[P6te]

We recently had cause to call the vet for a poorly pig and I received my first crash course in injecting a pig with antibiotics. My crash course cost a mere £108  ....... ummmmm .... seems excessive to me but will be interested to hear what price others have paid for a call out!

So, whilst I have had my 'training' in restraining an 18 week old pig and injecting behind its ear, I don't think quite the same principle would apply to say a 12 month old sow or boar!!

Before I get to the point of needing to inject an older pig, do you have any tips?  any videos on YouTube?

Many thanks

Pete

[oaklandspigs]

my tip - buy a slapshot - a tube that goes between the syringe and the needle, allowing you to get the needle in, and then "squirt" the syringe at your leisure.
 
 
http://www.slapshot-flex-vac.com/benefit.htm
 
http://www.farmandcountrysupplies.co.uk/slapshot-flexible-vaccinator.ir?cName=farm-smallholding-medical-healthcare-needles-drenchers-pour-on-applicators-syringesgunsapplicators
 
 

[Berkshire Boy]

Masterject, expensive but would not be without it.

[Hillhead]

Our vet charges about £25 for a call out regardless of how long he is with us and then obviously charges for any drugs given. 
The aids named in other posts are good but we don't have the use of any.  When we have to inject we make sure the pig has a nice heap of nuts in front of them then inject whilst they are eating, this works for us but of course will not work for everyone.
 

[Button End Beasts]

Yes we had this horror. The first time we had a sick weaner, we called the vet out, who came from 5 miles down the road, and charged us £50 for the call out, and £45 for the consult. The drugs (just antibiotics) were about£10 in total! I argued with them about the ethics of vet treatment costing more than buying a new weaner but I was just wasting my breath.

[HappyHippy]

We do it with a simple palm strike syringe (would love a masterject or similar - but this is just as easy really, honest !) as long as you have a luer lock on the syringe to stop the pig running off with a needle still in her 
If it's a sub-cut (behind the ear) we wait til their head is just entering the food bowl/trough and act quickly from the other side of the fence/pig board - if you've been giving them a rub beforehand in that spot, they barely even notice    Same principle applies from behind for the IM ones - go in quickly, calmly and have a board with you - the more fuss and people a pig see's the more suspicious they get 
HTH
Karen 

[P6te]

Yes we had this horror. The first time we had a sick weaner, we called the vet out, who came from 5 miles down the road, and charged us £50 for the call out, and £45 for the consult. The drugs (just antibiotics) were about£10 in total! I argued with them about the ethics of vet treatment costing more than buying a new weaner but I was just wasting my breath.

The breakdown of our bill, including VAT is:

Visit smallholder (how nice, just to see me) £52.45
Pig exam a (the pig passed) £43.86
Pen + Strep (Norbrook) 100 £12.30

Total £108.61

[Ladygrey]

I just give them some feed in a bucket, give their ear a good scratching and bobs your uncle, they dont notice it

Apart from one pig "kiri" she must be able to smell or sense what we are about to do and will take off, we have a umm thingy to squish her againts a fence with and it has an opening window in the side where I can inject her through, its made out of a side of a kids wendy house, like a big pig board but the ends go inwards, like a half rectangle, fits a pig in sideways up against the fence 

And I seem to have the opposite problem with the vet out here, I had a piglet in january whom I thought was dying (she was unconscious, temperature of 36.5!!! and kept stopping breathing) I rung up the vet and he refused to come out saying that it would die anyway and just one piglet wasnt worth him coming out!!!!!

She finally stopped breathing and as her heart beat faded into nothing my brother poured his brandy down her neck!! she jumped alive and although still unconscious we put her out in her warm stable to  either live the night or peacefully die, in the morning she was perfectly fine no thanks to the vet

[Fowgill Farm]

Slightly off topic but to add to vet costs, on last months bill i have "Examine pig and advise 15 mins £33" so he's worth £132/hour   and the advise was no help at all! Our vets call out charge is £27.60.
Yee gods no wonder farmers think twice about calling them out!
mandy

[Bionic]

I had to call the vet out to one of my weaners on bank holiday monday. She injected the pig in the rump whilst other half held the pig wheelbarrow style for her.
I haven't received the bill yet but will probably need to go to bed for a week when I do.
Sally

[P6te]

A few good tips there ... I think the key thing for me was getting as much information as I could from the vet and put it down to training!!

The bottle of antibiotic is now stored in the fridge for future use.

I think we are all in the wrong business.....

Many thanks for all the (free) help here!! 

Pete

[Tamsaddle]

I tried a slapshot once, but was unable to get the air bubbles out of the tube, particularly as I had only been given a small volume of medication by the vet.   Is there a trick to resolving this problem?    I use a Masterject for large injections of over 5 ml, and a disposable syringe with a Luer needle for anything smaller.   It is all a question of how quickly you can push the plunger down before they realise what you are doing and object, and with a small amount it can be got in pretty fast.   If the volume is exactly 2 ml, as with Porcilis Ery, the injectors which draw up exactly the right amount each time are the easiest thing of all to use, but to use these you have to have a whole bottle of medicine.   All in all injections are not my favourite activity by a long haul.

[P6te]

All in all injections are not my favourite activity by a long haul.

I must admit I hated it .... one one occasion the pig made such a noise whilst I was getting a grip that the other pigs were alarmed and Elsie (3 year old sow) had her trotters up on the gate next to me!!

I don't know whether the pig or me was most pleased when the course of treatment was over!!  She certainly gave me a wide berth for a few days!!

[mattjen]

Our vet charges £35 call out and £1.78 a min after they set foot on land.but they are really good.

[HappyHippy]

The bottle of antibiotic is now stored in the fridge for future use.

Remember to note all the info into your medicines book and you'll have to chuck the bottle out after 28 days - they don't normally keep much past that