Pour-On Ivermec - Pigs

[Miss mouse]

Okay so I know this can be a touchy one but I'm new to pigs and I want to learn.
So I'll give you my backstory of how I reached this question.
I bought 3 ossabaw X kune X meishan piglets, 2 to grow out, 1 to keep as our farm sow. They are gorgeous and healthy. Shortly there after we were gifted a pure Kune boar that was only 6 months older than the piglets. Due to the breed differences they are similar in size despite the age difference.
It seems however that he brought with him a mange infestation. This became apparent about a month after he arrived. I got the bimectin jabs from my vet then went to work pig wrestling to get them each treated. Well that was when they were 80 lbs each. It was stressful (for all of us), it was physically exhausting, and it triggered distrust between the pigs and me. They didn't used to bite, now they do, they didn't used to test boundaries, now they do. They didn't used to escape and frolic in my yard, now. they. do. So when I realised that my *free* pig looks WORSE not better I knew we needed to treat them again. However, now they are probably 100 lbs, and I am far more scared of them than I was the first go around. So I looked online to see if I could do pour on and figured out the amounts etc. It wasn't until AFTER I applied it that I started seeing the statements that it can give them chemical burns. But no where did I actually see evidence of it. No studies, no photos. So now I'm very confused.
what I want to know is:
have you used pour on with your pigs?
if you did, how did it go?
I want to learn from this before the 2 week mark rolls around and I have to make this decision again. Because to be honest squirting something on their back while they happily munched snacks was infinitely better for everyone involved than the wrestling match (with blood sweat and tears) I had the first time.

 

[Finnie]

Well, did it give your pigs chemical burns? I would decide based on that, since you’ve already done it once.

FWIW, I have used pour on ivermectin on birds. (Caged birds and poultry) It has never caused a chemical burn. I dose them quite liberally. I have no knowledge about pigs and whether they have any sensitivities to anything.

I hope you are able to get the mange cleared up.

 

[RR Homestead]

First off we used to have quite a few sows running here so I have experience with hogs. It sounds more like the hogs are becoming larger hogs and learning they can escape etc more than an issue from giving them injections. Of course I can not see what you are seeing myself so I can't really say for sure but I do know how hogs mature and act. The bigger/older they get the more they test things usually. Escaping hogs is quite normal without secure fences.
I can't see how pour on would cause any kind of harm. It's used for mange which most animals are missing fur for so it's applied on bare skin. Ivermectin is a really safe wormer. If it doesn't hurt my skin getting on me (and it does all the time), cats, rabbits, and many more species I can't see it will hurt a thick hog hide. There are a lot of "horror" stories with things like ivermectin that I would be skeptical of. Maybe an extreme case or something maybe I could see a reaction but I also know there are a lot of people who are anti any use other than what a doctor or vet says and that's the end of discussion or you'll surely kill said patient. (said with sarcasm)
I personally haven't used pour on with any of our hogs but haven't needed to either. I certainly wouldn't hesitate to use it on them myself for your purpose. I've given a lot of hog injections over the years and I've never had the hog change to biting or anything after in fear. They move on with their day as do I. I can say they get wiser to injection poles (what we used so we don't have to tackle) for a while but by the time the next injection comes around they usually are less cautious.
Have your hogs had any reaction to the pour on since you posting this? I'm guessing not since you haven't updated on it?

 

[farmerjan]

I have used pour on ivermectin on hogs and have had no problems. Since we often "spilled" ivermectin on ourselves ... during the 2020-2021 "pandemic" scares.... and it seems we often wound up getting it on ourselves at least once a week... I greatly doubt that there is a peoblem with chemical burns.
people take ivermectin in 3rd world countries ORALLY... now wouldn't that do some internal damage.
The bias against pour on ivermectin.... as well as other pour on treatments... is that they often do NOT GET enough absorbed into their skin/system, to do an adequate job...
If you are overly concerned with mange and / or other external parasites like lice and such... use a dusting powder like Corral or something that is used in a dust bag for cattle to rub on... use a shaker and dust the top line on a hog.... it will not cause them to be overly upset... it will get enough on the skin to absorb somewhat... and they will not get upset by it.
pour ons also are less effective on hogs due to the layers of FAT under their skin... so not as easy to get into the blood stream when absorbed through the skin.
I will continue to use ivermectin pour on, on all species of farm animals...
For internal parasites, like worms, many work better if given orally... goes right to the problem in the gut tract...

Understand that sometimes some cattle have negative reactions to certain classes of vaccines.... and bos indicus cattle... Zebu and other of similar types, can have different reactions to some vaccines...

Your hogs attitudes is more their age and they can sense they have you "cowed".... plus getting out is just easier as they get bigger and stronger and more aggressive...

 

[Baymule]

I've only raised feeder pigs for the freezer, have no experience with breeding hogs. I bought 3 pigs once that turned out to have lice. I took pieces of bread, trimmed off the crust, put a dollop of apple flavored ivermectin on each piece, folded it over and mashed the edges together. The pigs smelled it before I even got to the fence and were squealing with excitement. The problem was tossing each one their bread treat so that another one didn't eat it. I think the pour on would have been easier, but that's how I wormed the pigs too, it worked for me.

 

[Baymule]

I might be in the unpopular crowd, but if I had pigs that bit, they would all go to slaughter. I would not keep one. Breeding stock that is aggressive will teach their offspring to be aggressive. Hogs eat meat. You are meat. Think on that. I'd take the whole bunch to slaughter and start over with a new batch. That would give you time to strengthen your pen, build some sort of chute for when you have to give treatments and rethink your set up and how you could make it better. Pigs are incredibly smart. Yours have learned some bad habits and they are not going to forget.

Again, I've never kept hogs for breeding, but you have to have a separate pen for the boar so you control breeding. A sow can get overly protective of her young and you would need a way to contain her so you would be safe.

A member here, @Weldman was attacked by his boar, taken down and had to fight for his life. He stabbed the boar, then drew his pistol and shot the boar. Had to go to ER to get stitches, it could have turned out so differently had he not been armed.

Not trying to scare you, but hogs are not your friend. When I raised feeder pigs, some of them creeped me out so bad! Finally we built a pen with water barrel on the outside with a hog nipple through the wire and a J feeder in the inside that we could raise the lid and fill from the outside.

Not trying to sound discouraging, we have all had to make adjustments and learn how to care for not only our animals, but for ourselves as well.

 

[Weldman]

Don't forget, the staples in the other leg too. Still healing from it on one leg there is a knot there now. Only takes one bite to the femural artery and you are done if you don't know what to do, you got 3 to 5 minutes to figure it or they will find what's left of your corpse.
Combat experience is the only reason I'm still here to say, breeding pigs can be deadly. Notice the snow/ice on the ground, you are in Alberta that gets the same, slippery ground while a 200 plus pound boar coming after you and the odds aren't in your favor.

 

[Weldman]

P.S. Just cause you hand raised and fed them doesn't make a difference either.

 

[Miss mouse]

Thank you all for your responses. Sorry I haven't been on since I posted because I caught this horrible stomach flu that is going around.
We have secured the escape route so she can't do it anymore. I do believe the biting is curiosity on whether my pant leg and boots are food but it does make me nervous. the part that really sucks about this lot is that my favourite is the one that came castrated so he's literally not one I can keep lol. The boar is pure Kune, he is the problem child due to mange, not due to behaviour. In all honesty he is the one who is quick to "nope" out of the situation not hang around and push back.
I haven't seen any obvious bad reaction on them from the first dose, and like some of you all said we use this stuff on the cows, chickens, and rabbits with no irritation before and I would bet a lot that rabbit and chicken skin is more sensitive than pig skin.
But yes, I have adjusted the system so that I'm not going into the pen with them any more than I have to. Technically I did build a catch into the pen but we've gotten SO MUCH snow this year that it is iced open until spring.
I'll see if they've settled out of their antics around the time I'm booking them into the butchers and pick which female will get to stay and be my sow at that point.
Also since the boar was an unexpected gift we hadn't made him his own pen before the snow flew so once the snow melts I will build him his own space. It will be much easier to maintain his weight then too because he is an obese little man.
Thank you all for making me feel a less guilty about resorting to pour on.

 

[Baymule]

When you ask for help here, you get answers that are not always the same. You may get lots of different advice, things that you didn't even ask about. You sift through the responses and apply what fits your situation. Here's another one; it's ok to swat the pig that is tasting/chewing on your pants leg. That is inappropriate behavior and should be stopped. Like spatting the hand of a toddler that is sticking a bobby pin in an electric wall plug.......