We gave all of our new piglets a shot of iron and shot of antibiotic, but we did it just below the skin, not in the muscle. I must have misread my info, because I see now that we should have given it in the muscle instead. Should we redo the shots or will that be an overdose? Will the shot still work even though we gave it just below the skin and not the muscle? We are going to give iron shots again on day 10 and will do the muscle in the neck this time. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks
I read on this forum that if they are on dirt they don't need the iron shot. If they are on concrete and you want to redo it- if they were mine- I'd wait. They will probably get some benefit from the subq shot. Why are you giving antibiotics? I've chosen the thigh muscle for my shot sites. It is better to deal with a needle away from their heads imo.
I would think they will still absorb the iron. Don't give antibiotics unless they are sick. The careless use of antibiotics is why we have so many resistant strains of bacteria now.
On that subject one big reason is because so many people who use antibiotics for themselves and animals do not follow instructions. It is not so much using them when they are not really needed as much as when you are supposed to treat with 15 treatments and you only use 8 treatments. The infectious disease may seem to go away after 8, so you stop taking them, when infact the immune system is taking over and finishing the job. Meanwhile the lack of complete antibiotic dosing allows the infectious disease to become resistant to the weakened antibiotic. For this reason you see the warning " FINISH ALL THIS MEDICINE ". So besides only using them when needed, people need to make sure they use them in accordance with the instructions.
I worked on a hog farm for 3 years....we NEVER gave shots in the thigh....we were told it would ruin the hams. We always gave the shots in the neck--in the muscle. Go ahead & give them the Iron shot again in 10 days. You don't need the antibiotic...even if you are clipping ears or docking tails. ONLY if any particular piglet shows signs of infection in a day or two. We also stopped clipping needle teeth--caused too many problems with folks doing it wrong & getting infections & having to treat the piglets. Personally if you aren't raising many & they have plenty of room to run around....you don't need to dock the tails. We also quit notching ears because of the same problem as the needle teeth. We casterated at 3-5 days old...this way generally both testicles had 'dropped'. Hope this helps. I just found this forum & I really like it!! (Yes, I'll get registered soon!) Janene
I am running into these things more often and I don't know how to make the distinction. I am not running a hog farm and do things differently from many. I don't mean any offense but I find some methods downright cruel to the animal. Perhaps I shouldn't post at all since I raise wild pigs and I raise them with my bottom line being a compassionate and humane upbringing. I've never cut teeth, docked tails, marked/cut/tagged ears, etc. I didn't think any of these things were necessary for a home grower and never have had problems skipping them. The only shots I give are to the sows and the boar I will keep to breed. The piglets have immunity for a lot longer than what is commonly said, at least that is how it has played out here. Some day I'd like to titer a few to know definitively. I haven't ever noticed any of the hams ruined, not to say there wasn't any mark- I just never saw one. I wonder if anyone else on this forum is in this for reasons like mine?
