don't want to put him to sleep, as long as his quality of life remains good we'll persevere and :fc: hopefully he will fulfil his potential in the new year, better late than never.
once again thanks for all your support, it makes me realise how important my TAS pals have become to me especially when things look grim. :love: to you all.
Mandy :pig:
-
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Mandy I hardly dared look at your post! So pleased for you and piggie :hug:
Pauline
-
Fab news
-
Great news :thumbsup: plenty of rest and massage ( for both of you after the stressful day you have had )
-
woot, tis good news.
-
Have been out today mrs and missed all this !
Keeping :fc: and there's some reiki on the way to your piggy :-*
-
:fc: he is on the mend now :) , sounds hopeful
-
Vet rang this morning to suggest a couple of steroid injections as after doing further reading he thinks it might be a trapped nerve, so going to collect some jabs after work.
Boyo is full of himself this morning having a good chew at my coat, ate all his brekkie and is nice and snug.
Now got to get my head round having a major reshuffle of pigs to accommodate him in the scheme of things for another month.
Once again thanks for all your support.
Mandy :pig:
-
Oh, Mandy - I am so pleased to hear the news that your boy will be ok.
-
That's great news - they're robust little things aren't they! My pair of ill pigs spent about a week off their feet, recovering slowly and then got up and smashed down the wall of their 'hospital' shed so had to be moved back to the field pronto! Hope your little chap is up and causing trouble again soon.
-
Awww yay! Glad to hear he's okay :)
-
Even better news OH has just been home and he checked on rarfy and he managed to totter around the stable for a drink....yahoo progress. :fc:
mandy :pig:
-
:thumbsup: :pig:
-
:thumbsup: Good news :thumbsup:
-
Only just read this but I am pleased things are sounding better already
A few years ago one of my ewes decided to lamb in a ditch and when I found her she was completely paralysed in the back legs. Got her to the shed and it was suggested she was put down. But she looked fine in herself to me, so nursed her for a day or so then got my chiropractor to call out as by then I thought it was a twisted back. We got her to her feet he did the crunchy bit, she bleated then walked out of the shed and started eating.
She reared a cade lamb that year and went on to twin next year with no assistance. Just thought I would mention it.
At the time the chiropractor charged me £30 and the vet wouldn't have been any less and then I would have had to dispose of the carcass. :thumbsup:
-
Great stuff :thumbsup:
I'm sure the massages will have made all the difference ;)
-
Good news! :) Im glad he hasnt done more damage :)
Hopefully he will be running and about soon
-
Mandy, thats really good news :thumbsup:
Sally
-
I am SO pleased for you all :sunshine:
Hope he recovers quickly now.
-
Very glad things not as gruesome as originally feared :excited:
-
Excellent. Pigs really are tough little buggers.
-
Great news :thumbsup:
Sounds like he's heading in the right direction. It will not be long before he's barging his way back outside ;D
-
Great news :thumbsup:
-
Rarfy has been for a walk out round the yard this morning albeit very tentatively, the muscles around his back end and stomach are very spasmed still but we are making progress. I wondered if anyone had any idea about a natural muscle relaxant, i am massaging him which he isn't keen on but i think it does help a bit and we're keeping him warm.
Minus 5 here this morning so have been carrying buckets of hot water to thaw out the troughs, any splilt froze instantly but it is so lovely to see :sunshine: .
Mandy :pig:
-
valerian root? do some research first mind....
-
Sorry Mandy only just seen this,
so glad he is making progress. Valium is a muscle relaxant in humans not sure what it would do to a pig. we have given it i/v to inappetant cats in practice, amazing how it makes them eat every thing in sight! You could always ask your vet. Don't know of a natural relaxant.
Hope he continues to improve :fc:
-
Phew! I just saw this post and am so relived to find it has a happy ending. :relief: Best wishes for a full recovery.
-
Valium is a muscle relaxant in humans not sure what it would do to a pig. we have given it i/v to inappetant cats in practice, amazing how it makes them eat every thing in sight!
That's called "The Munchies" ;) Given that valium does the opposite of tranquilise in a cat! :D
So glad to be hearing the ever improving reports on Rarfy, Mandy :thumbsup:
-
Don't know about natural muscle relaxants, but i'm treating my horse for back muscle spasms at the moment. Along with massage, she is having heat treatment in the form of a hot water bottle & we are using a tens machine (only about £30) twice a day. It's time consuming but we are making great progress. You could try getting a physio/sorts massage person out to have a look?
-
Yeay - excellent news. Good on ya - all down to your care and attention :thumbsup:
t' other Mandy
-
Just a quick update, after DITW's suggestion of valerian i looked at OH's herbal sleeping tabs and they contian it so i crushed half a one in a banana for rarfy and it seemed to do the trick, on saturday he was almost back to normal so much so we brought his brothers back to him and he promptly decided to fight them both, i then sent nearly 2hrs keeping them from fighting, eventually they all settled in a heap in the straw along with me! :relief:
So from seeming disaster to full recovery, he can trot off to the butchers with his brothers, job done. i think i will defo cry about these 3 as they have been a real struggle to rear what with the bad weather and lack of veg. but they have had the best life i can give them and thats what counts.
Thanks for all your help and kind thoughts
mandy :pig:
-
TOP :banana:
Sounds like you need to sit down with a very stiff drink!
-
Well done Mandy so pleased to hear piggy is better :thumbsup:
-
eventually they all settled in a heap in the straw along with me! :relief:
[/quote
Good to hear the story did have a happy ending....
I hope it was warm with all the piggies in the heap! ;D My porkers went off this morning on their final journey and I have been really worried about them in these last few days, as the really deep mud was now frozen and they were walking very gingerly on the ice and slipping about a bit... but no disasters here. :relief:
-
That's why our pork is so good, Mandy it has been loved and cared for :thumbsup:
-
So glad you've had a happy ending mrs :-*
Ditto ppd's sentiments - cared for pork is the best kind there is :thumbsup:
-
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
-
That's why our pork is so good, Mandy it has been loved and cared for :thumbsup:
Ditto :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :pig: :pig: :pig: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
-
Great work Mandy. :trophy: I agree a big bottle of something is well deserved :thumbsup:
-
Glad it has all worked out well for you after your hard work :)