[katog]

One of our two 4 month old pigs died this morning, cause unknown.
On Sunday she was fine, Monday morning she was wobbly on her legs, staggering, falling like a drunk.
The vet came - temp normal, lungs wheezy and heart fine, gave her antibiotics as a precaution.
This morning she's dead!
3 weeks ago there was a mouldy batch of sow and weaner nuts but surely that's too long ago to be the cause?
After some deliberation we have decided to have an autopsy and will let you know the results.
Have you ever heard of such a thing? Did you or anyone else you know get some of the mouldy food (Farmgate)?
We now have only one pig should we introduce another now?
I am gutted.

[HappyHippy]

Firsty, I'm really sorry to hear about your pig and yes, you should try to get another as soon as possible to stop the other getting lonely.
I know someone who also lost weaners recently (a more experienced breeder than myself and someone who really knows their pigs) and the only thing the vet could point to as a possible cause was, you've guessed it, mouldy Farmgate feeds 
Since I used Farmgate feeds myself at that point I was really quite concerned and got in touch with them (I also happened to have some mould in the feed and wasn't prepared to feed them it) Their take on it is that the mould is a result of fermentaition because the feed was either bagged while still hot or damp and that it wouldn't affect the pigs in any way.  I wasn't prepared to take that chance so have changed suppliers and haven't had any mould 
So it might be the feed - hopefully your pm will be able to tell you. If it is I would strongly suggest that you contact Farmgate directly and give them this undeniable evidence that it is the feed causing problems.
The other sudden death disease that springs to mind (particularly if you also have sheep or your pigs are on land recently occupied by sheep) is clostridium http://v2.mlc.org.uk/pigs/technical/index.html/?i=1050509214&action=view&s=Pigs%7CTechnical%20advice%7CAdvice%20to%20the%20farmer but the good news is you can vaccinate against it (using lambivac) to prevent the same thing happening in the future.
Will be interesting to hear the results of your pm though - keep us posted.
Karen 

[robert waddell]

did the carcase have purple bloches on it

[Greenerlife]

So sorry to hear that Katog!

I lost a pig last year, who had very similar symptoms albeit lasted a few days more after seeing the vet.  He said a sort of meningitis (which is why these lose their balance).  not necessarily due to feed, although that can be the case, more likely just on straw or in the ground.

[Roxy]

Sorry about your loss.  Hope you find out the cause. Not that it will bring your pig back, but finding out what it was, means you can take steps for it not to happen again, if thats possible of course.

I have used farmgate hen feed, and pig feed, and have not had a problem, although recently it has been a different brand he had in stock (sounds like I should say thank goodness it was!)

[katog]

Thanks for all the kind words folks, Robert - her underside was a bit blotchy but I assumed that was from her blood settling there, will let you know what the results are if any.

[robert waddell]

there was a post on this forum about what done your pig in           it was either HH or oaklands that posted info about it cant remember what it is called          it goes blotchy shortly after death

[ukag0972]

Oh thats a shame Katog!

[katog]

Thanks, maybe we will get 2 weaners, but will wait for the pm results ( do you have any?).

In the meantime I am paranoid about the one that's left.... I can't remember from last time - is it normal for some foam / froth around the mouth?

[katog]

Here is an interim post mortem report.  There are a few incidental findings such as mild worm damage but the main finding so far is that there was fluid in both the chest and abdomen.  Further tests are ongoing .
I had been unpleasantly surprised to find the pigs had not been wormed before we got them, I think it should be done at weaning don't you?

[Tiva Diva]

The problem with toxins such as botulism is they are very hard to detect in a dead animal, so often the pm just shows signs rather than causes. If you still have some of the mouldy feed you could get it analysed. This happened to us, and our vet was 95% sure the cause was mouldy feed. We have voted with our wallets and changed feed suppliers.
Buy another pig now to keep your survivor happy. Yes, some foaming at the mouth is not unusual.
We worm all our weaners with Ivomec before we sell them: if you're buying in weaners it's worth checking if they've been wormed and what with, also if they've been vaccinated against erysepilas or not

[katog]

The results of the autopsy are - the pig died of acute mycotoxin (fungal) toxicity most likely a Fumonisin (fusarium monif? mainly found in corn) produced by fungus in feed.
(To test the food for the fusarium would cost around £100.)

I asked if it could be from feed 3 weeks prior - yes
Is it possible for 2 pigs to eat the same stuff and 1 die and the other ok - yes
Is there any treatment if this one shows signs - no
Also present some worm damage in liver - would be ok to eat.

Looking at other threads it appears very dificult to avoid buying Farmgate or other feed so I supose we have to hope this was a one off problem. There's no alternative to Farmgate near us here.

Oh dear - the way I see it this pig could drop dead anytime - or not. So her sister arrives on Sunday hopefully the introduction will go smoothly, we can't give them seperate areas unfortunately.

Thanks for all your interest and I hope this doesn't happen to any of your pigs.

[Fowgill Farm]

Katog
Whereabouts are you in the UK then maybe someone can suggest an alternative feed to farmgate.
I would send a copy of the PM findings to Farmgate techy boys, its not in their interest to have folks put off buying their food and you might get some freebies from them. Their contact details are on their website.
Awful thing to happen.
HTH
Mandy

[katog]

Thanks Mandy
We're in Cowal, Argyll. Reid and Robertson in Balloch are our nearest outlet.

[Tiva Diva]

Katog,
I would do as Mandy (Fowgill Farm) suggests and contact Farmgate. They'll need the batch number of the suspect feed, and a sample if you've any left. If you want you can mention our case (contact me for our details if you want to): I emailed them, got a sympathetic email back, gave them batch number and have heard nothing since.
You would think it's in their interest to do something to prevent any more bad publicity.