Skin Cancer

As I'm realizing how common sun burn and skin cancer are among pigs, greatly in pink/white pigs, I thought I'd make a post about it. A lot of the pigs here at Ironwood have cancer sores. Unless they're bleeding you don't really think much of them. They are black spots/scabs which fall off and leave the spot bleeding.

Yesterday I noticed that most of Archer's sores were open and bleeding. Archer is one of my favorites. His markings are adorable and he's very sweet. As you can see he has black spots over both of his eyes.


Today his sores are scabbed over and not looking as bad. I can only imagine how painful they are, especially when they are open and bleeding. I will try and get a picture of them when they are open.


You can see that on the lower part of his side there are a bunch of black spots. These are his cancer spots. To help prevent this issue and the severity we use Zinc Oxide Ointment. Some of the sponsors help supply this. It's definitely a necessity out here.