sick ? or just lonely pig

[Shawn]

We got "Walt" a Heinz 57 pig about 10 days ago. He is probably 40 pounds or so. We had to get one small enough to carry to the pen as it was too muddy to pull the truck around to the gate.
He was vaccinated, but does need to be wormed. We're working on getting him comfortable enough we could do a pour-on wormer.

I have always advocated raising 2 of something, so they have company, and in the case of pigs, compete a little for food thus encouraging growth. But this year, after realizing how much it cost to feed 2 last year, we opted to just try raising a single pig.
He seemed ok at first. He was grunting and seemed happy that he actually had dirt to root in and weeds to eat. (He has a stationary pen about 16X16 attached to the barn with area about the same size) He gets the corn/soy/molasses mix I feed the cow and has a self-watering nipple. We give him house/garden scraps.
He has developed a bit of junk in one eye. But what really concerns me is he is coughing like he has something caught in his throat, it sounds like a dry cough. And after he coughs he stares at the ground like maybe he's looking at something he's thrown up? Seemed that one day there was "spittle" there, but I've never seen anything substantial. What is causing this?
He eats some of his scraps, but doesn't finish them. He doesn't look to be losing weight, although DH thinks he is, I don't see it. I hear him in his feeder, so I know he's eating his corn. If he's laying down when we go out there, he moves off easily and doesn't appear in pain or anything.

Should we break down and get him a buddy?

If we do need to dr. him, does anyone has plans/pics of a simple hog chute we could build to contain him? Otherwise, we have no way to administer anything more than a pour on treatment.

[Mitra]

Hmmmm....At 40lbs, hes' probably anywhere from 7-10 weeks old. The junk in the eye and the cough don't sound good to me and I'd lean toward "sick pig". I've never ever wormed a freezer pig. It seems like they aren't around long enough for it to be an issue. The way he's eating does sound like a single pig way of eating. They take a few bites, go lay down, come back for another nibble etc. None of that fighting and biting at the tub for every last morsel. Although if he wasn't feeling well, I think he'd act like that too.
Instead of a wormer, I'd feed him lots of garlic mixed in yogurt. Does he get to have any milk? That usually makes them feel a lot better. At this stage, months before he goes into the freezer, I would give him powdered antibiotics in his food to see if that clears up the eye and the cough. That followed by probiotics or plain ol' yogurt.
I think your pig would grow better, in less time, if he had a buddy so my vote would be to add a pig. The best kind of chute we've discovered, is one made out of pallets. You can get them for free from a lot of places.

[Jenn]

You could try activated charcoal instead of antibiotics...since this is going to be food (I am assuming). I am trying to find the link, but I read about a farmer who bought runt pigs and fed them all charcoal instead of antibiotics and they grew fat and sassy.

-Jenn

[Shawn]

I called the vet on Friday about Walt. I told him he was coughing and now very lethargic, that he wasn't eating well and just laying around and letting us come up to him and touch him.
He said he's probably coughing because he's got worms. So recommended a worming and some antibiotics. He gave me 1 ml of Ivomec and a slightly larger dose of antibiotics. Then I stewed about how to get it into Walt.

DH said he'd catch his back legs and hold him, I told him I was trying to get out of giving the shots. So he offered to give shots and I played catch man and that worked fine. He actually quit struggling when he was giving the shot, prolly hurt less that way. So he had both his shots around 4 p.m. Today he seemed about the same. I figured to give him 24 hours before he would improve. DH checked him at 6, no change. I checked him at 9, after I finished chores and he was moving around, digging himself a new bed. Then as I closed up the barn, I heard him grunting and banging his feeder. Hurray! I was seriously concerned we were going to lose him in the night. I figured if he made it 24 hours, he'd be ok. I'm going to thaw him out a chunk of colostrum to give him a boost tomorrow. So we are going to get him a buddy on Mon., it's supposed to be cooler then.
Thanks for the help.
shawn

[Shelley (whistlingtrain)]

I never sell one pig to anyone. I make them take two or none. A single pig is just too lonely and depressed, and depressed pigs don't eat, play, or grow well. It might even end up costing more than two pigs in the long run. If I had only one or two pigs, I'd be giving them all my kitchen scraps and a little milk or scrambled egg every day. Oh I miss those days. I'm hoping I can get back closer to it with just two sows.

[Shawn]

Yes, Shelley, I've never been an advocate for raising just one, was trying to save money. Ha, ha. It's already cost me more in shots and driving, etc.

Well we got a girl pig Friday night, so Walt now has company. I think her name is Lillian (Walt Disney's wife's name) but I'm not sure they've settled on a name yet.
It was a little harder to give Lillian her wormer shot. She had more spunk, but we got it done. I felt we better worm her or we'd have the same problem. These pigs were kept indoors and their eyes are incredible. Their eyes are beet red. Indoor air quality must be incredibly poor. Yuck. So since Walt's eyes cleared up right away, we're hoping the fresh air and sunshine will also clear hers up.
The next morning after she arrived I went out to check on them. Walt was laying right next to her and when I said something to him, he looked up and you could practically see him smile to have a friend.