# OK, I am probably stupid, but I brought home 4 piglets last night



## mama24 (Jul 6, 2012)

The woman was giving away the little ones for free if you bought a bigger piglet b/c they looked like they were dying. I bought a healthyish  looking older girl(none of them looked HEALTHY, but she looked pretty good compared to the half dead ones), and then gave her $20 for the 3 teeny weenies, 2 boys, 1 girl. They can't weigh more than 5lbs each and were obviously way way too young to be taken away from mama, which she admitted, said she bought them from someone else. I think I need to call a vet, but I wanted to ask for advice here, too. They don't seem to know how to eat. The smallest boy was dead this morning, which I was expecting sadly.  The girls drank some water, but none of the 3 I have left have eaten anything that I can tell. I tried force feeding the 3 bitties a bottle of milk with sugar and half and half added last night, just to try and get some energy into them. The weakest one that died swallowed the most, the other boy a little, and the healthy (well compared to the boys anyway) none at all. Too little too late I guess. I have half a mind to call animal welfare people on the people I got them from. All they were feeding them was free out of date cookies. That's it. Not even oatmeal cookies, which would be slightly better, but lemon creams. There were hundreds of empty packets next to the pens and not a scrap of anything else in sight. And the water bucket was too high for the bitty ones to reach. temps in the 90's and 100's here the past week, and they were on dry dirt. They were in the shade, but they could have sprayed off one end to make them cooler or SOMETHING. 

I gave them some wazine and sulmet last night, b/c I had those on hand for my chickens and goats and felt like I needed to do SOMETHING, and those were all I had in my animal med cabinet that were labeled for swine. The girls both look a lot better already today (and smell a heck of a lot better as well!) but the little boy isn't looking too good. I can see every bone in his body through his skin. I milked one of my goats right into a pan for them and put some puppy food and a little goat chow in it. I really have no experience with pigs, I hope that was OK. I thought the protein and fat would be what they needed most at this point and will get some pig chow later today. Not like they're actually eating it anyway. Maybe I need to go buy some cookies and throw them on the ground...

On the bright side, the burrowed into the hay in their pen and were MUCH cleaner and far less stinky this morning when we fished them out this morning. They do all have diarrhea, which is why I did the sulmet and wazine first off. What is the best wormer I should get for them when I get to the feed store later? I'm sure they need it. And any tips on getting them to actually eat something? I appreciate any advice. I know I am stupid for taking on little sick babies when I have no experience, but I am a huge softy when it comes to animals. And kids for that matter.


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## Mo's palominos (Jul 6, 2012)

> . I know I am stupid for taking on little sick babies when I have no experience, but I am a huge softy when it comes to animals. And kids for that matter.


It's just part of being a kind hearted person. You are at least giving them a fighting  chance. 
My dad use to let us bottle feed the "squeelers" as the were called. The runts that probably weren't going to make it, but that was 30 some years ago. I do remember we used whole milk and karo syrup. Goats milk should be good too. Will they drink any of it out of the pan?  Maybe add a few of those lemon cookies to try to get them to taste the milk? Sorry I couldn't be much help. Good luck with the little ones


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## mama24 (Jul 6, 2012)

I just saw the big girl--she's probably a few weeks older--eating and drinking, so I know she'll make it at least. The 2 little ones keep burrowing behind and under some bales of hay I have on a pallet up on blocks. It's my goat/rabbit hay, and it's fine for them to use as bedding as long as they don't ruin it all. Anyway, I can't get to them. I sent my son in earlier this morning to pull them all out, that's how we found the dead one, and I tried to get them to eat then, but they didn't.  They're not going to make it if I don't get them to eat. They are VERY thin and weak. I couldn't get them to take a bottle or eat/drink out of a pan.  Thanks for your encouragement!

This is the big girl, my kids named her Bacon. I'm a huge softy, but we aren't vegetarians. LOL. She got out of the pen, went right under the gate! Whoops! LOL. But that's ok, it's just temporary. We already bought supplies to put up a large electric fence, and I'm planning on letting them range with the goats. I think as long as we butcher before any goat babies are born next spring, or the pigs get too big, they should be ok together.


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## Mo's palominos (Jul 6, 2012)

Maybe your son could pull them out again and you could use a syringe to get some milk down them? Do you have some nutri-drench? You could try some of that to perk them up a bit.


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## mama24 (Jul 6, 2012)

Thanks! I gave them nutridrench last night and this morning both. It did seem to help, though they acted like I was killing them! LOL. I used the syringe on the advice of someone on Facebook. I mixed an egg in with the milk/cream/sugar I already had in teh bottle and gave that to them by syringe. The girl fought it and spit it out, the weaker boy started sucking and looking for more after the first squirt.  I gave him about 15ml using a 5ml syringe before trying the bottle again, which he rejected again. While I was messing with him, the girl finally found the food I had out (milk/cream, puppy kibble, and scrambled eggs) and started wolfing that down. mostly drinking the milk. I went and fetched the older one who was still out, probably looking for cookies  and brought her in. As soon as she saw the other one eating she went nuts. The little guy woke up from a short nap and ate a few mouthfuls, then they all settled in for a nap.  I'm very happy and feeling more confidant that they'll make it. I need to go to the feed store. Is it worth me buying hog milk replacer? What kind of feed and wormer do you recommend I get for them?

Oh! Here's a pic.


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## mama24 (Jul 6, 2012)

That's a rabbit cage next to the mineral feeders, if that gives you an idea how tiny these babies are. They're as small as the English Spot rabbits I have in that cage!


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## Mo's palominos (Jul 6, 2012)

Awwww. They are tiny!! I use wazine on my guinea hogs but not very often. Did you give them some already? 
The replacer wouldn't hurt. I think the goats milk is good for them too. Maybe add some corn syrup to sweeten it a bit? 
They do have a baby pig starter pellet at our co-op. Get something for piglets and make a mash out of it. They are under weight and anything nutritious you can get them to eat, should help. I'm so glad they are coming around for you !!!
I do remember the little piggy screams !!! Boy oh boy can they scream like the dickens !!!


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## mama24 (Jul 6, 2012)

With the help of a friend, I finally found the courage to call animal control just now. I hope they can save the rest of the piglets and whatever other animals they had hiding back in the woods. I just can't understand it. I mean, I understand buying and selling the piglets to make some extra cash, but you should make sure you can take good care of them while you have them!!!


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## mama24 (Jul 7, 2012)

I brought the boy into the house. The 2 girls kept rooting under him, looked like they were looking for a nipple, and he was too weak to get away. I syringe fed him 15ml of milk mixed with half and half again. Still haven't made it to the feed store, but will for sure this afternoon. I also weighed him after I fed him since he was in the house. 3.2lbs. Whoever took these babies off their mama has some big time karma coming to them! I wonder if any of the others made it? Woman I got them from said she had 8, I took the last 3. 

I also think I will stop and get a baby bottle from WalMart or the dollar store next to Tractor Supply. My youngest baby is 4, I haven't had a bottle in the house for years. Maybe if I had a smaller nipple, he'd take a bottle. That would be easier than refilling the syringe. I think a bigger syringe would be too big for his mouth. I've been trying a lamb nipple. Not too big around, but probably too long.

He has pasty gray super stinky poo. And frequent. Every 15 min I'd say. I'm surprised he's hanging in there, frankly. Any ideas of anything else I can do to help him pull through? I gave him a bath and he's adorably pink with white white hair. Any guesses on his age? I'm thinking he can't be more than 2 or 3 weeks old, but i have no experience with pigs.


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## Cornish Heritage (Jul 7, 2012)

Yikes so sorry to have not "chirped" in here earlier. I doubt you will be able to find pig replacer! What you need is whole milk yogurt & that is hard to find in the stores these days due to the manufacturers thinking we all want "low fat" food! You mentioned goat milk so can you make your own yogurt? If you do not have any starter go grab a small pot of natural yogurt from the store. If it is not too late this will save the piglets. You will need to feed it in a syringe & squeeze it down their throats. My advice is to feed them in the sink & have the hot water tap ready to wash them off. They will get it all over themselves & you but they will be happy. Yogurt is important as it also acts as a Probiotic & helps their digestive system. 

I don't need to tell you that those piglets are PAINFULLY thin. If you save them, give yourself a pat on the back but if you don't, don't cry too many tears - you have done your best. Cookies are not a good diet for them & if the place where you got them is as bad as you say then I would suspect they were not feeding the sow, hence the thin piglets. 

Hope this helps, 

Liz


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## mama24 (Jul 7, 2012)

THANK YOU! That's the best advice I think I've gotten so far, it's very good sensible advice. Everyone on my local facebook farming board has been telling me to get them unimilk or hog milk replacer and I kept saying, but but, I have raw goat's milk, that's GOT to be better than processed formula! But they insisted that the goat milk was not good for them. I've been giving it to them anyway and praying it would be enough. I've been adding some half and half to it, even though I milk my goat right into the container I'm feeding the pigs from, doesn't get fresher or more whole fat than that! But I figured the extra fat would be good for them. I also fed the older piglet some puppy kibble b/c I thought it made sense to get the extra calories and protein into the poor little bag of bones. But they said no, no, no! You'll make her too fat feeding her that crap! It's not like I plan on feeding it forever, it's just to put some weight on her and get her some good growing protein....

I fed the 2 girls who are in the barn and doing well some leftovers from brunch---sausage (I know I know, terrible! but good fresh protein! LOL) eggs, zucchini, and fried potatoes. I just brought the bowl of leftovers down, milked my goat on top of it and put it down for them. They ate the whole thing. They can't weigh more than 10 lbs put together, and there were enough leftovers there to feed 2 of my kids! I just gave them another bowl of milk before bed, then I left them with some grain covered in milk.  Maybe they didn't finish it, it's possible some chickens got in there and helped, but they had already drunk all of the milk before I even left the barn! Anyway, the 2 girls are up and about and even the tiny skinny girl (the boy's sister) is strong enough now to squeal like crazy and try to push the bigger one out of the food dish. It's pretty funny!

The poor little boy still isn't doing well. All 3 still have diarrhea, but this little guy is skin and bones, literally. I know the other 2 are also way too thin, but he is like a skeleton with some skin and hair.  He's very weak. He has started to recognize me and gets really excited and puts his feet up on the side of the bin I have him in in the house when he hears or sees me coming.  I got a baby bottle for him. I put 5oz raw goat's milk, 1 oz evaporated whole milk from a can (I figured the concentrated calories would be good for him) plus a small quirt of corn syrup and maybe a Tbs of half and half. I'm just trying to pack as many calories as I can into what little he is able to take before he gets full, and it isn't much, maybe 1/2-1 oz max at a time. He's still not sucking, but he is happy to see me and after I cut an x in the nipple, he is more able to get some of the milk. He chews on the nipple and swallows. He's doing pretty well with it and isn't making a mess anymore like he was earlier in the day before we got the hang of it. I hope he makes it. I think the girls are going to be ok as long as the diarrhea doesn't get any worse. But this little guy is pretty weak. He's doing a heck of a lot better than he was even this morning, but still not great. He probably drank about 4 oz of the bottle I made up for him today. Not enough, but it's a start!

I'll make sure to pick up some plain yogurt tomorrow at the store to use to make some more out of my goat's milk. I haven't made yogurt in years, but I remember how, it's very easy. No problem! Great idea! And while it's culturing, I can feed them the rest of the container. I have been sprinkling some of my goat's probiotic powder on their food, but yogurt is much better for getting the good bacteria in, like you said. And it also makes the milk more digestible, which is what these poor little things really need.


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## mama24 (Jul 7, 2012)

Oh, and their little noses are cold and wet today, all 3 of them! I haven't touched a pig in so so long, I completely forgot their cute piggy noses are supposed to be cold and wet like a dog's. They were warm and dry yesterday and the day I got them, but cold and wet today, so at least I know they are hydrated again!


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## Cornish Heritage (Jul 7, 2012)

> I just brought the bowl of leftovers down, milked my goat on top of it and put it down for them. They ate the whole thing.


Wow! That's a great sign  It is SO much easier to feed them when they can help themselves & at this point I wouldn't worry too much about what exactly they are getting as long as it is wholesome. A pig's digestive system is very much like our own so they do well on balanced meals  If you are eating healthily then sounds like so will they!

Do you have spare eggs? If so, boil some up shells & all & mash them with a potato masher. Feed those to the pigs & that may well help stop their runs. We feed "mashed eggs" to our pigs every day with their grain. Eggs are a complete source of protein so very good for them. Of course fresh milk is really good for them too. We don't have spare milk at this time but when we finally get a milking machine here & we can milk more of our cows we will be feeding milk to all our pigs also. Dog Kibble will not hurt them as a short term feed but once they are established wean them on to some pig feed. We feed a 15% non-medicated pellet here. Not sure what part of the country you are in but if you are in the northwestern states pigs do really well on rolled barley. 

Once you have made your first batch of yogurt keep back about 2-3 tbsp from that batch once set & that will make the next one. Your "starter" will last for many many batches. 

Sounds like the little boy has a strong will to live so if you can get some yogurt down him he could well make it. 

Give yourself a pat on the back for all your effort paying off. 

Liz


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## mama24 (Jul 8, 2012)

Thanks for your help. Little Porkchop is dying.  He was cold and limp when I went to get him out of his bin to feed him this morning. His little snout was purple. I got a hot water bottle and snuggled him under a blanket on the couch for a while and dribbled some warm milk into his mouth. He's oo weak to swallow. That was hours ago, and he's still holding on.  I have him wrapped up in towels to stay warm, but it's obvious he's dying. He is limp and is just gasping for a breath every few seconds. I did my best. 

On the bright side, the 2 girls are both doing fine. I was just outside trying to work on the electric fence, but I gave up b/c of the heat plus the sweat dripping onto my glasses was too annoying! I'm from up north, I hate and can't handle this heat and humidity! We're in North Carolina. Anyway, the girls were laying on each other in a patch of sun through the tree shade out in the goat pen. I can't figure out how they're getting out, but they're fine now that they're strong enough to run from the goats.  I fed them and they squealed and fought and both drank plenty of milk.  They're going to be just fine I think. I haven't had a chance to make them some boiled eggs, but I will as soon as I've cooled off a little in here! I'm pretty sure I saw them eating some grass, too.


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## Mo's palominos (Jul 8, 2012)

Sorry to hear about the little guy
I'm glad the girls are doing much better. You're doing a great job!! They are very lucky to have you !


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## mama24 (Jul 8, 2012)

Thanks so much for your encouragement. Little Porkchop died about 2 hours ago, sadly.  he seemed like he was doing so much better yesterday, I really thought he was going to be ok. Well, we fought the good fight, that's the best we can do.


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## mama24 (Jul 8, 2012)

Last picture we have of Porkchop. My friend was over last night and thought it was cute how I was treating him like a baby. LOL





This is how he was acting earlier in the day when I thought he was doing better and was going to make it.


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## Stubbornhillfarm (Jul 9, 2012)

Poor little fella!  You did a great job and did what you could for him.  I am glad that the others are holding on.  Congratulations!


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## daisychick (Jul 9, 2012)

awwww shucks, I was hoping the little dude would make it.      How are the girls doing today??  I hope they keep improving and pull through.   I can't believe that breeder would take them off of their momma so young.  :/


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## mama24 (Jul 9, 2012)

The girls are doing great! They recognize my slip on shoes as the person who brings them food. If I wear those they follow me around, but if I wear my boots, they run away from me like I'm trying to kill them! Lol. 

The little one from Porkchop's litter is already noticeably fatter. She nudges the tops of my feet until I feed them, it's pretty cute. She also squeals like crazy and holds her own in the food dish with the bigger girl who is like 3 times her size. But they are both out and about exploring every day and checking ot the goats to see if they're eating anything good. They're doing great! Their names are Bacon and Sausage, but I'm not sure which is which. My kids named them, I had nothing to do with it. My dh thinks its pretty funny though. They're turning into real farm kids finally after several years of tears when it came time to butcher a chicken or rabbit. Lol


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## mama24 (Jul 9, 2012)

I just went out the feed them and the pig pellet mush was still in their bowl from this morning. If I feed them real food, they eat every single bit of it, but they keep refusing the pig pellets. They only had 1 type of hog feed at tractor supply when I was there, their store brand pellets. They don't smell very good. What do you all feed your pigs? Anyone mix up their own whole grains and supplement with table scraps and leftovers? I just left them with a big bowl of mashed hardboiled eggs, chicken livers and onions, whole wheat bread crusts, lettuce, and tomatoes. I milked my goat on top as usual and they were going nuts.  This time I also sprinkled some of their pellets in, hope they learn to like them until I can find something better. I am meaning to switch to organic, and found a local-ish source of feed, whole grains or pellets already mixed w/ mineral, etc, for different animals--but I would need to order in such large quantities I haven't manage to figure that out yet.


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## Cornish Heritage (Jul 9, 2012)

LOL! Pigs are smart. They are not going to eat pellets when they know "mama" is going to be bringing them out real goodies later 

We feed a pelleted grain as we have a LOT of pigs so certainly do not have enough scraps or milk each day to feed them. If we only had a couple pigs probably would not feed pellets at all. We have noticed that the pigs do not like the pellets if they are mush. Let me clarify that statement - it has to be really fresh mush. We always pour eggs & milk on top & the big pigs gulp it down so in 5 mins there is nothing left. For the piglets who need to nibble all day that doesn't work. We feed just a small amount of pellets with milk & then the rest is left dry for them. If wet they will not eat it.

Sorry the little guy died but you did everything you could for him. Glad the girls are thriving. In our last litters in April we found that the girls were much more food aggressive than the boys. On average the girls grew bigger & stronger - really strange as that had not really happened before but those girls were hungry & they were going to eat. Talk about the boys being hen pecked!

Liz


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## mama24 (Jul 10, 2012)

I figured pigs were just like humans in that the females are a lot more hardy and able to survive hardship as infants. Premature baby boys tend to have more issues, while girls tend to do just fine. 

Thanks for the tip on the mushy pellets. They sure do stink. Hopefully Southern States will have more options next time I make it out there. I hate going to TSC anyway, the manager there is such a jerk, but it's slightly closer to my house, 20min away instead of 30.


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## aggieterpkatie (Jul 10, 2012)

I just now saw this thread.  I got 2 piglets in April that were only a few days old. They were the 2 smallest of the litter and they were given to me since the owner knew they didn't have a chance fighting against all their siblings for teats.  I raised them on raw goat milk.  They thrived on it, and when they got to be about a week and a half or two weeks old I started adding in pig "mash" (pig feed similar in consistency to laying mash) to make a slurry and they loved it.  I wouldn't bother with buying cow milk if you have goat milk!


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## mama24 (Jul 11, 2012)

What kind of pigs do you think I have? Woman told me they were Yorkshires, but they have floppy ears. So does that mean they are American landrace, or just generic white pigs? That's what I figure, but just wondering. The floppy ears are way cute! 

The girls recognize my green boots as well as my brown slip on shoes now. We got quite a bit of rain and it's a huge mudhole down there. My husband wore his brown slip on shoes last night to go gather up stray chickens from the barn to put them in the coop (which is part of the barn, but added onto the end) and they were nudging the tops of his feet. lol. Too cute! They're both already noticeably putting on weight, which I am very thankful for. They're thriving and are going to be just fine.  And since we just have the 2, I may not have to buy pig food at all. With my 4 kids, we have a lot of wasted food, you know how kids are. Plus extra eggs and milk, and garden trimmings, and stale bread, we may just be able to feed them mostly from the table for now. I don't know if that will continue as they get to be over 100lbs each, we'll see!


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## Hillsvale (Jul 11, 2012)

I read what I could quickly... I didn't see anyone mention and iron shot 4cc's which piglets need, even if they nursed from momma they wouldn't get what they need... they are not born with iron, as well injectible ivomec given orally for worming though I know you wormed them. They likely won't take a bottle so I would put the warm goats milk in a little feeding trough and perhaps add a bit of molasses or something sweet to tempt them... pigs LOVE sweets.

Congratulations on your shove into piggy raising, I love my pigs and they taste awesome. Your a good person for taking this on.


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## Cornish Heritage (Jul 11, 2012)

> iron shot 4cc's which piglets need,


Piglets/pigs raised on pasture do not need iron shots. They get the minerals they need from the soil. We have never given any of our pigs iron shots. 

As for worming, we worm them at 8 weeks old when we wean them. We use Dectomax here which is an injectable. Don't bother much after that unless we see something. If you are raising feeder pigs you should not have to worm them again before butchering. 

Liz


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## mama24 (Jul 12, 2012)

Omg. My husband told me he saw the bigger piglet nursing on one of our goats last night. And that the only reason the smaller one wasn't, too, was bc she can't reach. Rofl. Poor Tsunade, nursing the orphans of the world. She was already nursing twin doelings that were sold to me at 7 weeks old. Her own baby died a couple months ago when he was 4 weeks old from getting into the chicken feed. I was getting a gallon a day milking her before we took in all these orphans. My other goat only gives less than 2 quarts a day and Ive been giving it to the piglets. My poor children have had to go back to store bought cows milk.


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## mama24 (Jul 12, 2012)

This isn't Tsunade, this is our smaller goat who doesn't give much milk, Caramel. 





She was eating grain out of the goat trough. She looked back, sniffed at the pig, looked at me like wtf? and went back to eating. I almost died laughing!!!

After that one was done, I put her up on the milking stand to give the bitty piggy a turn.


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## daisychick (Jul 12, 2012)

Oh my those are the cutest pictures ever!   A piggy nursing on a goat.  What a nice goat momma you have there.


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## Stubbornhillfarm (Jul 12, 2012)

Oh my goodness!  Yes, what a gracious goat momma you have.  That should make a big difference with the little piggies I would think.  So cute!


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## ThreeBoysChicks (Jul 12, 2012)

Love the pictures of the pigs nursing on your goat.......


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## Cornish Heritage (Jul 12, 2012)

OH MY GOODNESS! Those pictures are precious  Pigs are SO stinking smart & will get food wherever they can. Those goats are good too to let them drink. 

You need to write a book 

Liz


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## aggieterpkatie (Jul 13, 2012)

That's awesome!!  Take out the middle man, and just have the pigs nurse. Perfect!


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## Royd Wood (Jul 13, 2012)

What can I say other than its a win win win situation and good timing to have the camara


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## mama24 (Jul 13, 2012)

Little Sausage just died.  They went from perfectly fine yesterday to burning up with fevers, coughing, and snot this morning. I gave them shots of abx, but poor little Sausage was so little and underweight, I guess her poor little body just couldn't handle one more stress.  I am just heartbroken.


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## mama24 (Jul 13, 2012)

Little Sausage just died.  They went from perfectly fine yesterday to burning up with fevers, coughing, and snot this morning. I gave them shots of abx, but poor little Sausage was so little and underweight, I guess her poor little body just couldn't handle one more stress.  I am just heartbroken.


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## Royd Wood (Jul 13, 2012)

Oh shoot


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## Stubbornhillfarm (Jul 13, 2012)

Awww....   You really tried hard.  This is the stinky part of farming.  So sorry.


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## aggieterpkatie (Jul 13, 2012)

I'm sorry to hear that.  Those pigs had such a rough start in life it's hard coming back from something like that!


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## ragdollcatlady (Jul 13, 2012)

I know it's probably too late now....So sorry about your piglets    .......I found an article on  the problem with farmers piglets dying like SIDS. It was treated with MCT (Medium Chain Triglycerides) derived from coconut oil and Bromelain, derived from pineapple....Farmers had much better survival rates....I'm going to try and find the article, but figured I'd post now so if you have pineapple and coconut oil, maybe your last little piggy can benefit....

I hope its OK to post the link here...and I hope it works...   http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/coconut_oil.html 
Kat


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## Cornish Heritage (Jul 13, 2012)

OH so sorry to hear about Sausage  They really had a rough start in life though so don't blame yourself. 

Interesting link on Coconut Oil - will have to look into that some more. 

Thanks, 

Liz


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## mama24 (Jul 14, 2012)

I do have coconut oil. I'll put some on her breakfast. Thanks! She woke me up with her coughing about an hour ago, but I haven't checked on her. I've just been lying in bed reading in my phone. Time to get up! I'm going to be tired today.


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## mama24 (Jul 14, 2012)

She seems to be doing better today. Still in the house and still sleeping all the time, but she's eating again. 

I saw my farmer friend who I bought my goats from at the farmer's market. He said it sounded like maybe the little piglets' mama died and never nursed them, so they never got any colostrum. That would explain why they just dropped like flies, poor things. I think the big one's going to make it. My kids call her Bacon.


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## drdoolittle (Jul 14, 2012)

I really hope that at least this one makes it.  It's so hard to try everything you can and still lose them.  Keep us posted.


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## mama24 (Jul 15, 2012)

Bacon seems to be getting better. She's still coughing and snotty, and her breathing isn't quite normal, but she gets up when I check on her and grunts like she's looking for food. She's started eating almost like normal again. Her eyes are almost swollen shut and gunky. Is this likely viral or should I try a different antibiotic? When I first got them, none of the local vets seem to want to bother with pigs or I would take her in. I could probably try a pet vet, but then I'd pay through the nose, probably. I'd like to avoid that if I can.


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## mama24 (Jul 15, 2012)

She ate all of her dinner tonight.  I only gave her 3 slices of whole wheat bread in some raw goat's milk, but it was more than she's eaten in days. She ate only the bread, eggs, and milk this morning out of her bowl and left the fruit and veggies, so I only gave her the bread and milk tonight. Maybe when she's feeling better she'll start eating her veggies again.  I do think she's feeling better. She's also definitely a lot less afraid of me than she was before. I even picked her up so I could listen to her chest, and she only squealed while she was being lifted and then just grunted after that, instead of squealing the whole time. She seems to like getting petted and scratched, where before it seemed to terrify her so I would rub once and stop b/c I didn't want to upset her.  She still sounds stuffy and coughs, but she's definitely getting better.  I'm probably going to move her back out to the barn again tomorrow. She definitely doesn't stink nearly as much as she did a few days ago, or even yesterday, and her poop is much more solid. We had guests over yesterday, and they wanted to see her. I was a little horrified when my husband took them in b/c I knew the room smelled really awful, but all my friend said was, "wow, poor pig must be really sick. Pigs shouldn't stink like that." I forgot her grandfather's farm in Germany where she spent her summers as a child had pigs.


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## Cornish Heritage (Jul 16, 2012)

> She still sounds stuffy and coughs,


If you think she is actually sick as well as being thin from underfeeding then I would recommend giving her some Excede. This is a stronger antibiotic for pigs with respiratory problems. HOWEVER it is EXPENSIVE - $125 a bottle so if you have a vet that will just sell you a dose that would be the way to go. 

Liz


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## drdoolittle (Jul 16, 2012)

I agree with Cornish Heritage----I think your little pig needs some kind of antibiotic.  It sounds as though she may have pneumonia----nothing to mess around with.  I'm glad she's been eating-----have you tried running the shower on hot with her in the bathroom with the door shut?  This may break up her congestion.


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## mama24 (Jul 17, 2012)

Thanks! I gave her another shot of the LA200 last evening before I took her down to the barn. She was very happy to be back down there and immediately started following my milking does around trying to nurse!  I think she's doing better. She still has a little cough, but it's definitely getting better. If she doesn't continue to improve or gets worse again, I'll keep calling vets till I find one that will see her or at least give me the antibiotic.


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## mama24 (Jul 21, 2012)

She still has a mild cough, but is eating well, so I'm not too worried about her. My one milking doe seems to have adopted her. She was licking her while she nursed this morning. I need to get a pic. LOL


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## Cornish Heritage (Jul 21, 2012)

Sounds like she is doing good  Thanks for the update.

Liz


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## minipig (Jul 24, 2012)

I was horrified to hear of this, especially that they were feeding baby piglets cookies! You are so wonderful to have taken them on.


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## mama24 (Jul 27, 2012)

This piglet just follows my poor doe around ALL DAY LONG and nurses pretty much constantly! She barely eats any food b/c she is drinking milk constantly! I may have to separate them! My doe runs away, but also mothers the piglet. I let them out yesterday to graze in the yard (where the pic was taken) and my puppy was chasing and herding the poor little piggie. Miss Piggie made it back to mama goat and hid between her legs. Mama goat butted the dog away and then nudged and licked the pig all over to make sure she was ok. It's very cute, but so so strange! Ha!


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## Stubbornhillfarm (Jul 27, 2012)

That's awesome!  Thanks for sharing the pictures!


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## Cornish Heritage (Jul 27, 2012)

That is hilarious. You have got to write up an article & send it to some of the magazines like Hobby Farms, GRIT, Countryside etc. I'm sure one of them will take it 

As for that green grass I am now SO jealous. We have not seen green grass like that for months! SO dry here 

Liz


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## aggieterpkatie (Jul 27, 2012)

I love that picture!!!  Too cute!     I'm jealous of the grass too!!!  My sister lives in W-S, and she has gotten WAY more rain there than we've gotten here in MD!


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## mama24 (Jul 27, 2012)

The grass hadn't been looking too good for over a month before, but we got some rain last week FINALLY!  Maybe I will send in an article to hobby farms. My 2 best friends are professional photographers. They might be offended, but I think I will ask anyway if they'll take some pics of my nursing piglet. lol


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## Harbisgirl (Jul 27, 2012)

They won't be offended - it's soooo cute!


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## minipig (Jul 27, 2012)

That picture is precious. I love stories like that!


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## secuono (Jul 28, 2012)

Since pigs eat eggs and other human food left overs, why not mix the good stuff thoroughly with the pellets?
I do the same with my dogs or birds when giving them good stuff, but still want them to eat their pellets. 



LOVE the piggie on the goat, way too cute!


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## Cornish Heritage (Jul 28, 2012)

We pour milk & eggs etc on our pigs pellets each morning. This way it also makes less sloppy mess as the liquid soaks into the grain.

Liz


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## mama24 (Oct 28, 2012)

Hey! Just thought I'd update this since it's been a long time. Miss Pig (we quit calling her Bacon) is still growing and thriving. We keep separating her from the goats, but she finds a way out of everything we've tried so far. My husband finally finished a pallet pen yesterday, but she tore down the gate within an hour and was back with her goat mama. Hubby told me the gate hinges I got weren't big/strong enough, and he was right. She has started hunting and eating my chickens so we really need to get her out of there since we can't keep the chickens out. She's getting really big. I would guess she's probably over 100lbs now. She's still quit a bit shorter than her goat mama, but is a solid hunk of muscle. And SMART. Between her and the goats, they keep figuring out way to open different gates to get out of the pasture into our yard. The pig seems to really like acorns and the goats love oak leaves. If they would stay in our yard, and out of the neighbor's, I would just let them out, but they are bad and go over there. My chickens, too! 42 acres on this property and they won't stay out of the neighbor's yard!!! My kids are so tired of her eating our chickens they've been asking me to just kill her and eat her already. My husband and I are feeling the same way, but we're holding out for more bacon. lol. She plowed up our whole back yard last week. I can hear goats on my front porch right now, so I guarantee she is out front rooting up the lawn there and probably eating acorns. We have a LOT of oak trees around the house. My hubby is going to get stronger gate hinges today, and I have plans to work on the gate latches. lol

I did manage to separate her from goat mama for a couple weeks before she grew enough to tear the welded wire fencing down to get back to her. She was really tearing up the poor goat's teats. But she was out of there long enough to be weaned, and mama's nipples healed and her milk dried up. Mama goat is still very protective of her and will come running if she hears her squealing and will butt the dog, etc. I still can't get over the goat adopting the pig, and I can't believe she's still being a protective mama long after weaning!

Here's a bad picture of her and my son with mama goat. They are always together. This was a few weeks ago. She's even bigger now. It seemed like she was growing really slow for a long long time, and then suddenly she just started growing HUGE amazingly fast!


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## Bossroo (Oct 28, 2012)

With all of the dammage this pig is causing, she will be the most expensive bacon in the country.         I would no longer bother in keeping this pig out in the pasture , but send her to freezer camp POST HASTE  !!!


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## Cricket (Oct 28, 2012)

Have you tried running a strand of electric fence around the bottom?  She's still to cute to look like food yet!


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## Cornish Heritage (Oct 29, 2012)

Once they start eating chickens there is VERY little you can do to stop them! We had some Hamps here once that did that. The only option is to enjoy them as sausage & bacon - it is not worth waiting to get her bigger as you will have no chickens left. ALSO once they start to learn that they can get out there is very little you can do to stop them. Even electric wire is unlikely to work at this stage - she has not been trained to it & will likely just bolt through it.

Get the sausage grinder out  100lbs is a good size - meat will be good. 

Liz


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## mama24 (Oct 29, 2012)

LOL. Well, my parents are coming down in a few weeks, I think they're staying for Thanksgiving. I guess we'll do it then when they're here to help. I'll get some more piglets, but they will be in the pallet pen from day 1 for sure! I never would have put her with the goats if I'd had any reason to think one would adopt her! LOL


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## mama24 (Oct 29, 2012)

She hasn't eaten any of my big chickens, just an entire order of 2 month old chicks just in the last few weeks. I started out with 31, have 4 left!  If the stupid things would just stay out of the goat pen, they'd all still be alive! But it's even easier for them to slip through the gate than it is for my big chickens to fly over the fence.

Oh, and she is electric fence trained. Before we fenced off the big pasture, all of the goats and the pig were confined to a smaller electrified paddock, about an acre. My husband also elctrified where she was reaching through the fence to snatch them even if they were on the wrong side, but I took it down after a few were fried. She stayed away for a good week after I took the wire down. Our fence charger is super strong and can't be turned down. lol


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## Cornish Heritage (Oct 29, 2012)

> I'll get some more piglets, but they will be in the pallet pen from day 1 for sure!


Oh don't do that. Not all breeds of pigs eat chickens. Our Large Blacks do not eat chicks when with their mamas. Of course a pen full of little chicks with no protection would be way too much of a temptation! Just like a newborn slimy lamb! OR a dog with a chick - lost so many that way with one of our dogs we used to have. You need to keep them away but a well trained pig behind electric wire is much better behaved than a goat & will respect it better. Do some research on which breeds are better on grass as well. You do not want a rototiller - Hampshires are both rototillers & chicken eaters - no longer welcome here. 

Liz


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## Royd Wood (Oct 29, 2012)

Yikes - dont box your next guys in just some elec fence will do.

lol Cornish - our remaining Hamp is a 8 furrow turn over plough


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## Cornish Heritage (Oct 29, 2012)

> lol Cornish - our remaining Hamp is a 8 furrow turn over plough lol


Hee Hee! So when is she going to be sausage?!

Liz


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## mama24 (Oct 30, 2012)

My husband made the pallet pen so big that he had to add fence posts so it wouldn't fall over in the middle. It's not a small pen. It's about the size my neighbors had when I was growing up and they kept 4 pigs in theirs. But if we wait till spring, I should have time to work on an electric pen.


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## Lupa Duende (Nov 3, 2012)

This is for the lady who adopted those piglets:

What a read! Thank you.

What an excellent community this is of people willing to help and offer advice. I have been surreptitiously reading these threads for over a year now and finally joined sometime this autumn.  I finally have a sounding board for animal advice. Thank you.


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## Cornish Heritage (Nov 3, 2012)

Welcome Lupa 

Liz


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## jennbuker (May 20, 2013)

WOW!  What a story!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE the pictures of the Mama Goat with her baby pig!  Too funny!

I do hope you write an article.....

Jenn


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