# Pig with bleeding



## Mouse14

Haven't posted in a while. Having some problems with my girl. She had babies last summer, and hasn't since. She's in heat from the looks of it, but I've noticed she's had vaginal bleeding. She's had dozens of heat cycles and never bled so I'm assuming it is not normal :/ the only vet near me doesn't see pigs, just neuters them. There is a vet I use for emergencies like this but he charges so much just to see animals. She's not bleeding a lot, jut a tiny bit but it really has me concerned.  I'm going to have to call my vet, but just wanted to see if anyone had any ideas I could throw out when she's seen. I've attached a picture, you can see a little bit of the blood. I thought maybe it wasn't blood but I noticed it on her tail from wagging. She's eating normal,  not acting any different either.


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## Latestarter

Is it possible she has a UTI? maybe a course of penicillin would help?  @misfitmorgan May be able to help...


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## Mouse14

I'm not sure. Any idea on how often and how many days she would need it for that? She's my girl and I hate it. She's acting totally normal.


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## babsbag

I have no idea on the pig, but I understand the concern when one of our animals has something strange going on. Hope you find some answers. 

But I have to ask about the other pigs, her babies. How did that all turn out? There was one that you were bottle feeding.


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## misfitmorgan

She should be perfectly fine. Sows/gilts in heat often rub or scratch or catch their lady bits on stuff. The large amount of swelling causes the issue, as pigs often rub their butts on things to itch them and a very swollen vulva sticks out farther then they are used too. They dont seem to give 2 wits about it either so i wouldnt worry unless she shows some other signs of ill health. A few pricks of blood always look a lot worse when they are spread out...like by a waggly tail.

If she shows fresh blood after her heat is over(the swelling goes down) then you might have a vet check her out just to be safe.

Don't think this warrants a penicillin cycle. UTI in female pigs often presents with a fever and would have blood in the urine rather then on the vulva.


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## Mouse14

The piglets turned out great. We rehomed 3 of them. Still have 3, including the bottle baby. They're still so short lol. It's like none of the pigs have gotten any bigger. I'll take that advice of not worrying unless she's having it after she's back to herself. I just got stuck in the foot Monday evening with a funky piece of mirror and have to get a tetanus shot tomorrow. Never a dull moment around here


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## Mouse14

Spot looks a little mangy.I'm hoping it's the back and forth weather we are having. 72 to 28. Are there signs that are tell signs of mange in pigs?


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## babsbag

Glad to hear that the piglets are doing well. Pictures would be great.  No idea on the mange either, I am just not a pig person, sorry.  But mange is itchy, does  the pig scratch a lot?


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## NH homesteader

X2 on the itching, was going to ask that. I had a pot belly pig I thought had mange or something but she just got all patchy every spring. Is the skin really dry? Is there any evidence of external parasites?


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## Mouse14

I really don't know.  All the babies have no hair around their eyes but Spot has bits missing from his sides. And he seems sadder than the rest.  Could it be from them fighting? They're in the barn at night so I don't know how they get along away from us at bedtime. They're not itching a lot when they're out. Maybe their bedding is bothering them? We had a mix of straw and hay and I'm wondering if the hay was irritating to lay on since it was something new. I'll get pics of their faces up close tomorrow. They're otherwise really good


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## Mouse14

I did take these earlier


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## babsbag

I think I would be tempted to treat him for mange, mites, or lice.


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## Ferguson K

I would hit him with a lice/  mite treatment. There's several products out there, TSC carries a large assortment.

As for the sow she looks fine.  Looks like she's in heat and rubbing because it itches.  Normal behavior.


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## Ferguson K

What are you feeding them?  Potbellies are prone to skin irritation.


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## Mouse14

They get mazuri feed. I've been mixing youth and adult feed to help them keep on weight due to the super cold weather. They also get some mixed veggies, chicken, eggs, and sometimes apples. Alright I'll get some treatment for him. Should I treat the other two young ones as well?  The have it missing around their eyes and that's it. It's weird because both of the adults hair is fine. Not missing any hair.


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## samssimonsays

I don't know about pigs but I had mites come in on Straw and infest my rabbits and since rabbits would eat it and it was nutritionally void I just quit using straw all together and switched to locally sourced hay with zero problems since. I believe I have heard of suspicions that goats have contracted mites from straw as well from several people.


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## misfitmorgan

From what i can see in the pics i think they are perfectly fine. The first winter on young pigs can very often cause excessive dry skin and make them itchy so they rub their hair off in places. If you can rub anything that looks flaky off of them fairly easily it is not mange. 

I doubt mites would come in on straw. Mites that affect pigs can only live for 5 days away from a host. Also if the adults dont look like they are rubbing their hair off and have mange you can be pretty darn sure it is not mange because mange is very contagious and only has an incubation time of approx 15 days. Mange signs are head shaking A LOT and rubbing on sides of pen(to the point of bleeding/creating scabs). After approx 2 months being infected they will develop red pimples all over their skin and become even more itchy after that comes the crusty patches.

Also ivermectin treats mange so if you have wormed them with ivermectin lately it isnt mange.


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## Mouse14

I use straw for warmth since it holds heat better, and hay for extra grain since grass is lacking. They're not itching at all when out so maybe it is just dry skin.


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## misfitmorgan

Mange or mites in small numbers of backyard pigs that do not come from auctions or other large scale breeding farms generally will never see a case of mites or mange, it just isnt really common because as i mentioned it can only be spread from pig to pig or within 5 days after the original host pig leaves.


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## Mouse14

Okay yeah, we got our oldest 2 from an individual as babies and haven't brought in any new ones. And spot doesn't try to rub against me when I run his patchy areas


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## Mouse14

Spot and Boots. Spots hair has begun coming back in. I guess maybe he lost it due to stress?  We've had intense weather changes this year. Some days 70 next day 39. Hopefully he's done giving me a scare. Boots has the FUNNEST personality! She's such a trouble maker and loves annoying the rest of the gang.


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## Mouse14

They're almost as big as momma now! <3 Olette is still my #1 girl lol. I'm the only person they're all comfortable enough to lay around. My stepdad says "they know who feeds them." I like to think I'm more than a food bank to them lol


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## Mouse14

Omg he's so curly! He's the shortest little pig too! <3


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## babsbag

Is this a picture of the one you bottle fed?


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## Mouse14

No, Boots was the bottle baby.  Spot, surprisingly, was one of the biggest babies originally.  Him and Peppa. Peppa stayed the biggest out of all of them. Boots caught up with Spot and Baby Chris really fast. George was the second smallest piglet. We gave him and Baby Chris to friends of ours and they're twice the size of the ones we still have!


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## Mouse14

Here's bottle baby


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## Mouse14

This is Peppa she's solid black aside from a few stray white hairs. Not enough to make a solid pattern.  Boots has a little spot on her head and white above all her hooves.  And Spot has 2 spots on his head. It was originally just one really big spot but as he's aged it's broken in two.


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## Mouse14

And daddy being jealous of his pic not being taken. He's such an attention hog. Whiningest thing ever lol


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## babsbag

You have quite a full house there. Are you going to raise more babies?


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## Mouse14

I'm not intending to, I'm still trying to find good homes for the babies. I'm gonna be pretty picky though. It's looking like Peppa wound up pregnant :/ we had plans of neutering the boys with taxes and just keeping them separated in the mean time, but looks like someone slipped through the cracks -_- I'd rather have a dozen pigs than to get bad owners for them! I've got a friend that neuters pigs as tiny piglets so he's going to be out here as soon as these are born and at age.


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## babsbag

More baby piggies. That should be fun and and I hope she is a good mama. And being picky about new owners is something a good breeder always does. Good for you.


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## Mouse14

Try stressful lol! I'm up for the challenge I suppose. I'm just concerned about deformities :/ being picky may lead to me not getting rid of anymore though, which would suck but I'd be okay with it. I'm pretty attached to Spot and Peppa anyways. Boots I had mentally prepared to rehome in November but that person fell through. She's one in really looking for a new home.  I have a potential buyer but we will see.


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## NH homesteader

The single hardest thing for me about keeping animals is when I have to sell any. I hate not knowing what's going to happen in their future. The best we can do is try to find the best homes we can. Good luck.


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## Mouse14

It really is! I hate the not knowing. I've thought about puppies from years past even. Two of them I can see whenever, but I'm not close to the man that is interested in one of them at all. He's a friend of my step father's.


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## Mouse14

So Peppa had piglets! Apparently she was farther than I thought. She had just 4, but she's being the world's worst mother. She's refusing to come inside even when they squeal their hearts out. She just grunts and keeps eating or going to the creek. I just discovered them this afternoon and one had a wetter cord so I'm guessing she had them around 9 or 10. 2 are fat and 2 are thinner. I still have milk replacer from when my momma had her babies (7 months old) Is it still good? I won't be giving any of them any today since they need colostrum the first day but omg. I'm scared they're gonna die because mom doesn't even care about them


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## Mouse14

She had them in the barn around the other pigs so I brought all the babies inside for the time being with it being cooler outside.


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## Mouse14




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## misfitmorgan

If you stored the replacer in the fridge or freezer yes it is fine. If you stored it on a shelf ust smell it and make sure it doesnt smell sour and it should be fine still.....thats assuming it is a powder replacer, if it is liquid anything unopened should be fine still.


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## Mouse14

It's powder and I had it stored under the cabinets. There's not a load of it left. What does bad replacer smell like?


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## Mouse14

It smells like it did in the beginning. But it's a little more clumpy


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## misfitmorgan

You may have moved the piglets to fast and now she is rejecting them. Pigs have no problem birthing in groups and will co-parent all piglets. I would try to put them back in the barn when it is warm as possible as long as they have not acclimated to your house temps yet, if she doesnt take them within 24hrs from birth you need to feed them.


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## misfitmorgan

Mouse14 said:


> It smells like it did in the beginning. But it's a little more clumpy


 clumpy is fine, bad replacer smells like sour milk and or has mold growing in it. If it look and smells find it should be good still.


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## Mouse14

It says to use within 12 months of the manufacturer date but the dare isn't an actual date. But letters and a time.


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## Mouse14

I'll move them back asap. If I knew they could Coparent I wouldn't have been worried


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## Mouse14

What's the likelihood of the pigs crushing any of them? That's my main concern with 5 pigs. I found them all bunched under ripped up fitted topper sheet. I "reburied" them where I found them, making sure they were all together and quiet before leaving them. They were where all the pigs sleep. They refuse to use the dog bed I placed in there a year ago.


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## Mouse14

I'm getting extra straw today to cram in there for warmth. With all the pigs sleeping in close quarters plus the straw should that be warm ebough? It's 56 here at 3:11. The last few nights have been in upper 30s and 40s :/


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## Mouse14

our current 5 day forcast.


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## Mouse14

They were only inside for  30 mins so I don't believe long enough to really grasp the temp


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## misfitmorgan

No they should be fine on the temp and should stay warm enough. Don't overbed them though because it can cause them to become to buried and get laid on sometimes or suffocate. Just copy whatever mom did as she should know from instinct what she is doing. Piglets are pretty tough.

It is entirely possible one of the other pigs might lay on them but it is the same likelihood their own mother will lay on them. Pigs are generally quite good about coparenting piglets and dont intentionally try to harm them. Our own pigs nurse each others piglets and take care of them so much so that we now have run thru's in our farrow stalls so the piglets can run thru 3 pens with different sows/gilts and we have never had a problem of anyone getting laid on or injured so far. It helps even litters though if one mom has 4-6 piglets for a first litter and one of our sows has  12 piglets the extra piglets just go nurse off the other mom.


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## misfitmorgan

The formula perfectly fine to me but if your overly worried about it pick up some more if it comes down to it. The dates are generally on the bags in case of mold growth because it could cause lung infections etc....but i dont see anything wrong with the formula. If you keep it in the fridge it will usually keep for a long long time. We have all species formula atm that is over a year old and i have no worries about using it.


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## NH homesteader

My friend has his sows separated by hog panels but the piglets all run through them until they're too big to fit through the holes. It's hilarious co-parenting, they'll yell to their kids when they think it's time to come "home". I think he has two he will keep together to farrow because they're best buddies.


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## misfitmorgan

Yep ours do the same thing. Yell for their piglets and you will hear the piglets racing back to their mom. i feel a little bad though when they get stuck because two or three thru to fit thru the pass thru a once. We used to go get them unstuck but figured out it just freaked them out more most times so they unstick themselves now and we chuckle at the silliness of pigs.


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## Mouse14

We lost one. Brought the others inside. It's definitely gonna be touch and go with them


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## Mouse14

I have a feeling we are going to lose all of them. I have a really bad feeling they didn't get enough colostrum from mom yesterday


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## Mouse14

Can they use goat colostrum or big no no? I'm calling around and no one has any for pigs


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## misfitmorgan

Goat colostrum would be ok though not ideal. You could try all species colostrum formula but again its not ideal. 

Sorry you lost one, it does happen. 

If you have not fed them yet get some formula into them.


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## Mouse14

We are down to just one. I got kid colostrum formula but she had already pooped so I'm guessing she got SOME of mommas milk. She's doing great so far. She drank 9ml of milk when I fed her. How much should she be drinking? She's taking a syringe but not a bottle, just like Boots did


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## Mouse14

She's shaking a little but she won't sit still long enough to feel heat from the pad or lamp!! She finally sat still! She's been all over since she ate


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## misfitmorgan

I dont really know how much small breeds eat, full grown piglets will eat around 40ml per feeding. We could perhaps break that down by weight? Full size piglets are around 4-5lbs when born and your little piglet is say a pound or two?

40ml/5lbs = 8ml per lb approx
40ml/4lbs = 10ml per lb approx

So if she is a pound 9ml seems about right. Try to feed her again in 30-60 minutes.

If she is still shaking you can rub her with your hands to make some friction on her skin and help her warm up.


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## Mouse14

She fell asleep. She's a tad under a lb I do believe. She definitely wasn't getting enough milk because the two black ones were smaller than the white and black ones. But the two females were also the black ones. Should I wait until she stirs to feed her? She stopped shivering when she got settled.


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## Mouse14

This was the 3 before the 2 died :/ they were seizing and having trouble getting air so we put them down  the other one that died first was the biggest one of the litter. Is there anything I need to do for thE mom to help her dry up without getting mastitis or anything?


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## misfitmorgan

Mouse14 said:


> She fell asleep. She's a tad under a lb I do believe. She definitely wasn't getting enough milk because the two black ones were smaller than the white and black ones. But the two females were also the black ones. Should I wait until she stirs to feed her? She stopped shivering when she got settled.



I wouldnt wait until she stirs no. Just try more food in 30-60minutes. After that you can wait 2-4hrs to feed her again. If she is weak or hypothermic she may not stir for quite awhile but not have enough fuel to keep her going while her body tries to recover.


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## misfitmorgan

Hopefully your last little piglet makes it. 

We only ever had one litter of potbelly pigs and they were a complete surprise. The mother belonged to a friend of ours and she was a horrible horrible mean pig, she killed one of his goat kids so she could eat it, killed chickens, took a bite out of my ewe's ear. Anyhow she had a large litter but when we found the only 3 were left and ones head was all swelled up like it had gotten stepped on or something so we had to put it down. The other two died within a few days even though we were bottle feeding them. It was cold out, she never nursed them at all and it was about 12hrs before we found them.

Hopefully you will have much better luck!


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## Mouse14

Okay she drank maybe 4ml that time. Should I give colostrum all today and then regular formula tomorrow?


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## Mouse14

And I got her to take the bottle!


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## Mouse14

She's peed twice now. Ate 3 times. Hasn't pooped yet but has tried. I tried helping simulate her butt but it didn't help any. She's so sweet! She's already demanding attention when she's awake. Nudging on my, rooting, curling in my lap


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## Mouse14

She's taken a bottle 4 times now! Has peed 4 times, and pooped a lot!


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## Mouse14

She is pooping quite a bit. I'm worried it's considered diarrhea because it's that mustard liquid and she's let out a lot. She's drank a good bit too but I'm worried she's having the runs. Should I stop with the colostrum and go right to piglet formula?


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## Mouse14

She sleeps for 30 mins and wakes up wanting to eat and poops every single time she wakes up :/ she grunts and whines until I feed her though


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## frustratedearthmother

Woohoo!


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## Mouse14

I switched her to the regular pig formula. Has 24% protein compared to 30% in the colostrum formula. Hopefully it helps! Her poop started going clear so it has me super worried  how can I ensure sure doesn't get dehydrated?


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## Mouse14

I'm worried little bit has E coli  she's not stopped pooping since earlier. I've given her pedialyte to keep her hydrated, but that's all I can do at this point. How fast does E coli take piglets her age?


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## Mouse14

And another question. Should I be concerned for myself, my child, or my other pets getting E coli from her? She's still alive, but when she's awake all she's doing is squatting and eating


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## babsbag

Sorry your piglet is having problems, she is adorable.  I have no idea how fast e-Coli can kill, but if she is still with you tomorrow you can get Bimeda SpectoGard Scour-Chek at Tractor Supply. I have used it in goats and it works well.  Hopefully this is just from the colostrum and not e-Coli. At least if she is still eating so that will help ward off dehydration. Good luck, and I hope she makes it. 

I wouldn't worry about e-Coli if you practice good sanitation with hand washing, cleaning up after her, etc. But then I am not a worrying type so maybe not the person to ask.


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## misfitmorgan

Sorry i am normally not on here after i leave work for the day.

Colostrum shouldnt be given for more then 24hrs, when the piglets hit 48hrs old the colostrum is to rich and just runs right through them as the parts of their intestines that are ment to take the immunity close off so no point in giving colostrum for longer.

I believe she does indeed have e coli. The events so far would indicate it is highly possible.
Gilt litters are more likely to have e coli
piglets who get cold shortly after birth are more likely to have e coli
Those piglets who do not have access to colostrum in the first 24hrs
Less then 5 days old

If you have litmus paper you can check if it is E Coli or a viral infection. E coli will be blue and viral will be red.

Go pick up some scour medicine and give it to her. Get some fresh formula as well, i doubt there is anything wrong with the old formula but best to be safe when problems arise. 

Just make sure your washing your hands after playing/feeding/cleaning her like we all should be doing with any animal. If you have never gotten sick before i wouldnt worry about it more then just good hygine. Almost all pigs carry E. Coli as well as coccidiosis, rotavirus, and clostridia perfringes.


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## misfitmorgan

I have found this to work well but it is a bit pricey and TSC doesnt always have it on the shelf.
http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/bimeda-spectogard-scour-chek-240cc?cm_vc=-10005

If they dont have it or its not in your budget....any scour med should work as long as it says it works for scours caused by E Coli. If that fails any antibotic that is in the same family as Oxytetracycline should work, one injectable is duramycin. They used to have oral Oxytetracycline..not sure if they still do, it lived over by the corid and nutridrench area. 

Make sure you keep up her electrolytes...pedialyte should work fine. They do make all sorts of other electrolyte products if you care to look at those though.


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## Mouse14

I found some scour meds. Not 100% sure if it says for E coli or not. When my step father goes to get it I will have him check. Ive been giving her pedialyte every 3 hrs.


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## Mouse14

*Spectam Scour-Halt is what it is called*


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## Mouse14

I slept maybe 2 hours last night. I dozed 3 times for just 30 mins lol. She's up like a newborn


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## Mouse14

She loves having stuffed animals lol


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## Mouse14

I'm noticing she's not pooping quite as much since I switched back to the regular piglet formula and electrolytes. Still runny, but it's got a lot of color back in it. It was very pale yellow last night. Today it's thicker.


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## Mouse14




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## Mouse14

She's not lost any weight so far


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## babsbag

My goodness she is cute. I know how attached we get to animals when we are the caregiver like you are; I sure hope she makes it. That medicine is the right one, hope this takes care of it.


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## Mouse14

Her eyes are getting gunky. Will the Oxytetracycline treat that as well?


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## babsbag

Did you get some Scour-halt or only Oxytetracycline?   If she were a dog I would use teramycin ointment in her eyes but just not sure in pigs. I think it would depend on why they are gunky. Respiratory should be handled by the Oxytetracycline.  How is the diarrhea?


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## Mouse14

We didn't get it yet. I'm getting it this morning. I'm taking her with me to town while my son is in therapy. I read some pigs just get gunky eyes, but neither of my older pigs have ever had runny eyes. She still has diarrhea, but she hasn't pooped nearly as much. Last night for 6 hours straight she pooped to the point of almost clear liquid. Today it's thickened and is back to a mustard color. I'm wondering if I should slowly increase how much milk she's getting. She's still getting 10ml and I've been giving her 5ml of pedialyte every 3 hrs.


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## misfitmorgan

10ml per feeding should be good for the first week or so. If she starts acting very hungry you can give her some more but dont over due it. Glad the poo situation is a bit better, make sure you get the scour meds in her because she has all the reasons in the world she would scour. Between 7-14 days old she might scour again if she does it will be coccidiosis though not E Coli, same scour med should work though.

The piggy is newly born give her some time to see if her eyes clear up, i dont think there is likely anything really medically wrong with them at this point.


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## Mouse14

Okay so she's had 2 doses of spectogard. Her poop is darkening and is slightly thicker I'd say. Smells god awful though. Almost like a funky foot smell. I was told a 10 day old piglet should be getting 2 tablespoons a feed. That seems kind of excessive imo but I wasn't sure. I've been giving her 2 tsp a feed. She downs it incredibly fast. She's put on some weight too


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## Mouse14

Her little eye crusty. Only in one eye. We've named her Pugsy Hope. Her nose is the smallest I've ever seen lol and hope because I'm holding out hope I can save her. She's supposed to become my mom's pig. We will see lol


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## frustratedearthmother

How could you NOT love that face!!?!!


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## babsbag

Glad that you got the meds in her, hope that helps.  I would just watch the eye and clean it with a damp cloth, which you probably are already.  I wouldn't overfeed her at this point, let her system recover from the e-coli first. It is good that she is hungry though. 

You are being careful about hygiene and e-Coli, right?


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## Mouse14

Yes, being very careful!   she's definitely gained some weight too. A good bit of it by my judgement. Sweetest thing.


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## Mouse14

The only thing is we were all kissing on her the day she ended up with scours.


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## misfitmorgan

For the feed....

2 Tbsp is 29.5ml
2 tsp is 9.8ml

Full size piglets get 40ml she weighs about 1/4 their size so 10ml should be correct per feeding, so your doing perfectly fine feeding her 2 teaspoons per feed. She may end up eating 2 Tbsp when she is 10 days old you just have to wait and see. If you feed her and she is still complaining for more you will know its time to up her dose a little.

Her crusty eye could be from getting scratched by straw or hay or anything really. I don't think it should worry you to much atm, if you are cleaning her eye to get the crusty off dont do it to often because if she did scratch it, your rubbing on it when your cleaning it could make it take longer to heal. Also to be fair pigs sometimes just get crusty eyes in the winter but usually in both not one lol.


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## Mouse14

Okay good deal. I just gave her dose 4 of her spectogard. Her poop isn't any better and has taken on a gross smell and is now orange red in color. Do you think she will be okay with the SpectoGard until Monday when I can get her antibiotics? I was told adding egg to her milk is beneficial? I'm really wanting her to make it. I just didn't have the $20 to get spectogard and the antibiotics. I'm regretting what I chose.  I'll post what her poop is looking like


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## Mouse14




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## Mouse14

I'm thinking a tag from a blanket may have caught her eye :/


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## babsbag

The SpectoGard is an antibiotic and it is probably the one used the most often for pig scours. Are you saying that the orange might be from the tag?  I think that eColi scours smells pretty bad.


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## Mouse14

No, that her eye may be sore from a tag from a blanket or stuffed animal. Is the poop supposed to be orange before it gets better?  She's still eating as much as ever. She doesn't act like she's losing energy or anything. She's started trying to escape the box she's in.


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## Mouse14

I was basically asking if I need to get something stronger than the SpectoGard since she's not really made an improvement poop wise. I'm almost 100% sure she's got E coli at this point.


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## babsbag

SpectoGard is the drug of choice for e-Coli; I have used it in my goats too. I have no clue about the color, but it is good that she is eating and acting well. When is it time to start introducing solid feed to her?  Is this the same formula you used last time?


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## Mouse14

I think 2 weeks old was the recommended time to add a few bits of feed with milk in a dish. She will be a week old monday. And she now has both eyes gunked shut. So maybe it is a winter thing. I've opted against the iron shot since it can cause diarrhea, which she doesn't need more of. She is eating bits of dirt and rooting around in it as expected. She had a brownish yellow poop this afternoon instead of the typical orange she had all day yesterday.


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## Mouse14

Napping under the heat lamp   when she isn't snorting and trying to escape


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## Mouse14

And yes same formula. There's no mold, or smell to it so I've continued using it


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## Mouse14

I was told she could be getting an upper respiratory infection. With her eyes crusted shut. I don't have a vet that will see a piglet this size. :/ how will I know if she does indeed have one or if it's just funny pig stuff?


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## Mouse14

Both of her eyes are crusted shut so we are getting some meds from an on call vet today.


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## babsbag

I am a believer that sometimes you just have to treat with antibiotics even if you don't know for sure. We don't always have the ways, the means, or the time to get a for sure diagnoses. She is little and vulnerable and I would treat with another antibiotic for the eyes, just in case.  I think your choice is a wise one. Hope you get what you need, crusty shut eyes does not sound even close to normal. Is her poop getting firmer at all?


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## Mouse14

Not really nope  she's been given 2 doses of Baytril from the vet. We gave her dose one today. She was NOT a happy camper! Hopefully we see some improvement tomorrow


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## babsbag

Did the vet say anything about the diarrhea?


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## Mouse14

No. We explained what was going on with her but he doesn't specialize in pigs so he couldn't really say.


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## Mouse14

Can someone show me a visual on the best way to give a shot? I've heard in front of the neck above the shoulder, but she was a nightmare yesterday and we placed it too high. I mean it worked because her eyes are clearing up, but how can we more easily do this?


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## Mouse14

Another pic of cute little pig. We've decided to name her Pugsy Hope. Her eyes are cleared up. Her poop isn't quite as thick as it should be and her bottom has become irritated. I'm going to put some butt cream on it in hopes that it helps. She's doing great and doesn't even seem ill.


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## babsbag

Glad that she is doing better. As far as the shot...no idea other than what Google has to offer. How many do you have to give her?


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## Mouse14

The vet gave us two but said we didn't have to give the second one. We skipped the second one tonight because it isn't something we have a handle on. I'm going to call a pig farmer I know tomorrow to see if he will do it. She's acting great. Eats incredibly. She doesn't poop but a few times a day. Not quite toothpaste consistency yet, but she seems great. She's a biter too. Loves scritches on her neck and shoulder lol


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## misfitmorgan

Sorry i wasnt here as i mentioned i only check BYH when i am at work and i dont work weekends. Glad you got her some meds for her crusty eyes, with it ending up in both eyes i would have recommended some antibiotic eye ointment but seems the baytril did the job a lot quicker. I dont really ever see firm piggy poo until they get on normal feed and even then its nothing impressive. We start offering pig and sow feed free access at 3 days old, our feed is a powder though so they might start on it earlier then pelts. If we have extra milk we will make them a slop too.

If she is acting good, eating good, and full of energy she is probly gonna be fine. Good deal on the iron, you didn't give iron to the last litter either, right? It seems like i remember you not giving it. 

Injections for piglets is hip/butt and or thigh...thats where we give iron shots, we tend to use thigh the most. This link shows the two places...number 2 & 3.
http://www.thepigsite.com/pighealth/article/84/sites-of-injection/


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## Mouse14

Youre fine.  I joined a fb group and have been messaging friends as well. They kept saying neck so i was really struggling with that.  Yeah I skipped iron last litter as well. So how will I know if what she's having is considered normal vs scours? I know to look for toothpaste consistency but it's hard to tell when she smears it every chance she gets -_-


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## misfitmorgan

Mouse14 said:


> Youre fine.  I joined a fb group and have been messaging friends as well. They kept saying neck so i was really struggling with that.  Yeah I skipped iron last litter as well. So how will I know if what she's having is considered normal vs scours? I know to look for toothpaste consistency but it's hard to tell when she smears it every chance she gets -_-



If you watch her after you feed her for 5-10 minutes you should see her poo and be able to tell if it is watery/really loose or if it is more solid....not like dog poo solid but like....maybe the consistency is bananas...mashed a bit. Its so hard to explain lmao. Never thought i would be trying to explain poo consistency to anyone until i was at least 60.


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## Mouse14

LOl! Okay yeah she's got something a little more wet than the toothpaste consistency, but not by much!


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## Mouse14

Question because I'm constantly doubting my mixing abilities. The bag says to add 2.63 oz of dry formula to 16 oz of water. If I split that down  to 4 oz of water is it correct that I'm only supposed to add 2/3 of an oz of formula? She drinks 8 oz in 24 hours usually.


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## Mouse14




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## Mouse14

I'm assuming since she's done with spectogard her poop will stop being orange and go back to yellow?


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## frustratedearthmother

.6575 of an ounce is what I get...seems you're right on


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## Mouse14




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## Latestarter

Sure is a cute little piggy. Hope all continues to improve.


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## misfitmorgan

The color of her poop should go back to normal eventually, can't tell you an exact day because i never have really paid super close attention to color change just texture really. All sorts of drugs can do all sorts of odd things, i used to take potassium pills and it made my pee neon yellow, my mom took some vitamin that made her pee neon orange...lol. 

All that being said i imagine since it is an antibiotic it would be 14 days or less for poo color to go back to normal. I'm not sure if you did 3, 4, or 5 days for the dosing.....if we used human antibotic logic is says 9-15 days. Meat withdrawal time says 21 days.

So yeah somewhere in there 

Sorry i cant be more helpful.


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## Mouse14

Oh alright. Yesterday was the last day. I did the 5 day just to be sure.  a pig friend of mine says she's doing great for 8 days old when he saw her.


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## babsbag

Just too cute. !!!  I am really glad that she is doing well. We are all rooting for her.


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## Mouse14

Been having to take her with me twice a week since I'm away from home 5 hours. I think more people flock to see piglets than they do babies!!! And of course Pugsy ate up the attention. I've been heating rice socks for her. She is 2 weeks and 2 days old. I've been putting a few pellets of feed in her milk. Shes pan feeding as of Sunday as well. Still doing great, and getting plump!


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## Mouse14




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## misfitmorgan

Mouse14 said:


> Been having to take her with me twice a week since I'm away from home 5 hours. I think more people flock to see piglets than they do babies!!! And of course Pugsy ate up the attention. I've been heating rice socks for her. She is 2 weeks and 2 days old. I've been putting a few pellets of feed in her milk. Shes pan feeding as of Sunday as well. Still doing great, and getting plump!



So glad you got her all straightened out...she is so cute!


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## babsbag

That is one spoiled pig. Thank you for updating us, I was thinking about you and hoping that no news was good news.


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## Mouse14

I've started her on a mix of formula and mushed pellets 3x a day with formula the rest of the time. Her poop has taken on a brown thick form, been sticking to her butt and tail (put coconut oil on it earlier to loosen it) her belly looks so bloated compared to the rest of her body. Is that normal? I dont remember the last litter looking like this at almost 3 weeks


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## TAH

Pigs are ADORABLE (I mean yours and in general)!


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## mysunwolf

We never mixed feed in with the milk, we would just begin to start every feeding off with some pellets that had been mushed in water. We would put a few in their mouths and try and get them to eat a little. Then when they had given it a good shot we would give them the bottle. We also would put feed and water out free choice at this age. You might want to take down the amount of milk a little if you are including pellets in the milk, it might just be too much and too rich feed for her little belly!


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## Mouse14

Alright will do! I'll start mushing it in water instead. I'm moving her to a pack and play tonight hopefully so she will have a wider range to roam.


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## Mouse14

So I caught her in the act. When she poops she rubs her butt in it, creating globs of dingle berries -_- I've spent so long trying to get the clump off of her tail. I got some, but not the main blob. I was using coconut oil to  loosen it up. It's the less stressful way for her. Second time I've had to clean her. She's having solid but squishy poops. Also I've been giving her 15mL of formula every 2 hours. Should I switch her to every 3 now that she's 3 weeks old or is 2 best right now? I know I could really go for more sleep, but I want to do this right.  Also is 15mL good for her age? She definitely weighs over a lb now!


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## Mouse14

Oh and a new pic of her


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## mysunwolf

I think we were feeding every 4-6 hours by 3 weeks old, with an 8 hour break overnight, but these were very large, healthy piglets that were standard sized, so you'll have to judge based on your individual situation! Is she really 3 weeks old? Could they have been born a little premature? Just over 1lb is so tiny! 

She is such a cutie, by the way. You've done amazing just to get her this far.


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## Mouse14

Yep 3 weeks hahaha. Potbelly pigs are so little.  Last year when my girl had hers I thought she would only have a few because I thought they were born the size of coke cans lol. She's the size she should be  she may weigh right at 2 lbs. She doesn't sit still haha


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## misfitmorgan

For the poo problem, no idea honestly. Every 2hrs was only for the first week i think, at 3 weeks old she should be fine on feeding 3-4 times a day. So i would wean her from every 2hrs to every 3hrs for 2 days and then to every 4hrs for 3 days and then every 5hrs for 3 days then start on every 6hrs. She should have started eatting solid food at 2 weeks old...feeding her every 2hrs might make her not wanna bother. For the amount she should be getting about 8ml per lb of body weight far as i can figure.


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## Mouse14

We started muhsing food at 2 weeks and giving it 3x a day with milk the rest of the time. Should she be getting solids at every feed? How old does she need to be when I cut back her milk intake? When I feed her solids I cut it back so she doesn't get too bloated. I've only been mushing maybe 12 pellets at a time. I'm holding off for 3 hrs right now and she's very unhappy with me lol


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## Mouse14




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## misfitmorgan

Mouse14 said:


> We started muhsing food at 2 weeks and giving it 3x a day with milk the rest of the time. Should she be getting solids at every feed? How old does she need to be when I cut back her milk intake? When I feed her solids I cut it back so she doesn't get too bloated. I've only been mushing maybe 12 pellets at a time. I'm holding off for 3 hrs right now and she's very unhappy with me lol



If you can it's best to leave food down all the time, we dont wet feed but also dont feed pellets. Generally when they start drinking water and are eating solid food well we take them off milk. Keep in mind these are commercial size meat piglets i am used too. I'm imagine potbelly pigs are the same but i dunno for a fact.


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## Mouse14

This piglet is definitely not the same size as my girl was or her litter! Could that be from the fact that she was inbred? (Boys have neuter apt for late April) she's a month old today and still so tiny!


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## misfitmorgan

I dont think it is from inbreeding, you usually dont see effects from inbreeding for a few generations. She might just be small because she had a rough start or maybe she was always going to be a smaller pig, its hard  to tell.


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## Mouse14

Okay because she only weighs maybe 2 lbs lol. I'll weigh her later today.


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## Mouse14

Compared to my 4 year old lol. He thinks her rooting is the funniest thing ever


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## mysunwolf

Yeah, inbreeding depression is a real problem but this seems to be more severe than in that case. I would keep feeding her replacer in a bowl as often as possible and keep trying to get her size up!


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## Mouse14

I weighed her today and she's 2 lbs. She will be 6 weeks Monday. She eats pellets really well. She's been eating them without being soaked for at least a week now.


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## misfitmorgan

Awesome, your doing a great job with her!


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## Mouse14

I'm feeling kind of helpless with her. She's gone from 2 lbs even on march 28th to 1.6 lbs April 17th. So in 2 weeks she's dropped 10 oz. :/ she doesn't seem to be growing. Still acting lIke a normal piglet, eating great, drinking great, dumping her water when she's had her fill, sleeping, whines for 5-10 minutes every time she hears me rolling over in bed, all that good stuff. She's just tiny. You can see her little hip bones but I feed her enough, maybe even over feed her. I'm really hoping she lives into adulthood, if she'd just start growing!


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## Mouse14

Excuse my hair lol, I don't brush it at night


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## misfitmorgan

What exactly are you feeding her?


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## mysunwolf

Hm, you could try moving her onto something higher protein. What % protein is your replacer? Maybe mix soybean meal into her pig feed? How much solid feed is she eating now? And I can't remember, have you ever gotten a vet's opinion on her? Sometimes there are just animals that refuse to grow, and even if they want to live, they are unable to because some part of them isn't functioning properly. I'm not saying this is the case with your girl, but it's something to think about.


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## Mouse14

She was weaned off of formula last week and she's currently on mazuri youth piglet feed. I'll look up what percent protein it is.


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## Mouse14

The details:Crude protein (min.) 20.0%, Lysine (min.) 1.3%, Crude fat (min.) 5.0%, Crude fiber (max.) 3.0%, Calcium (Ca) (min.) 0.80%, Calcium (Ca) (max.) 1.3%, Phosphorus (P) (min.) 0.90%, Salt (NaCl) (min.) 0.45%, Salt (NaCl) (max.) 0.95%, Selenium (Se) (min.) 0.30 ppm, Zinc (Zn) (min.) 220 ppm


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## Mouse14

This is her while drinking and eating


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## misfitmorgan

How much are you feeding her and how often? The mazuri is pellets right?


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## mysunwolf

You might put her back on the milk replacer, since she is so very small, in addition to free choice feed.


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## Mouse14

So I've been feeding based on her size and was told I shouldn't since she's too small. Said I need to make sure she has 1/2 a cup a day. I feel bad bc that's a little more than I was feeding her. I thought I was feeding her more than I should have because of her size and how bloated see gets when she eats. Upping her feed, scheduling her a vet check, and seeing how she fares this weekend.


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## Mouse14

Yes, feed is pellets


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## Latestarter

I hate to say it but it seems to me like she has a genetic issue and I doubt she'll ever grow. I don't know, it just doesn't seem right the way things have gone with her to date.


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## misfitmorgan

It could also be the pellets. We feed out piglets a ground meal because they eat more of it then pellets. Seems they just find it to hard to chew a lot of pellets when they are little, esp if they are large pellets. The amount of water she gets can also effect growth, see if you can pick up one of the no tip pet bowls so she always has water and cant spill it. Or you could train her to drink from a rabbit water bottle, not the ball bearing kind but the sippy spout kind...they function similar to a large pig nipple waterer. I know Lixit and Ferplast both carry sippy spout styles.

This link is for a Lixit one but you can probly shop aroun and find a better price. 
https://www.amazon.com/Lixit-Fill-W...rd_wg=5Cwxo&psc=1&refRID=9PTGS4E5X5QQGDQG2CSQ


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## Mouse14

Since upping her feed she is starting to grow! She gets 1/2 c a day spread out in little bits every time she starts to make a fuss. I meant to post a newer pic. I'm getting a pack N play today for her. Upping the size of her litter pan. She drinks roughly 30 oz of water a day


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## Mouse14

She's starting to get jowls. It's adorable!


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## mysunwolf

She's adorable! Please consider leaving food out all the time, so she can graze like a cat. Piglets really do better with this. And congrats on her gaining weight!!


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## misfitmorgan

Yay!! i'm glad she is growing. I agree with @mysunwolf on leaving a dish of food down for her. We free choice feed all of our piglets.


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## Mouse14

I've heard they'll overeat so it wasn't best to? That pigs are pretty glutinous creatures. I mean my other pigs are definitely that way,  so I figured she would be too. Will she not overeat?


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## misfitmorgan

She will overeat in a sense but at her current age and size she should gain size before gaining to much fat which is the normal problem with mini pigs and even full size pigs, so there should not be a problem for her. Our piglets get full feed for the first 2 months, then anyone who is smaller get another month of full feed or however it takes for them to catch up to the group average. Generally those stuck on the hind teats need a little extra.


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## Mouse14

Gotcha! Makes sense! I left food down this morning and she just munched for 20 mins, looks like she was sore from how tight and big her belly was! I ended up picking it up because she just wasn't stopping LOL. I'll be putting it back down today since it doesn't matter right now.


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## Mouse14

The woman didn't meet me with the pack and play today >_>


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## misfitmorgan

Thats always annoying when someone is a no show whether they are buying or selling.


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## mysunwolf

I hate that, too. I strike people out for that kind of thing!

We have always made our own piggy play pens out of heavy duty plastic, cardboard, and a corner of the house... the Pack and Play is for your pig, right?


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## Mouse14

She messaged apologizing. Her kid broke her nose during softball! O.O yep for piggy, who is still driving me mad all night long lol. She makes little noises, then increasing the volume until she's full on squealing. She's gotten spoiled with the heated blanket (trying to wean her off of it) and every time it turns off she stirs lol. Weighed her this afternoon and she's weighing in at *drumroll please* 3 lbs 2 oz!!


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## Mouse14




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## Mouse14

For the first time ever she licked me too!  super sweet she's so chunky, but she did have an accident in the floor. I can't get her to just go in her box while she's exploring. She's too distracted.


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## mysunwolf

Woohoo, getting bigger! I have never gotten bottle piglets to be housetrained, ever. They always pee and poo everywhere, it's messy.


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## babsbag

Diapers   She is adorable and really glad that she is gaining weight. While I never want to own one I sure like looking at yours.  You are a good piggy mommy.


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## Mouse14

My almost 2 year old was mostly litter trained, she was good about going in the box when she had babies too, but this little turd. She didn't even try to find a box.


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## Mouse14

I've got her in a kennel at night until I can meet with that woman. We keep playing phone tag :/ she weighs around 5 lbs now  turns 10 weeks Monday. She's half the size she should be, but she's sure made a total turn around!   bird from our porch had some droppings in the kennel. I'll be cleaning that later, i was in a rush tonight.


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## misfitmorgan

Look at that little chunker! I'm glad she is doing well!!


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## Mouse14

The pig this thread started about passed away.  she had a twisted gut or something like that. I can't remember the name. I rehomed all my other babies. My first baby is dead and it put me in a very depressed state as I was already dealing with not so great things and I wanted the best for the remaining pigs. They've all been rehomed together to live on a farm with other farm animals and lots of kids (4 I believe!)


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## mysunwolf

I'm so sorry about your pig  but the twisted gut means you couldn't have done anything for her anyways. Glad that the rest of your crew is getting to live out their happy lives on a farm!


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## babsbag




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