Tamworth feeder is sick and won't eat. Already lost one.

[Loanwizard]

Hi, my name is Shawn and I frequent Backyard Chicken, but I have a hog problem.

I lost a feeder gilt Sunday after days of not eating, ears laid back and general listlessness, although when I tried to isolate her, she showed some signs of strength. By the time she died she was nothing but skin and bones. Now I have another showing the same signs. I went to TSC and bought Ivormec and an antibiotic for bacterial something or other, dysentary, and a few other maladies. I gave her the shot in the front right shoulder yesterday, and today, she went into the feeder (trough type) but didn't seem to take any grain.

My question is, She hasn't wasted away yet, but she is lethargic and I am starting to see her ribs and spine. Do I need to inject the whole herd that seems healthy, or do I just treat her?

The dead one had a lot of lice, which is why I got the Ivormec, but I figured the antibiotic might be the ticket.

I have 10, including a boar and 2 sows that I plan to breed, but I don't want to lose all of them for sure.

Do I seperate her and force feed her milk? Fairly new... ok very new to farming. 3 years chickens, raised 2 feeder Tams last year, thought it would be easy.

Any help would be appreciated.

Bought registered heritage stock thinking that it would be easy to raise naturally, but this last batch really worries me.

Thanks,

Shawn

 

[ksalvagno]

If you have a lice problem, you do need to take care of that. You will probably also need to give the pigs an iron injection to build up their blood again. I bet the one who is down is anemic.

Have you called a vet yet? You may want to do that as well.

 

[Cornish Heritage]

HI Shawn,

Welcome to BYH Sorry for your problems. Not enough info here to really give you any suggestions.

How old are the pigs? Are they all from the same litter? Are you feeding them in separate bowls? Food aggression can be a problem with the bigger ones pushing the other ones away.

Lice are a problem - breeder should have wormed before they let them go. If you use an injectible that will also kill the lice - we use Dectomax.

How long have you had the pigs? Any guarantee with them? Have you talked to the breeder?

Liz

 

[redtailgal]

For a pig to have lice that bad one of two things has happened (normally)........either the pig is kept in a dirty environment or the pig was already compromised. Pigs are pretty clean critters.


You dont sound like the sort of person who would have pigs in a filthy environment, but just in case.......they need a clean dry area to lay in. They no not need to be standing in mud or feces, and they need a clean dry place to sleep.......not wet hay or mud. (Not meaning to offend here, I hope you understand).

When a pig is ill and doesnt feel like grooming, they will quickly be overcome with lice. Lice is normally a secondary infection.

Pigs are very susceptible to coccidiosis, esp those that eat off the ground or tend to wallow in their drinking water.

Here is what I would do:

separate any pig that seems it might possibly maybe be a little bit off and do so immediately.

I would thoroughly clean the pig pen, even if it's already clean. wash food and water troughs in a mild bleach solution (1 cup bleach to a gallon of water).

Scoop all poop out the the area if it is not a large pasture type setting.

I would deworm the entire herd.

I would continue the antibiotic on all sick critters for the FULL LENGTH suggested on the dosing.

I would administer injectible B complex to sick critters (read your label and use accordingly)

I would treat for coccidiosis ASAP.........if you want, get a fecal done, but time's awastin'. I think the drug of choice for pigs is Baycox......

I would add some electrolytes to the water that the sick critters are drinking

and I would NOT force feed anything, esp milk to a sick animal. Once they start eating, I would give some yogurt or cultured buttermilk in the feed (just a little).

I wouldnt focus on the weight loss.......that's a symptom. You need to find and treat the cause, a dead pig wont gain weight at all. This really sounds to me like a severe coccidia outbreak.