Shaky and limping pig

[dctjgoodnight4]

Jan 15, 2014 5:35:31 GMT -5 Nonesuch Melissa said:

Is she a feeder pig?

Yes, She is a feeder pig.

She is still limping and shaking.  She is still eating heartily and up and around enough to know it isn't a life threatening problem. She is peeing/pooping/socializing.  This makes me feel like she isn't getting worse (as with an infection). 

I do think - after comparing her to her sister and watching closely over the last few weeks - she may have a leg deformity or injury. I looked on the pig site to check on the obesity issue mentioned earlier and I think she is a healthy weight for a feeder pig. She has nice straight body lines but her legs are bending at the knee where as her sister is more straight legged.  

I was not planning on butchering until February at 6 months.  What do you all think about butchering early to preserve the meat?  I am thinking she will be under stress and may not be as tender.  Should I just give her some time to heal and postpone butcher?  I am so thankful for all of your thoughts and advise.  I just want her to be comfortable while she is here.  They are our first pigs and I hate to see her suffer but would like to avoid any regrets.

[dctjgoodnight4]

Jan 13, 2014 20:10:15 GMT -5 jerseylovinliz said:

Can you give her aspirin? It wouldn't have the withdrawal like banamine would. I've never needed pig pain medicine so I'm just thinking outloud.

What is her condition like? Is she overweight, underweight, skinny in the gut but big in the rump, big in the gut w/skimpy hams, etc?

Is she on dirt or concrete? Aanndd last question! Do y'all have nettles in her area? We have those ridiculous stinging nettles & my pigs will limp or walk funny if they brush against them or step on them. Ok, that made me think of one more question... Is there any cactus around? Could she be getting cactus thorns in her foot?

She seems to be a healthy weight for a feeder pig. She is on dirt and no stinging nettles or cactus here.

[jerseylovinliz]

If she were mine I'd go ahead & process her. You never know how she'll be as she gains weight. She could go down & y'all not get any meat from her. She could just die one night (not uncommon in pigs with issues). A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush... I'd take whatever meat you can get now & be grateful she's not suffering & that I got something from her.

Just my $0.02!

[morningstar]

That's the nice thing about hogs, they are tasty at any size. You don't need to wait for them to put marbling on, like a steer.

[dctjgoodnight4]

Do you process the sister at the same time or wait for her to grow?

[jerseylovinliz]

It would depend on how you're going to process them. For me there's a place within 40 miles that is decent/doable so it's not that big of a deal to just take one for now. We don't have mobile people but I know a lot of folks on here do. I've heard they can charge anywhere from $50-? to show up. If you've got a fee like that do both if not it's entirely up to you.

How tired of them are you? What's your weather & do you mind freezing water & doing chores in the cold?

[jsboyd]

When I saw the title of this thread, it made me do a double take and ask myself had I posted about this! for over a week our sow was limping, holding up her back foot. Dh inspected everything (she is huge, probably over 400 lbs.) and could find nothing expect she'd get irritated when he mashed on the pad of the foot. The next week, he found her completely holding up her opposite front leg, putting no pressure on it at all, even "crawling" on her front knees and shaking badly. He said it also sounded as if she wasn't breathing well at all. He really thought she would die the next day she looked so bad.
On the advice of the vet, we gave draxxin and banamine (which dh understood to be an antibiotic, but I told him I thought it was for pain). Vet advised waiting 28 days and then butchering her. Not sure if that medicine messes up the meat? Said something about the weight shifting could be arthritis issues cropping up (she's 3 yo). As far as the shaking, I don't know unless pneumonia or other sickness....she was bad.
She seems better now but still limping issues. I hope your pig has improved and that you found the source of her troubles.

[Nonesuch Melissa]

Jan 17, 2014 5:50:01 GMT -5 jsboyd said:

When I saw the title of this thread, it made me do a double take and ask myself had I posted about this! for over a week our sow was limping, holding up her back foot. Dh inspected everything (she is huge, probably over 400 lbs.) and could find nothing expect she'd get irritated when he mashed on the pad of the foot. The next week, he found her completely holding up her opposite front leg, putting no pressure on it at all, even "crawling" on her front knees and shaking badly. He said it also sounded as if she wasn't breathing well at all. He really thought she would die the next day she looked so bad.
On the advice of the vet, we gave draxxin and banamine (which dh understood to be an antibiotic, but I told him I thought it was for pain). Vet advised waiting 28 days and then butchering her. Not sure if that medicine messes up the meat? Said something about the weight shifting could be arthritis issues cropping up (she's 3 yo). As far as the shaking, I don't know unless pneumonia or other sickness....she was bad.
She seems better now but still limping issues. I hope your pig has improved and that you found the source of her troubles.

The 28 days is probably withdrawl time for the meds. You might try Zinpro Minerals for sow lameness, info here: www.zinpro.com/lameness/swine

Be prepared they are spendy as heck. I think I paid $80 for the last bag... Can't remember if it was the Zinpro brand though.

[dctjgoodnight4]

Jan 17, 2014 5:50:01 GMT -5 jsboyd said:

When I saw the title of this thread, it made me do a double take and ask myself had I posted about this! for over a week our sow was limping, holding up her back foot. Dh inspected everything (she is huge, probably over 400 lbs.) and could find nothing expect she'd get irritated when he mashed on the pad of the foot. The next week, he found her completely holding up her opposite front leg, putting no pressure on it at all, even "crawling" on her front knees and shaking badly. He said it also sounded as if she wasn't breathing well at all. He really thought she would die the next day she looked so bad.
On the advice of the vet, we gave draxxin and banamine (which dh understood to be an antibiotic, but I told him I thought it was for pain). Vet advised waiting 28 days and then butchering her. Not sure if that medicine messes up the meat? Said something about the weight shifting could be arthritis issues cropping up (she's 3 yo). As far as the shaking, I don't know unless pneumonia or other sickness....she was bad.
She seems better now but still limping issues. I hope your pig has improved and that you found the source of her troubles.

Thank you for your post.  I love hearing that we are not the only ones with a shaking/limping pig.  Our pig seems to be feeling better.  I added vitamins/electrolytes to the water for about a week. I just kept feeling like she had an injury causing her to limp and shake.  I don't know what happened but while I was trying to figure out what to do, she slowly got better!  She is acting normal now.  She occasionally shakes a bit but it is not nearly as bad as it was.  They are scheduled to butcher in February so if things keep going as well as they are today, she might make it 'till then. I hope your pig is feeling better too. Thanks again for your post. 

[dctjgoodnight4]

Jan 10, 2014 18:49:21 GMT -5 dctjgoodnight4 said:

I don't know if I can post pig emergencies here?  I have a pig who is shaking, lethargic and limping.  She is eating and drinking but NOT herself.  She seems like she has gotten worse since yesterday.  I gave her electrolytes and minerals in her water yesterday and today.  I posted on the pig segment a few weeks ago. She had similar symptoms but then seemed to get better last week.  She is back to shaking and gimping around.  Any advise would be helpful.

I just wanted to thank you all for your help.  Believe it or not - she just got better!  No more shaking - no more limping.  Unbelievable!  I have no idea what happened.  I think she was injured maybe?  Who knows…  you all are awesome.