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Author Topic: Lame pig - advice please!  (Read 3171 times)

Hevxxx99

  • Joined Sep 2012
Lame pig - advice please!
« on: March 25, 2016, 10:15:53 pm »
Pigs are not my thing: I don't begin to know a thing about them, but the local wildlife rescue, of which I am a trustee, have been asked to take a sow in that was found running loose near a busy road. The police thought she was a wild boar so took her to the Sanctuary.

Anyway, she looks elderly and is very overweight.  She seems very lame too, so the vet has been out and given the proprietor antibiotics to inject.  She's a wildlife rehabilitator, so not a novice with such things, but has no experience with pigs.  Is there a best way to do it? With horses, you slap the area a couple of times before jabbing and it theoretically numbs the skin. Any tricks like that?

Here's an article about the pig if you're  interested:
http://www.gazetteherald.co.uk/news/13840993.Wild_boar_loose_in_North_Yorkshire___UPDATED_10_45am/
« Last Edit: March 25, 2016, 10:20:54 pm by Hevxxx99 »

oaklandspigs

  • Joined Nov 2009
  • East Sussex
    • OaklandsPigs
Re: Lame pig - advice please!
« Reply #1 on: March 25, 2016, 10:47:44 pm »
yes, go for the neck, and slap a few times before injecting.

www.Oaklandspigs.co.uk
"Perfect Pigs" the complete guide to keeping pigs; One Day Pig Courses in South East;
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HappyHippy

  • Guest
Re: Lame pig - advice please!
« Reply #2 on: March 26, 2016, 12:22:35 am »
She looks like a wild boar to me - I've never seen a domestic sow with such obvious tusks (unless she's an iron age, they might have them, I'm not sure  :thinking:)
Inject as Oaklands says - preferably from the other side of a gate! Easiest is to wait til her snout is in a bucket of food  ;)Take extra care when doing anything with her, make sure you have a really heavy duty pig board and an easy escape route at all times...... Good luck and keep us posted  :)

harmony

  • Joined Feb 2012
Re: Lame pig - advice please!
« Reply #3 on: March 26, 2016, 07:10:27 am »
Looks like some wild boar and pot belly in there somewhere. If you struggling with the injections then go for the rump. You inject behind the ear because it gets quickly into the system and it is a cheap cut of meat but that isn't a problem here. You could put her behind a gate so it acts like a crush with a rope across the back like breeching on a trailer.
Are her feet long? Just wondered as her teeth are. For safety they need trimming like you would with a boar and I would suggest her feet were done at the same time if that's the case. You need an experienced pig vet or pig person for that.

oaklandspigs

  • Joined Nov 2009
  • East Sussex
    • OaklandsPigs
Re: Lame pig - advice please!
« Reply #4 on: March 26, 2016, 08:50:51 am »
now had a chance to look at the article.

If tame, very lame and old, I'd suggest that your chances of fixing this are very slim.  Old pigs are not good on their legs, and it may (or may not!) be the reason why she was kicked out in the first place.

Given that you are a sanctuary, suggest you try for a week, and make sure that you get some metacam to both relieve pain and as anti-inflammatory (version for pigs the formulations are different between animals- your vet will supply), it comes in two versions as an injectable or as oral.  The injection is better if you can administer jabs, but otherwise go for it as a liquid that you can put into feed/onto food. 

After that I'd very seriously consider having her put down, and if it doesn't improve in a week, it's highly unlikely to, and an animal that lame will be in constant pain.  Pigs don't walk at all well on 3 legs, the weight is at each corner and the anatomy prevents them repositioning to compensate (as say a dog would), and if she's overweight as well that will just make everything worse..
www.Oaklandspigs.co.uk
"Perfect Pigs" the complete guide to keeping pigs; One Day Pig Courses in South East;
Weaners for sale - Visit our site for details

Hevxxx99

  • Joined Sep 2012
Re: Lame pig - advice please!
« Reply #5 on: March 26, 2016, 10:24:24 am »
Thanks for all the advice.  :thumbsup:

She does have rather long feet to my eyes so I'll re-suggest having them trimmed (I mentioned it last time I looked at her) and getting metacam for her. 

Apparently, she didn't flinch at the jab itself, but grumbled when the plunger was depressed.

She seems very tame and docile - not Wild Boar-ish at all - so suspect she's a cast out pet.  No tags or markings, of course! 

Just to clarify: in the article, she ISN'T the wild boar on the right: she's the fat lump in the middle! But yes, she has very long and rather mis-shapen tusks.

Is there any way of ageing a pig?

Marches Farmer

  • Joined Dec 2012
  • Herefordshire
Re: Lame pig - advice please!
« Reply #6 on: March 26, 2016, 11:35:34 am »
I agree with oaklandspigs.  I'd guess she's at least 7 years old (bit of Vietnamese Pot Bellied in there somewhere, maybe) and is much too heavy to operate on three legs.  You can probably continue to keep her alive but whether it would be a life free from pain is doubtful.

Hevxxx99

  • Joined Sep 2012
Re: Lame pig - advice please!
« Reply #7 on: March 27, 2016, 03:19:45 pm »
I'll pass all your advice on to the proprietor.  Thanks for your help. 

I suspect you're probably right about the old and lame thing, but she'll get a chance.

 

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