Hi All
I am a small holder; I rear pigs and lambs on a small scale and sell the meat from my little farm shop. The most pigs I have are 16 at a time in lots of 4 with lots of room and open stable doors.
I started feeding some wet brewers grains in February along with their usual bread, pig nuts, cake, veggies and all was fine, they loved it. I picked the grain up immediately after it had been dug out and it was steaming and wet. Didn't use it longer than 4 days.
Last week I lost 9 healthy gorgeous pigs; they went off their food and 24 hours later dead. Devastated is an understatement. The vet suspected PPPRS or Actino bacillus pleuropneumonia, but all tests from 2 post mortems have come back with no answers - no flu, no virus, no toxins, nothing.
My vet thinks it may have been contaminated brewers grains. I have quizzed the brewer who has told me their cleaning process; I provide the tubs that he puts it in so I know they are clean.
I am searching the web for any answers and am at a dead end. Has anyone any thoughts on this or seen this happen before?
Desperate for answers and devastated that I may have poisoned my own pigs with the grain.
Any advice, info, shoulder to cry on, would be appreciated.
Thanks for reading.
T