# sick pig? or worried wart?



## herd of my own (Jul 24, 2014)

Im new to pigs. First time raiser, we have four porkers. I came out after work to give their normal slop and one stayed in his hut. He lifted his head to look at me but stayed while the others ate. They get their normal pig food (eat as they want)plus a sloppy treat, just once a day. Should I be concerned he didn't leave his hut?


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## frustratedearthmother (Jul 24, 2014)

I am no pig expert -  but I think there is definitely a problem when a pig doesn't want to eat!


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## goatgurl (Jul 24, 2014)

I'm by no means a pig expert either but have raised a few and if it won't come out to eat there is something wrong.  I'd check with a vet or a pig person


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## M.L. McKnight (Jul 25, 2014)

Your pig could have gotten hot and been worn out from the heat. Your pig could be the low man on the totem pole and have been getting his butt kicked and been rooted on all day from the others. 

Check your pig for a fever, do the hand test and just touch the end of his snout. It should be slightly cooler than your hand. You can deal with a fever by getting him by himself, cooling him down and giving him a dose of durapen. 
I had a gilt one time that out in the pasture with the others and she got wet during a thunderstorm. There was a break in the rain and I found her by herself shivering and thought she was a goner, the other hogs were in the huts and huddled under hay. I took a few square bales and busted them on top of her and came in for the evening, the next morning she had warmed up and was being her normal old rooting self.
Give him a once over and make sure that he didn't twist and ankle or bruise his foot. I had a Berkshire sow one time (big-big-biiiiiiig ol girl) and she was trotting to me and stepped on a stob in a patch of brush. I thought for sure she had broken her leg or something and was freezer filler but no, it turned out she just bruised her foot- she favored it for a few days but no biggie.
If your pig still acts dull, call a vet. IF you don't have one then call Mississippi State University and ask for their Food Animal Department OR call Auburn University, both have really good vet schools and I'd actually give Auburn the leg up on swine.


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## Threelittlepigs (Feb 14, 2015)

Hey first time poster.....

i'm fairly new to raising pigs and right now i am at a loss.  I successfully raised 2 Tamworth and Duroc mix pigs had no problem and then I purchased 6 40lb feeder pigs and I keep them outside, I do have a shelter built for them. Their mom had been put down due to a broken leg while the piglets were still young. Three days ago my brother went out to feed the pigs and noticed that one of them was not eating and did not look well so we moved him to a different spot and contacted a local pig farmer who came out and looked at him and said he thought he has pneumonia. He was sneezing, coughing, had a hard time breathing, would not eat, couldn't move, didn't sound like a normal pig, and had a low temperature. We immediately started giving him Tylan twice a day and moved him to a new shelter and put a heat lamp in there to warm him up. We started give him molasses water, and kefir by syringing it in his mouth. His temperature started rise to normal but he did not act any differently. We also switched him to oxyTetrcycline which we now give him twice a day. I went out this morning and looked him over and found a lump on his left side just below his shoulder it is about the size of a small apple...

So a few questions:

1) How long could it take for him to get better on antibiotics?
2) Is this lump most likely a swollen lymph node?
3) Could this be something other than pneumonia?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!


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## jk47 (Feb 14, 2015)

For the first poster like everyone said keep a good eye on that pig. Theres aalways somthing wrong when an animal wont eat. Take temp often and give electrolyte if its been really hot and try to mix the electrolyte water into the feed and feed It by Its self to see If It will eat and I can see if its sick or just getting beat up  If It eats or not ,also check the pig over to make sure theres know cuts on its feet that might of made it hard for it to walk. If it is not getting better or staying the same after a week.and you still haven't found the cause call your vet to look at it


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