Bad mama pig

Baymule

Baymule

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If you raise them to sell for feeder pigs, I would think that barrows would sell better. I just fed out 2 guilts and one barrow and the barrow outweighed the guilts by 50 pounds! smacking self in head...... next time, I'll be getting all barrows!
 
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arrowti

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Castration done.

Unfortunately, this morning I went out and saw that Wilma's only producing teat (the only one Pebble uses) is all red and hot. All her other teats have dried up, and there is no milk coming from it - Pebbles tries every teat she can find and tries her hardest to get the milk to come, but to no avail. :(

Wilma is acting normal and does not behave as though she has an infection. Is there anything we can do?

Pebbles is eating hay, and she also ate some pellet food I brought into the den. We tried giving her some milk supplement in a dish but she doesn't seem to know how to drink - or isn't interested in it. She sniffed it, dipped her nose in it a couple times and sneezed and walked away. I'm thinking Wilma is the most patient mother in the world - no matter how many times Pebble yanks on her ear, chews on her nose, or pushes up on her mouth and bites her tail, she never does anything to stop her.

How do we teach Pebbles to drink out of a bowl? I heard bottle feeding is dangerous, and I doubt she'll let us syringe feed. She will be two weeks old on Monday (I believe). If we can't get her to drink the milk replacer is it too early for her to eat solid food and drink water?
 
Baymule

Baymule

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Just keep offering her the milk in the dish. Gently put her mouth to it or put some in your hand and wipe her mouth. Stay out there with her for awhile and keep trying. Maybe she'll lick the milk off your fingers.
 
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arrowti

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Good news. After a lot of rubbing and squeezing the red udder/gland, and checking for milk, it suddenly started to come out and Pebbles instantly latched on! It's still red and hot, but some of it is returning to the normal pigment and the milk is coming now so I will continue checking on it. Producing milk for 6 piglets and only have 1 suckle probably caused an issue there.

Pebbles is eating and drinking everything in sight, except the milk replacer. Since Wilma's milk is in right now I got rid of it since Wilma was the only one drinking it! Pebbles is eating hay, dirt, grain, rooting just like her mother, drinking water out of puddles, and stole half of Wilma's boiled egg and ate that too! She is quite the little piggy.

She also finally left the hut and explored the pasture with Wilma today. It's a warm day, sunny, and for once, no wind (in the 50s). She's playing in puddles, exploring all the new things, and digging in the dirt. She met Bell, who snapped at her when she went under the fence to check things out. Bell is getting aggressive with everyone and everything that isn't her piglets.

Hopefully Wilma's udder/gland (what exactly should I call it?) will heal. I can't imagine it's comfortable, but she didn't make any sign of discomfort or pain when I was squeezing it.
 
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jhm47

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arrowti said:
Good news. After a lot of rubbing and squeezing the red udder/gland, and checking for milk, it suddenly started to come out and Pebbles instantly latched on! It's still red and hot, but some of it is returning to the normal pigment and the milk is coming now so I will continue checking on it. Producing milk for 6 piglets and only have 1 suckle probably caused an issue there.

Pebbles is eating and drinking everything in sight, except the milk replacer. Since Wilma's milk is in right now I got rid of it since Wilma was the only one drinking it! Pebbles is eating hay, dirt, grain, rooting just like her mother, drinking water out of puddles, and stole half of Wilma's boiled egg and ate that too! She is quite the little piggy.

She also finally left the hut and explored the pasture with Wilma today. It's a warm day, sunny, and for once, no wind (in the 50s). She's playing in puddles, exploring all the new things, and digging in the dirt. She met Bell, who snapped at her when she went under the fence to check things out. Bell is getting aggressive with everyone and everything that isn't her piglets.

Hopefully Wilma's udder/gland (what exactly should I call it?) will heal. I can't imagine it's comfortable, but she didn't make any sign of discomfort or pain when I was squeezing it.
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If part of the udder is red, inflamed, etc., she has mastitis. I would advise you to give her an appropriate dose of penicillin, and keep doing it till the inflammation is gone. The reason that the baby is eating so much is because she isn't getting enough nutrition from the sow. Also, milk from infected glands has little food value.
 
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