[mrsbeckett]

Hi again! Percy still doing ok but not 100% yet. still a bit of a wheeze but not that bad. the water bubbles are reforming though so will have to keep draining them as before. I dont think it is allergic, if it is i cant think what on earth has caused it. i wash his blankets with the same powder i always have, our garden is grass and the occassional stinger that gets removed for the kids, nothing obnoxious out there. the only thing could be that he keeps munching on the apples falling from the tree but would that make him react?? no weird stuff used in the house, dogs are wormed and de-flead in the kennels so he cant have rubbed on them or anything. thanks for all the support, will keep on posting any updates on our little mystery pig!!

[Bumblebear]

How's he doing now? 

[mrsbeckett]

Hi all again! Percy still with us and still very much with it which is great! am beginning to wonder if this continual relapse of getting weak then pulling through might be anaemia as i am doubtful he would have ever had a shot of iron when he was brought to us at such a young age? He does root around in the garden a lot but i think ill look into getting a shot or tablets from the vet for him. I've heard mixed opinions of iron in food, the debate of giving raw egg or not is confusing to me! Anyone had any experience of anaemia? His diet is mostly apples (cheeky sod) and peelings from the kitchen, bread scraps sometimes, milk and cereals. He eats well but is a tad fussy on some peelings, not to keen on raw carrot but will eat cooked (spoilt little piggy!) should i change any of this? Pig farmer friends of ours advised not to give commercial pig feed as its full of all sorts he doesnt need as a free range pig.

[Berkshire Boy]

Firstly it is illegal to feed a pig anything from the kitchen. Proper pig feed is what he needs it is full of all the vitamins and minerals that he needs. The most likely reason he is not doing well is that his diet is wrong.

[HappyHippy]

Under absolutely NO circumstances should he get anything from your kitchen  It's illegal for one thing and a disease risk for another.
If stuff is peeled/cooked outside that's another matter and he will benefit from a bit of variety in his diet but I'd avoid bread as it will make him over fat without providing any real nutritional value.
I would disagree with your pig farming friends, he does need some form of 'hard feed' - pig food is especially formulated to contain all the vitamins & minerals he needs for healthy growth and development. Without it he just won't go and do as well as he should (especially if he's a commercial 'white' pig - they need good levels of feeding) I'd go for 1lb of hard feed for every month of age, up to a maximum of around 5lbs per day. If he's not been in the habit of getting hard feed build him up gradually, two or maybe even 3 feeds per day, plenty of water available for him and don't give in when he squeals for tasty stuff and tries to tell you he doesn't like the pig nuts 
I think you'll see quite a difference in him once he's eating as he should - he'll do much better 
HTH
Karen

[mrsbeckett]

ok thanks guys!!! thought it was only illegal to give them meat and meat by-products! mostly its peelings from our own garden anyway as we grow our veg so hopefully nothing nasty been going to him that way! going to get some proper pig food today for the fella and will wean him slowly from his current food to that

[shygirl]

he definitely needs real commercial pig food.
some people can mix their own feeds and feed the "natural" way but this requires alot of research and commitment to get the nutrients right. free ranging isnt enough - unless he has access to wild kill, a woodland full of slugs and plenty of veg and nuts etc. my traditonal breed pigs were kept in 20 acres of woods but they still needed proper pig food to kept healthy, a suprising amount when it is cold and windy.
remember the hybrid type of pig will have this hardiness bred out of them so must be fed properly, especially if he has had a bad start to life.

keeping warm is tricky when hes on his own as they tend to lie on top of each other in a heap when its cold.

when you lanced the lumps - did anything come out? when my pig had lumps - it was her lymph nodes swollen rather than an abcess filled with pus.

is he still on milk? if so what kind?