Hernia

[brigitte]

Okay pig experts, help me with this
I got two piglets in June at about 7 weeks old from a friend and neighbor who has just one farrowing per year. The piglets I get from him are always phenomenal and gain well on milk.
I decided I needed a third piglet, and debated on whether they would accept her. They did after a bit of feuding- all females. But the third one, born about two weeks later, is not growing as well and developed this hernia about a month ago (or its when I noticed it) It's been growing. I did some research and it seems she might be able to grow with hit. I hadn't planned on slaughter until January and already have a buyer for her so it would be a real hardship to lose her.
Its interesting that the two weaned at 6-7 weeks are doing sooooo much better than this one weaned at 4 weeks.
I will never go back to that particular seller again- he has zero nurturing qualities and has farrowing crates lined up where the stanchions were in his family's
former dairy barn. I suggested he wean them later- it's all about economics. The almighty dollars. Those piglets are produced by the hundreds every year. The goal is
to get the sow bred back ASAP.
My question here would be what to do- she has a good appetite, though isnt gaining weight as well as the other two. The growth (a portion of her intestine now protruding) is growing. Will she make it to January or do I have to harvest her sooner because of it. Calling the vet or expensive solutions are out of the question- it's harvest humanely sooner or later. Thanks

[brigitte]

No more photobucket- just when I had it mastered. It wants
software I can't get in an Internet challenged place.
Could we please have a means of copy and pasting photos here?
the photo would show a (big) baseball sized bulbous grown mid abdominal area. Pig is about five months old- maybe 100 pounds

[simplynaturalfarm]

Butcher her now. I don't find punky growers ever catch up and they eat 2-3x as much as the others to grow it on.

[Deleted]

Yup^^^^^

[suzorse]

I got 1 cheap as it looked like she had a hernia , but it turned out it was an infection , she got a shot of Draxin per vet and it cleared right up , the other 1 with her had an upper respatory (sp?) and also got a shot , this was when they were 30 lbs , if it is a hernia with loops of intestine in it , butcher sooner than later
Suzanne

[brigitte]

^^^ ouch. okay
Still struggling with the photo- it's soft and wasn't noticable until about a month ago when she was about four months old.

[grammagrace]

So sorry this little piggy has that problem.

[brigitte]

I got a slot on the slaughter man's busy scheduling. OCt. 18 and she's be done. Conflicting reports from some about taking a risk and lettering her grow- no sign of a problem and it's still just the size of a baseball but I guess I dont want to take a chance. Its definately a loss for the buyer too. lesson learned. Make sure you have confidence in the piglet seller. Never going back there. A tenant on his farm just arrested for animal cruelty too.

[brigitte]

I debated whether to offer the information to the seller (of the piglet) whose barn I don't like- former dairy barn filled now with farrowing crates and dirty pens- sometimes fed truckloads of day old bakery goods complete with the paper and rubber bands.
I did finally tell him. His response was that it was caused by stress in my barn, or that I didn't give the proper feed for a growing piglet.
Yes to Kim, Research tells me the hernias in pigs are relatively rare, but tend to be caused by a failure of the abdominal wall to close in utero and that the neonatal environment can also be a factor. He said he only had one other with a hernia, ever. (SimplyNatural, opinion?)
I picked out the most energetic piglet I could find, knowing that at just four weeks old it would be challenged from early weaning. (in response to my concern, he said some pig farmers are weaning now at 14 days to put sows back in production more quickly)
slaughter guy agreed (who recommends the sooner the better to dispatch her) that it can be genetically linked, i.e. a sow with a hernia will tend to have young with a propensity for it.
If consumers knew more about what's happening and how young are raised in the commercial food system, maybe there would be more pressure to change. Should dairy cows be pushed to produce and calves weaned at a month- and expect to live just five years?
Even without the hernia, this pig wasn't growing nearly as well as her two penmates who were weaned at six weeks.
Thank you for your input.

[Deleted]

My hernia rate (only ever had scrotal hernia) is 2%. My vet said not to worry about anything less than 5% as it's just chance. I don't sell those piglets though. And I don't sell monorchids. And I don't sell runts. I'm sorry you got a bad pig.

[elnini]

Just a puppy mill for pigs. Glad you didn't buy half a dozen.

[brigitte]

^^^ me too
total hanging weight, both sides minus head (sometimes included for jowels but not this time) was 83 pounds. Good grief. I was so embarassed by that number I didn't even offer it to the man who had put his name on her. He'll get my half in January- two other pigs doing really well in the same pen.
Lesson learned. This pig never gained weight- just a couple of weeks younger than her penmates (from another much better source) and no fat on her (and they most definately do, all three equal access to feed and milk) five months old. That's what happens when you wean a pig early and don't cull the bad genetics.
The man who came to slaughter and prepare her for the butcher said other customers of the seller had similiar experiences- and one had worms he couldn't treat. Glad I didn't have that problem. The slaughter man felt so sorry for my loss he offered to charge very little- but he made the trip so I paid him full price and was glad to have not lost this pig. He agreed with you all that she would have needed just one small twist or a drop of blood on the bulge (for the others to go after her) and it would have been a complete loss.
She was very strong and energetic, and got good access to food, would have been a good breeder but for her early weaning and the hernia
glad to have cut my losses and learned a lesson. It will go in my freezer. Costly mistake
In my research into how it could possibly happen that some breeders are weaning at 3 weeks, its a process that involves particular genetics and specific feed - still won't work by my logic- but the guy I bought from thought he could just take his nonspecific breeds and do what had been done on a commercial scale without thought to specific feed or genetics.
He told me the hernia was a result of stress in my barn.

[lively]

Just happy she wasn't a total loss. When we do purchase pigs they are either from the local auction or from a local (well semi local it's quite a drive now) source who raises pasture genetics. Our pasture guys pigs grow extremely well even on just pasture. Feed them out like a regular feedlot pig and they growth rate is just insane. He takes a lot of pride in what he raises and he should. Beautiful pigs that gain well and have fantastic temperaments. When we finally do get settled on the big property we intend to purchase a breeder pair from him.