Oh my! What did I just do?!?!

[kryptoniteqhs]

Ok so I went to the auction tonight to look at cattle, not buy, just look to see what they were going for and so forth. They were jumping around from beef to dairy to goats to beef to pigs to dairy to beef. Needless to say I watched the pigs go through. This last week I had been considering getting a piglet to raise. I thought that maaaaybe if something went cheap I might buy it. So these 3 young pigs went through (all together they weigh 98lbs). One of them had a HUGE tumor on its stomach. The bidding started and not one person bid. They went down to $1 for all three and still no one. So what did I do? Yes, I bought them, because Im an idiot. I figured Id at least get one or two decent ones out of the 3 and what the heck, it was only one dollar.
So, we go to load them up and of course theres one with a super huge tumor and turns out another one has one on his elbow and limps. The third is just small and thin. The other two look otherwise healthy (if you can even say that). So, now what? They have food, water, bedding and hay. Im going to pick up their actual feed tomorrow for now I just gave them a bit of the feed Ive been giving my Angus heifer. The two with tumors dont seem to be bothered by it. They are all eating and drinking. The one with the giant tumor, it actually drags the ground a bit. The one that has the one on its elbow and limps doesnt seem to be in pain either, I think the reason it limps is just because of the location of the tumor. It restricts its movement. They are all boys (figures). What can you do with piggies with tumors? I just want them to be comfortable, which they seem to be, but then what? Id like to figure out how old they are and then worm them and such. What else should I do? They stink so darn bad I want to give them a bath (mostly because I dont know where theyve been), but its too cold. The smallest one cant weigh much more than 20lbs. The others maybe 30 or so. Any suggestions? Feed? wormer? Sanitation? I feel like I should Sevin dust them like a chicken lol just to make sure they dont have any wierd parasites or bugs bc obviously I dont know where theyve been or what kind of conditions theyve lived in, but Im sure it wasnt pretty. Thanks and dont judge me, Im not stupid when it comes to animals, I catch on pretty quick, this is probably the only type of animal Ive never owned.

ETA: Oh and one of them (I think the one with the elbow tumor) was sucking on the side of the water bowl for a while before he started drinking it. You dont think they still could have been on their mothers do you? I think theyre a little to big for that.
&
AND my biggest question. Pigs dont have sensitive stomaches at all right? Because I have some left over rabbit feed (we just got rid of all our rabbits) and I was wondering if it would hurt to give them that?

 

[jhm47]

The pig with the "tumor" likely has a rupture (hernia) in his unbilicus. It's best to leave this alone if it's really big, or else his intestines will come out and it will kill him. The one with the thing on his leg (elbow) most likely has some kind of infection or cyst. I would have a vet look at it and see if it can be drained and you might put him on antibiotics to clear up the infection if that's what's wrong. It's pretty hard to tell without a picture.

As to worming, I'd give each of them a shot of Ivomec. That will take care of most internal parasites and all external ones. Ivomec is very safe and cheap for small animals like yours.

Pigs can eat most anything. You would do well to get a good commercial pig ration and feed that to them. It might seem that it's expensive, but in the long run, you will save $$$, and your meat will taste better. Your pigs will also be ready for slaughter much quicker. I'd hesitate feeding the one with the rupture too much feed with a lot of roughage in it, or he might get a twisted intestine and die.

 

[kenora44]

One of my pigs has a hernia this year and it is quite large. We left it be and its not causing any trouble. Perhaps thats what it is. Raising pigs is a learning experience and you will gain knowledge that will help you in years to come. I think its great you took them home.

Oh and we also gave our pigs left over hen food, broiler grower, pullet developer etc. Never had a problem. I personally dont give my pigs meat, not sure if others do?

 

[animalfarm]

Get a vet check. You need to know the age of the pigs and what the issues really are. The cost of one visit from the vet could keep you from making big expenditures on lost causes, or give you some confidence/direction to make a good deal even better.

Do some research on pigs to find out what you don't know for sure and hope never to find out the hard way. Once the vet gets there drill the heck out of him about any and everything pig and get more bang for your buck. Good vets don't mind. Have they been castrated ect...if not make sure the vet gets that done too and it will save money.