She is now dead but WHY?

GBov · #1 04/26/14, 10:42 PM

One of my Pot Bellied Pigs farrowed yesterday. Four piglets in the mud so only saved one. The sow looked weak but was walking around. This morning she was more down than up and this afternoon she was down all the way.

Dragged her out of the pen so the other three would leave her alone and to see if the one piglet remaining could nurse.

After that failed we brought the piglet inside and dashed off to TSC for milk replacer and a bottle.

While all this was going on the sows sister who got out while we were filling all the mud holes with hay was busily building a nest out of pinestraw.

After getting back and feeding the piglet my eldest son and went out to check on both sows.

Squeak had 6 piglets so sent son hotfoot back inside for the piglet and we snuck it into Squeak's bunch. It drank most mightily and they are all sleeping with the sow so nice and sweet. At least it should make it now.

Bubbles on the other hand is now quartered in the cooler. As she was not responding and barely breathing I went ahead and shot her.

Everything inside looked fine! No stuck piglet, no hemorrhaging, nothing really out of the ordinary.

Her intestines seemed a bit tougher than normal and they were all better connected to each other and the body cavity but she was the oldest hog so far butchered so that might have been normal. One side of her uterus was just a little lumpy nob but the other side looked fine and she had 5 healthy piglets 5 months ago. Everything smelled fine as well.

So what do you think went wrong?

**highlands** · #2 04/27/14, 07:05 AM

Transferring the piglet to the new mother was the right thing to do.

The sow that died might have had an internal rupture, strain, possibly in the brain, heart failure, there are many things that can go wrong. Birthing is a complicated process. Hard to tell at this point with out a necropsy by someone who knows what they're looking for.

Hopefully the grafted piglet will do well.

Pig in a poke · #3 04/28/14, 01:55 PM

Sorry for your loss. Glad the single piglet took to his new mom.

GBov · #4 04/28/14, 02:21 PM

Spoke too soon, it was dead this morning. At least it died in with the sow in a proper nest instead of in an alien box with a heating pad being force fed milk replacer.

And the young sow failed the motherhood challenge totally yesterday. Only had two and both were dead when we got home, despite being in a nice dry pen.

Shall be culling her and the spare boar tomorrow.

Squeak is quite funny with her litter, they are all under an azalea bush in a pile of pine needles. She is loose but happy to stay where the food and water is for now. When she looks ready to be moved they will all go back into a newly rebuilt and much bigger pen.

I just wish I knew what went wrong so I would have a chance of it not happening again!

Pig in a poke · #5 04/29/14, 10:14 AM

Aw, sorry for the little guy. You did what you could. I'd love to see a picture of your new brood under their azalea.