[benkt]

Anyone got any experience of osteochondrosis in weaners? One of my 12 week old saddleback boars has suddenly gone off his back legs and I am wondering if this could be the cause. He is sitting up most of the time with back legs tucked sideways under him. He's been eating reasonably normally and I can see no sign of trauma. Will get a vet opinion but would love to know if anyone has direct experience of this.


Thanks


Ben

[Fowgill Farm]

Don't know if its any help but we occaisionally have pigs who 'sit like labradors' and its usually the result of a trip or slip and is known as splay legs, so long as they're feeding, drinking and getting up to what pigs do and do not appear in pain on movement we leave them to it and it generally with rest rights itself.
We also have piglets who are darn lazy and are so chunky and fat they sit this way too
Mandy

[kja]

Don't know if its any help but we occaisionally have pigs who 'sit like labradors' and its usually the result of a trip or slip and is known as splay legs, so long as they're feeding, drinking and getting up to what pigs do and do not appear in pain on movement we leave them to it and it generally with rest rights itself.
We also have piglets who are darn lazy and are so chunky and fat they sit this way too
Mandy

a shot of metacam sorts it out along with rest.

[benkt]

Took the little boar to the vet this lunchtime. No definite diagnosis but got a shot of antibiotics and one of steroids on the basis it might be an abscess or a strain of some kind. I then had to evict the last couple of little cockerels from our hatchery shed (an old 6x4 garden shed we were given) then muck it out and have bedded him down in there for the night. He's still eating well so have some hope for a positive outcome.....to be continued....

[Eve]

A few years ago, one of our fatteners had osteochondritis dissecans, though it was a short lived problem in the sense that we only saw him going through his legs on two different days and both days the problem lasted only for a few hours. Around the same time, someone else did mention they'd seen one of our weaners not walking well once (when we weren't present), which presumably was the same weaner with the same problem.
 
The first day it happened, it looked similar to the way it does if someone stands behind you and pushes their knees into the back of your knees and you drop a bit. He just dropped through his knees a bit every now and then whilst walking. It didn't stop him playing.
The second day, he squeeled as well when it happened and he completely fell through his legs and dragged his backside over the ground for a few yards. That was in the evening and he was fine by morning. It was the last time we saw it, and everything was fine afterwards. He went for slaughter a month or two later without any further issues.
 

[benkt]

Thanks Eve, sounds quite different to my boar's symptoms so I can cross one thing off the possible list!

[Mrs Snoodles]

Fingers crossed for you. You've acted quickly so  in our experience with the all the various animals that we have kept  this is the crucial thing.

[SallyintNorth]

  for your boar.

[benkt]

Well, that was another day!

We  have a second pig down with same symptoms as the first - trauma  looking much less likely, another round of antibiotics, steroids and multivitamins for good measure. Still no definite diagnosis two vets later....

[Fowgill Farm]

Ben
Are you positive your pigs haven't had Erysipelas what you describe sounds like the aftermath of a bout of it as it often leaves pigs with oesteoarthritis, might be worth getting the vet to jab the rest of your pigs with EryP(does Parvo too) however they may already be infected.
Its awful when you can't get a diagnosis, wish there were more decent pig vets.
Mandy
 

[spursman]

Osteochondrosis can be caused by very rapid early growth. Did they come on very quickly or would you say it was normal growth.

[benkt]

re: Osteochodrosis, the two I've got problems with were the bigger two of a litter of eight but not excessively bigger in my admittedly limited experience.
On the upside, Spot  (the one who saw the vet on Saturday) seems to be making a good recovery. He's up and walking voluntarily e.g. strolling across the shed to get to his food and then eating standing up - none of which he could do on Saturday. Stripe (the one that got ill first) is improving more slowly. He will stand if I lift his back legs up and take a few weak steps but not doing it on his own. I spoke to the vet again today and if they are the same in the morning, then I'll go get the different antibiotics and multivits for Stripe in the morning and talk OH into injecting him for me.

[Eve]

Good luck, Benkt.
Our weaner-with-the-bad-legs didn't grow excessively rapidly either, and Spot and Stripe might well be suffering from something completely different. Sometimes it's just too difficult to know for sure.
 
One of ours first weaners was called Spot, btw, and this year we had a Stripey, too    Good luck to them. 

[benkt]

Both up and walking on their own this morning, so    we're on the road to recovery