Wormy pigs! Ivermectin pour-on?

[BarnyardChaos]

My first time here, of course with a problem. We have 11 grower pigs, 22 weeks old, about 150-200 lbs each (8 hampshires, 1 yorkshire, 2 durocs). Going to slaughterhouse in August. First time raising pigs, hubby went to auction for 2-3 piglets, and accidentally bought a whole lot at 8 weeks old. Barely have enough room in one dirt/muddy fenced lot to raise them. The pigs are friendly, they come to me for petting and back scratches. Please be kind - I'm learning by necessity, crash course by Google.

I did not know I needed to worm them. This morning, I noticed large worms in their manure - looked like small earthworms, but white in color. Kicking myself for not getting control of this issue before it became an issue. I have on hand a bottle of Ivermectin Pour-On for Cattle, 5mg per mL. Can I use this for the pigs, and how to dose them? Or should I head to the feed store for something more appropriate?

I can use an injectable or paste, I think, but would rather NOT please. They all look so similar, I can't guarantee to treat all of them, only once. I have no means to restrain them or move from one area to another individually. Ideally, I'd like to use the pour-on. Alternatively, I can put medication in their feed or water.

Help? Advice, please?

 

[Alaskan]

@Baymule @farmerjan ??

I have a low worm load where I live... so never had to worm the feeder pigs I have raised.

 

[farmerjan]

Yes, you can use pour on for hogs. Have used it to treat lice on hogs. It will absorb into the skin. I would use a dosage of 1 ml per about 20-25 lbs. The concentration you have is a little stronger than the called for amount... BUT.... pour on can be used safely at 5-10X the amount without any great adverse effect. So it will not hurt them.
So, if I understand it you need to worm the ones that you have... weighing 150-200 lbs. I would use 6-8 cc (ml) per hog, right down their backbone area... It will help to clean out the worms without upsetting their systems too much.
I would only treat them one time since you are looking at slaughter in August... there is a withdrawal time according to what you use. 7 days normally for feed administered, 14 days for pour on, and 28 or 35 days for injectable.
Are they thin or looking unthrifty? If so you may need to keep them longer and treat twice. That will screw up the slaughter date unless you do not have a long waiting time like we do here. But if they look good and are eating good, then once should do it. You need to NOT put pigs back in that lot for a good while though.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

Yes, you can use pour on for hogs. Have used it to treat lice on hogs. It will absorb into the skin. I would use a dosage of 1 ml per about 20-25 lbs. The concentration you have is a little stronger than the called for amount... BUT.... pour on can be used safely at 5-10X the amount without any great adverse effect. So it will not hurt them.
So, if I understand it you need to worm the ones that you have... weighing 150-200 lbs. I would use 6-8 cc (ml) per hog, right down their backbone area... It will help to clean out the worms without upsetting their systems too much.
I would only treat them one time since you are looking at slaughter in August... there is a withdrawal time according to what you use. 7 days normally for feed administered, 14 days for pour on, and 28 or 35 days for injectable.
Are they thin or looking unthrifty? If so you may need to keep them longer and treat twice. That will screw up the slaughter date unless you do not have a long waiting time like we do here. But if they look good and are eating good, then once should do it. You need to NOT put pigs back in that lot for a good while though.

Thank you for the reply! I have spent the last several hours searching for videos on how to do subcutaneous injections on pigs this size - and I was NOT looking forward to doing this tomorrow by myself. Our local feed store doesn't carry the treatment for feed, and they're out of paste. So I bought the injectable and syringes. They don't look thin at all, and they're eating well. I will do the pour-on as you suggested. MUCH easier!

 

[farmerjan]

You cannot safely do subq injections without putting hogs in a chute. PLEASE DO NOT DO THAT BY YOURSELF IF THEY ARE NOT CONTAINED IN A CHUTE THEY CANNOT TURN AROUND IN.

You can use up to 10 ml per hog... Try to do it when they are dry - ie. not in the rain....and if need be, the area can vary according to if they have muddy spots. This is not an EXACT science. Along the top of the back area.
If you have trouble telling them apart, use a little squirt of food coloring on each hog as you do it... like blue or red, so that you can tell who was done. Just shoot a couple drops out of another syringe or a squeeze dropper on their head or back.. it will wear off in a few weeks... or a shot of just a little spray paint or anything like that.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

You cannot safely do subq injections without putting hogs in a chute. PLEASE DO NOT DO THAT BY YOURSELF IF THEY ARE NOT CONTAINED IN A CHUTE THEY CANNOT TURN AROUND IN.

You can use up to 10 ml per hog... Try to do it when they are dry - ie. not in the rain....and if need be, the area can vary according to if they have muddy spots. This is not an EXACT science. Along the top of the back area.
If you have trouble telling them apart, use a little squirt of food coloring on each hog as you do it... like blue or red, so that you can tell who was done. Just shoot a couple drops out of another syringe or a squeeze dropper on their head or back.. it will wear off in a few weeks... or a shot of just a little spray paint or anything like that.

I have no chute, yet. I will be building one so we can safely and calmly load them into a trailer. Lots of wood pallets and scrap lumber lying around.....
My biggest fear of trying to inject them myself was the risk of broken needles. Some of those videos make it look easy, but these are very experienced pig farmers. Others just jabbed the needles into the neck area (!!) while the pigs totally panicked. And I didn't like the looks of using a snare around the snout - I can imagine injuries (mine AND the pigs).
I've left them unfed this morning (they have last night's leftovers), and plan to pour on the ivermectin at the afternoon feeding, for They are tame and friendly. I have some livestock markers to mark each one after dosing. Should be a cinch!!! Thanks again!

 

[farmerjan]

Suggestion for loading... go to @Baymule 's thread on pigs.... I don't know the title offhand. She taught her pigs to load with using hard boiled eggs which they loved.
I taught my little 30 lb feeder pigs to run up the chute and loading ramp and go on the back of the old truck I used to haul them to town in... simply by feeding them on the truck for a week or 2 before the sale. If you have a trailer... back it up to the gate you are going to load them out of, fix it so it is escape proof with gates/panels/pallets on the sides, and just feed them in the trailer in a couple of flat black rubber pan for a few days before the sale date... they don't like change... so make it normal to go on the trailer to eat... or to get treats they really like.
Put the feed in the trailer, then open the gate to their pen or whatever you need to do... so they are not crowding you, but know that as soon as the gate gets opened... they get something good....
Pigs are suspicious, and they will be wary for a bit... but once one gets brave, and finds something good... he will be like YAY, LOOK WHAT I GOT, and everyone will be running up there because they will want it too. They also don't want someone to get something that they don't get... worse than little kids all wanting the same toy....
Also, the less trauma loading them, the better the meat, because of the adrenaline in their system.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

And done! I used a curry comb to brush the dried mud from their backs before dosing - OMG they loved that so much! So well behaved and stood stock still for me. Some came back for more brushing. I really think I would have been able to inject them anyway with a helper. Regardless, the window is too close for withdrawal time for an injection. I dosed them each 6cc down their backs, and will watch for side effects. Some will need an additional few cc's depending on their weight, after a couple of days of watching them. (I learned how to measure their girth and length to calculate approximate weight - a godsend.)

As for loading them, the plan you suggested is exactly what I had in mind I discussed that with hubby today, that we need to move the trailer and build the ramp and chute within a week or two. I'm also going to make a couple of sorting boards and start practicing moving the pigs around so they're used to it in case they're needed on loading day.

A couple of other tips I taught myself out of necessity: At feeding time (we do not have a range feeder, I use a few metal troughs cut from old water heaters), the little pigs were quickly over-running me as they grew. I learned to toss several handfuls of grass and beneficial weeds or kitchen scraps to a corner of the pen first, then bring in the feed buckets while they're busy. Works like a charm. And to stop crowding at the pen gate, I placed a welded metal shelf grid piece like those in big-box stores on which to store pallets of merchandise. About 3' x 4' size. Placed a few flat stones at the gate and dropped the shelf on top of that, and ringed the new "entry" with some concrete blocks as a barrier. Works better than I expected! They hate that surface and will not step on it.

 

[Ron Bequeath]

Suggestion for loading... go to @Baymule 's thread on pigs.... I don't know the title offhand. She taught her pigs to load with using hard boiled eggs which they loved.
I taught my little 30 lb feeder pigs to run up the chute and loading ramp and go on the back of the old truck I used to haul them to town in... simply by feeding them on the truck for a week or 2 before the sale. If you have a trailer... back it up to the gate you are going to load them out of, fix it so it is escape proof with gates/panels/pallets on the sides, and just feed them in the trailer in a couple of flat black rubber pan for a few days before the sale date... they don't like change... so make it normal to go on the trailer to eat... or to get treats they really like.
Put the feed in the trailer, then open the gate to their pen or whatever you need to do... so they are not crowding you, but know that as soon as the gate gets opened... they get something good....
Pigs are suspicious, and they will be wary for a bit... but once one gets brave, and finds something good... he will be like YAY, LOOK WHAT I GOT, and everyone will be running up there because they will want it too. They also don't want someone to get something that they don't get... worse than little kids all wanting the same toy....
Also, the less trauma loading them, the better the meat, because of the adrenaline in their system.

Lot of good advice. One more hint i learned from a butcher friend who i traded an Aussie for. Place a bale of hay or straw up against the trailer or where your loading them. They'll walk right in. Lessons learned from an old timer taught by the young. Good luck.

 

[Baymule]

Hello there! Sorry I’ve not been online much in the last day or two. Stand up and take your bows for worming the pigs! Insert applause emoji here-can’t do it on my cell phone! LOL

I load pigs with boiled eggs. It’s my secret weapon. Boil up a batch of eggs and toss them over the fence. I did the trailer back up, feed them in it for the first batch I raised, but switched to boiled eggs after that. So easy!

Back up trailer, open end gate, have pen gate on opposite side (hopefully). If not, simply put a cow panel or pallets on the open side.

I went through the side door on our trailer, squeezed a couple boiled eggs and dropped them about a foot inside the trailer. I backed up, dropping a few more, then a pile up front, out the side door. The pigs rushed in to be first piggy to eat all the eggs, we shut the gate. Didn’t need a ramp, they just scrambled in to eat the eggs.

I did not feed them the day before, so they would be good and hungry. We also loaded them the evening or afternoon before because drop off time was early in the mornings. After they were loaded, truck and trailer were parked in the shade, if hot, pigs were squirted with hose. They were fed and watered in the trailer.

We even had an 820 pound boar that we loaded with my boiled eggs. You are NOT going to get an 820 pound boar to do anything he doesn’t want to!