Handle With Care

I've mentioned a few times now how many sick pigs we have had lately. They have been getting sick/hurt for numerous reasons varying from old age to having a hard time recovering from surgery. I want people to know all that goes into caring for a sick pig. It's much like caring for any other sick animal, but often they can be very wild, heavy, hard to handle, etc. You have to be careful to make sure you are helping and not causing more harm.

Meet Sylvia.It was noticed a couple of weeks ago that there were tears between both of her back hooves. She was walking on her tips and we could see the redness. Sylvia needed to be flipped in order for us to examine and care for her hooves. Mary was able to clean both spots and then wrapped up Sylvia's feet. This will keep her from getting an infection and help them heal. As days would go by the wraps would come off and we would rewrap them as needed. Sylvia has been healing well and should be able to be without wraps soon.

Other than wrapping pigs' feet we also do things such as taking temperatures, giving injections(subcutaneously and intramuscular), syringing fluid/medication into mouths, doctoring wounds from fights, giving fluids subcutaneously, and so much more! We never know what we will find day to day.

We spend a lot of time making sure that the pigs here are healthy and comfortable. If the pig is very wild then we have to be clever about how we help them. It can take a lot of manpower in order to help some of them, but we are always willing to do whatever it takes. This includes splitting up night checks for the very sick pigs and working more than 12 hours a day at times. We do all of this without complaining because we love all these pigs so much!

Sick Pigs Continued

This past week Xene was found laying in a shelter surrounded by her vomit. We brought her in to the pens and monitored her and spoke with one of our veterinarians. Over the next few days she wouldn't eat and would only drink some water and was only urinating. As advised by a veterinarian we gave her pepto and flunixamine and metoclopramide which increases muscle contractions in the upper digestive tract. She still wasn't showing much improvement other than walking around more. Last night she was brought in to see the vet. Xene had a large amount of sand in her stomach. Due to this her bowels were pushed far down in the intestines where they shouldn't be. Along with all of her stomach issues her white blood cell count was very low and her liver was failing. Xene had to be euthanized. She will be greatly missed. She was always so friendly and contributed to brightening up the morning.




Susie is another pig that has been struggling. She had a very large tumor removed from her uterus over a week ago and hasn't been recovering well at all. We've been giving her fluids through an IV as she hasn't been drinking. She didn't eat for about 4 days but has eventually started eating fruit and some grain. She was also brought to see the vet last night.


Susie has always has some issues with her legs and arthritis. Between her normal pain and the additional pain from the surgery she has had trouble functioning. She came home last night with a catheter already inserted for us to give her fluids. As she continues to heal things should get better for her. She is still staying in the barn with a heat lamp so we can monitor her.


Boris still isn't doing well and we aren't sure if he will be with us much longer. He has major liver issues and took a turn for the worst the other night. We immediately brought him indoors and kept him warm and comfortable. He seems to be functioning better today and getting around easier. He is currently outside enjoying the sunlight. I try to spend as much time with him as I can and give him extra love.