The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: ScotsGirl on January 03, 2014, 07:48:24 pm
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Our OSB sow is due to farrow at the end of this month. About a week or so ago she started limping again, a but intermittent as was worse when she came out of house and sometimes improved through the day. We have made her door bigger into the ark and taken away board at front in case she was knocking herself.
There is no sign of heat or swelling and I can't see anything between toes or underneath. She was lame before going to boar but fine when we sent her. Gave her antibiotics then but not sure if just coincidence that it improved.
How long should we leave before give meds and do you think AB is the answer when nothing visible? She hates being injected and I always draw the short straw!
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A friend of ours had a gilt that was lame on and off for ages, Metacam helped in the short term but they ended up eating her instead of breeding and risking putting extra strain on the problem.
They could never pin point the exact reason for lameness and neither could the vet...... Might be worth a call to vets to see what they recommend though :fc:
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Yes I tried that last time. It worried me slightly when she wanted me to hold while she went to look up a textbook!! I might pluck up courAge to give metacam but she will hate me forever
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Yes I tried that last time. It worried me slightly when she wanted me to hold while she went to look up a textbook!! I might pluck up courAge to give metacam but she will hate me forever
Can't she have the oral metacam?
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Is she outside in mud?
The sheer weight of her pregnancy on heavy ground would make any woman limp trying to drag that weight thro bad ground?
It may be worth bringing her in to hard standing if you can and see if her condition improves, oral metacam is available if you don't want to jab. speak to your vet, its quite expensive. We have given sows 400mg Ibruprofen when vets been shut with some success( animal ketafen is just a version of it).
HTH all the best
mandy :pig:
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Well had things gone to plan with the barn she would have had a nice warm pen with concrete floor, however, only the frame up so far and cladding etc going up next week. I wanted her in to farrow but looks like we will have to keep her out in soon to be new bigger pig house.
She doesn't come out much anyway, only if she thinks we might have some food! Will speak to vet Monday.
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If you can get her into the dry you may find it'll improve once she's farrowed - she'll have lost of lot of weight and she'll also be lying down a lot so the piglets can suckle.
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I have found some oral dog metacam. Can I use this and if so what quantity?
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I have found some oral dog metacam. Can I use this and if so what quantity?
Yes you can use it but check with the vet for quantities or google it for more info.
I still think her being outside is a major factor causing the lameness, outside her house use some old silage or wet old straw to make a raft for her to walk on, she needs to exercise and if she's going to farrow soon she needs to be able to get up and move around easily so she doesn't squash her young, the temptation is that because she has pain she won't move and you'll have problems with her doing her business in situ, fluid retention and all the problems associated with in action. If you can move her do.
all the best
mandy :pig:
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At the moment the mud here is superficial so she is not knee deep, it's just a bit slippy. Squirted a bit into her food but will check with vet tomorrow then spend the week planning how to sort her housing