Pig throwing up

[greybeard]

Do swine get mites?
Most cattle, during winter months of having their heads in a bale of hay come down with a mite or lice infestation.
Same with swine?

 

[farmerjan]

Get the hay out, give them just water for 12 hours even if they aren't happy. Let them get the stuff moving out of their system. They put them on the feed, about half, and wet it down. If they keep it down, then you can gradually get them back up to full feed. Since you found the obvious culprit, then you will have to do something different about the hay. If the bale is in their pen all the time then it is getting wet and picking up moisture from the ground maybe? I am not a big fan of free choice alfalfa to any animal. I feed my 4 nurse cows 1 small square bale a day (50 +/- lbs) plus all the grass hay they can eat. It supplements their protein level but they can't get too much. 1 to 2 sections per cow per day is all I feed. Pigs should get less since they are not ruminants.

 

[farmerjan]

Do swine get mites?
Most cattle, during winter months of having their heads in a bale of hay come down with a mite or lice infestation.
Same with swine?

Yes swine can get lice. I think it is a reaction to the mold and the too high protein from the alfalfa. It can make them itchy. The mold is causing the gastric problems.

 

[misfitmorgan]

Itching i just a thing pigs do and more so when the weather turns cold as their skin gets dry. If you dont see something obvious wrong on their skin like small red spots all over, a large rash for a few days, bald spots, skin sloughing off, etc.....its just pigs being pigs.

If it is just the mold causing it, removing the mold should clear up the problem. Some pigs are more sensitive then others and esp so in growing castrated pigs...no one really knows why. If the problem doesnt clear up in a couple days i would go with it being an ulcer and do the diet changes ive mentioned in the first post. You can let them go without butcher as long as they are holding weight.

I would mention at this point the 250lb pig will be costing more to feed then you will get out of him. I'm guilty of having some pigs like that atm too so i'm just letting you know.

 

[misfitmorgan]

Do swine get mites?
Most cattle, during winter months of having their heads in a bale of hay come down with a mite or lice infestation.
Same with swine?

Yes swine can get lice. I think it is a reaction to the mold and the too high protein from the alfalfa. It can make them itchy. The mold is causing the gastric problems.

Swine can get mites as well.

I also agree pigs should not be on alfalfa....we feed ours grass hay.

 

[Farmer-Brown]

Thanks everyone. They seem a lot better today. They even showed interest in eating. No incessant scratching either. Now that it's daylight I was able to look around better... No diarrhea thank goodness.

The big guy will be slaughtered in the new year once we have more freezer space. The gilt was just the biggest of the 2.

This is my first go round with pigs and I have to say I'm really enjoying it.

 

[Wehner Homestead]

We've given pigs Gatorade before in a desperate measure to get them to drink. One we even gave with a syringe. Of course after the initial go, we offered water as I don't think there's any research or evidence on Gatorade in pigs. I think the flavor was what got their interest/attention more than anything.

 

[Farmer Connie]

Thanks everyone. They seem a lot better today. They even showed interest in eating. No incessant scratching either. Now that it's daylight I was able to look around better... No diarrhea thank goodness.

The big guy will be slaughtered in the new year once we have more freezer space. The gilt was just the biggest of the 2.

SORRY I AM LOGGING IN AFTER THE FACT.........
I can only speak from experience not as an educator.

We buy MOLDY HAY intentionally. We can get a 3 strand 75# bale for less than 3 bucks. We use it to bed our stock in cold weather and especially Sow's delivering piglets/nesting new born. We currently have 3- 125# feeders bedding in it as well as 3 litters from 3 Sows, 2 boars and a resting Sow.
I am not saying it's not the mold at all.. Maybe a different kind of mold we have here in N Florida.
Just that to us is something we have not witnessed personally.


When was the last Ivermectin treatment?
You can treat them orally with 1cc per 100#.
Inject it into a bread ball. I do this 30 days before process.

ALMOST EVERY TIME we feed FRESH GREEN ALFALFA.. They chuck it up.. like a cat with a hair ball.

I am glad you said they are doing better..

 

[Baymule]

I am glad that your pigs are getting better!

 

[misfitmorgan]

SORRY I AM LOGGING IN AFTER THE FACT.........
I can only speak from experience not as an educator.

We buy MOLDY HAY intentionally. We can get a 3 strand 75# bale for less than 3 bucks. We use it to bed our stock in cold weather and especially Sow's delivering piglets/nesting new born. We currently have 3- 125# feeders bedding in it as well as 3 litters from 3 Sows, 2 boars and a resting Sow.
I am not saying it's not the mold at all.. Maybe a different kind of mold we have here in N Florida.
Just that to us is something we have not witnessed personally.


When was the last Ivermectin treatment?
You can treat them orally with 1cc per 100#.
Inject it into a bread ball. I do this 30 days before process.

ALMOST EVERY TIME we feed FRESH GREEN ALFALFA.. They chuck it up.. like a cat with a hair ball.

I am glad you said they are doing better..

As i mentioned some pigs and entire breeds are more prone to it happening and it is happens most often in young growing pigs when they get to be 4-8 months old, it is most common in castrated pigs. We get mold in our hay if it is black mold we throw it on the burn pile, it is the grey mold we use it for bedding. We have not seen any problems with this method but we would not feed it and i think the difference is if your pigs are eating moldy hay or not. I think weather, humidity, type of hay can all be factors. Was it the mold for sure, there is no way to tell other then if removing it causes an improvement. Adult sows can be prone to the same problem but it is much more rare something like only 30% of cases...which when your dealing with a few hundred cases a year isnt many.

The pigs may need to be wormed though i've never seen vomiting as a sign of to many worms before any other signs are seen.

I am glad the pigs are doing better, hopefully it continues.

Personally we do try to keep moldy hay away from our livestock for the animals health and the humans as well, mold spores floating around are generally not healthy.