[Ladygrey]

Hi everyone,

Not posted on here in a bit, been having some problems.
I will start from the beginning and also just to let people know I am trying my best and have been to the vet and if I have missed anything or being stupid then Im sorry and it was accidental.

4 weeks ago whilst my mum was checking pigs in the morning she discovered one of them (7 month old castrate) acting completely drunk, wobbling everywhere and finding it difficult to stand.
She called me and I rung the vet and he was there by the afternoon.
He looked at the pig and asked about my water supply (which is fine) as his first thought was salt posioning.
After looking at Boykie's eyes and everything he reckoned it was Streptococcal meningitis!! so put Boykie and his friend walter on injections of pennecilian for 8 days.
After 8 days boykie had not improved at all and started falling into water trough/paddling on his back/running into gates, unfortunately the vet said there was nothing I could do and I had to have him shot  

I wasnt given any advice over what to do apart from the injections and he said it was definatly that.
He was shot over 2 weeks ago.

This morning I have gone to feed pigs and my gilt Kiri refused her food, I checked on her an hour ago and she is wobbling and her eyes are moving from side to side, her tail is down and she isnt happy 

I have called the vet and he will come tomorrow afternoon

Why has this happened? has anyone else had this? I cannot loose this little gilt, she means everything to me and the vet said it was piglets or weaners that caught it.

Kiri is 14 months old, 3 months ago she had a middle ear infection but apart from that she has been fine.
She is near to impossible to inject , I did not breed her and I did not breed the other pig who caught it, they came from different places.

Could have she caught it from Boykie without touching him?

Im really confused and I have NO IDEA what to do

Can anyone help me

Thanks, jess

[Hillhead]

Hi
 
We had the same thing with two piglets about a year ago.  Are you able to take Kiri's temperature.  If you can and it is raised I would consider giving her a shot of pen and strep if you have any.
Obviously separate her from the others, keep her warm without overheating and keep her hydrated.  We had a sow once with suspected salt poisoning and she refused to drink water so we tried her with some cranberry juice to encourage her to drink which worked.
 
This may be of little use to you but maybe worth a try.  It is so frustrating isn't it when things go wrong especially at a weekend when it is difficult to get hold of medicines etc to help.
 
Hope she gets better soon.

[nelson]

Hi Jess


I really feel for you. We had a case of Menigitis with our Berkshire boar Lucky. He started shaking his head and then slowly went off his food. He went very wobbly running into fences and really could stand. Eyes ticking. The vet came out diagnosed Meningitis and said that he had a 50 50 chance. He gave us a series of injections called Duphamox - LA and Ultra 3 a vitamin supplement which he said was important. We spent a lot of time with him giving him fluid with sweet stuff in and anything he would like to eat.  It took him a about 3 weeks to recover and today he is in a paddock with his sows. So take heart 

[HappyHippy]

We've not had meningitis here, but we have had salt poisoning - similar symptoms (except for the raised temp) and I really feel for you, it's awful to watch and manage   

I'd get the vet asap and write down the names of the meds Nelson has mentioned (or, phone them and tell them to bring it with them  ) - the sooner you can get it into Kiri the better  If she doesn't like jags it's going to be harder, but try doing it as her head goes down for the first munch of her food - quickly and without fuss (and the less people around that she's not used to the better - they always get suspicious when there's an audience, at least mine do  ) might work  Give the injection site a good rub and a few hard pats and on the last pat replace your hand with the needle, quick and quiet  Try to get a luer lock syringe, that way if she does run off you don't have the worry of a needle being left sticking in her 

Good luck & keep us posted 

[Ladygrey]

Thanks everyone,

Hillhead I am unable to take her temperature due to her being so very shy, she will run off at the slightest thought that she is going to be restrained/injected etc
I have cleared out the stable and will get her inside in the warm tomorrow morning (as soon as I can get some help)

Nelson your vet sounds more helpful than mine! my vet didnt speak the whole time he was here even after I asked him questions apart from to say what he thought it was, I had to try and do research into what it was. Do you know where I could get the vitamin supplement? and in what form is it?

HappyHippy thanks for the advice but I cannot inject her that way  when we fist got her she had had no human contact whatsoever apart from to be injected, so it took us a long time to get her tame, we injected her in the summer (worms and mites) and she wouldnt get near us for 1 month. So I am trying to figure out how I can do this, I have been using herbal wormer on her and organic mite and louse powder since!

I just feel like I should have been able to avoid this! and no idea how they got it in the first place, I know this sounds harsh but I would prefer any of the other pigs to get it rather than Kiri!! 

[kja]

you can get either multi vit for injections or soluable both of which should be a must to a med box

[Possum]

Ladygrey, i'm sure it's not your fault. Don't blame yourself. It must be awful to watch your pigs going through this.


I wonder if it has anything to do with the middle ear infection. In humans that can produce similar symptoms to meningitis. It's not very infectious, but it is not impossible for it to be passed between animals that live in close proximity. Might be worth mentioning to your vet.

 

[P6te]

Hi Jess,

The one thing I would add is that I really would recommend using a Slap Shot for the injection (see previous discussions re Slap Shot on here). 

In the past I hated giving injections but the Slap Shot makes it so much easier and the pigs do not seem to associate the feeling of the needle with you giving the injection. It much less stressful for you and them.

Pete

[nelson]

Hi Jess


How is Kiri - hope all is well

[Ladygrey]

Hi there,

Kiri is doing ok, a bit wobbly and slight temperature but doing better than Boykie did so far (cross fingers)
She is in the stable, and on pen and strep every day, she also had a shot of a vitamin supplement that the vet gave her (but I cant remember what it was called).

Looked at the slapshot and yes that may be worth investing in in the future, at the moment we are trying to squeeze her behind a hurdle each evening and its hard work! she lifts my boyfriend up easy, its hard to rememeber she only weighs 48kilo!!

[Hillhead]

So glad to hear things are improving, long may they continue to do so and she makes a full recovery.
 
Unfortunately, these things happen and it all comes with the joys of pigkeeping!
 

[Eve]

Ladygrey, definitely get a slapshot injector, it'll help Kiri trust you (it seems like an insect sting to them, they don't realise it's you doing the injecting so there's no getting upset with you). Hope Kiri gets through it soon, good luck.
 
Could someone please explain how a pig gets salt poisoning? Is it not drinking enough? Wrong food? 

[Fowgill Farm]

Could someone please explain how a pig gets salt poisoning? Is it not drinking enough? Wrong food? 

Salt poisoning usually occurs when a pig is fed concentrates and has no access to water, if you watch your pigs feed you'll notice that when they finish they generally head straight to the water trough for a guzzle.
This is why it is always stressed to new pig keeperes that their pigs must have constant 24/7 access to water. You might be too young but on All creatures great & small Mr Herriot the vet was called to a piggery where all the pigs were flaked out lethargic and some throwing fits and it was because somebody had turned off the water supply to the piggery and they had been without water for 24hrs, i remember he cut the toe off a welly to put in the pigs mouth to use as a funnel to get as much water into the pigs asap.
hth
mandy

[Ladygrey]

Hi everyone 

Just to let you know that kiri is  fine, and she has been let back outside.
Thanks to everyone who posted

Unfortunatly Crumpet (sow Kiri was in with) has rejected Kiri and wont take her back I have tried and tried but we have ended up with Kiri being grabbed round the neck and shoulders, crumpet wont let her eat or enter the hut and she now has cuts to her neck, behind her ears, shoulders and chest 
So Kiri has been put in with my other sow mango who is also bullying her ( but so far not as nasty) and is about to give birth any day....
I go away to wales for a week tomorrow (leaving my mum in charge who is very capable but cant do any fencing work), The only other place kiri can go is in with the young boars and that pen has no gate yet...  (we built it without a gate...long story)
So going to try and build a gate in the morning to get Kiri in the pen and hope that they are too young to do anything, other than that she will have to go in with the sheep where there is no shelter....

If it doesnt rain it pours...

[Fowgill Farm]

Try dousing Kiri & crumpet with a good spray of perfume, i moved a young gilt in with a sow this morning and they were both given a spray of eau de cologne which has confused the life out of them so far no nastiness, the sow has gone back to bed and the gilt is just rummaging round so that may help failing perfume fabreze is a good alternative, i would be wary of putting her in with the boars as they will have a good try at serving her, get all hormonal and probably fight!
Sorry
Mandy