Post by briarrose on Jun 19, 2018 20:04:58 GMT -5
Penny, my beautiful blue butt sow was due to farrow tomorrow. Instead she went into labor on Friday morning. No big deal I thought, not usual for her but it does happen. So I kept an eye on her as I went about my chores hoping to get finished before any little ones arrived as I like to be there to make sure all goes well and they get plenty of colostrum.
2 hours had passed and I knew that something was not right. She wasn't really going into labor like normal for her and every time she would act like she was contracting a massive gush of bloody fluid would rush out but still no babies. I gloved up and went in and there I felt a butt so I started to gently pull the baby out. It was dead and it's little lungs were filled with fluid. I also noted that there was no sack, not a good sign so I went back in and pulled out the next one which was alive but still no sack. I remember thinking to myself that this was not going to end well and went back inside. She was fully open and since I have small hands and arms can literally reach in all the way up to my armpit and nothing else was in the birth canal. So I waited and stayed busy making sure the little one nursed well and put her in the keeper.
No more visible contractions so I gloved up again. Another sack less baby and this one was dead. Right behind that I pulled another live one. All the time she is off and on gushing this nasty bloody fluid. 2 live and 2 dead and nothing more in the canal so I decided to let her rest and came in and get my bottle of oxy. It had no effect. I am at a loss at this point so watched and waited putting the 2 little ones on her every hour to let them nurse.
At about 5pm with nothing more happening and nothing in the canal, I gave her a bigger than normal dose of oxy and again waited. About 45 minutes she had a couple of contractions and I gloved back up. What I pulled out was probably the nastiest thing I think I have ever seen, or so I thought. Several minutes later she started contracting again and again I went fishing. It took me 15 minutes to clean the pieces of that piglet out. I then found another one that felt normal all the way up and it was big. I couldn't get it so I gave her another shot and left her be for a bit.
I went back out 2 more times to feed the babies and she was sleeping with no signs of passing any other babies. The third time I went out I was going to glove up again but when she saw me she tried to stand and was shaking something horrible so I got her settled down and comfortable and made the call.
People ask me all the time how they will know when it is time. I tell them that all they have to do is to look in their eyes and they will know. As I sat there on the floor with her massive head in my lap, with all the trust and love she had for me she knew that I knew and would do right by her. As I sat there holding her head and telling her how much I loved her and what a good girl she was she relaxed and quietly slipped away at 115 am Saturday morning. All I could do was sit there rocking her now lifeless head in my arms whispering to her and crying. In all my 62 years it was one of the hardest things I have ever been through.
Thank you for letting me share as to every one around me she was just another pig....To me, they are never "just another pig".
2 hours had passed and I knew that something was not right. She wasn't really going into labor like normal for her and every time she would act like she was contracting a massive gush of bloody fluid would rush out but still no babies. I gloved up and went in and there I felt a butt so I started to gently pull the baby out. It was dead and it's little lungs were filled with fluid. I also noted that there was no sack, not a good sign so I went back in and pulled out the next one which was alive but still no sack. I remember thinking to myself that this was not going to end well and went back inside. She was fully open and since I have small hands and arms can literally reach in all the way up to my armpit and nothing else was in the birth canal. So I waited and stayed busy making sure the little one nursed well and put her in the keeper.
No more visible contractions so I gloved up again. Another sack less baby and this one was dead. Right behind that I pulled another live one. All the time she is off and on gushing this nasty bloody fluid. 2 live and 2 dead and nothing more in the canal so I decided to let her rest and came in and get my bottle of oxy. It had no effect. I am at a loss at this point so watched and waited putting the 2 little ones on her every hour to let them nurse.
At about 5pm with nothing more happening and nothing in the canal, I gave her a bigger than normal dose of oxy and again waited. About 45 minutes she had a couple of contractions and I gloved back up. What I pulled out was probably the nastiest thing I think I have ever seen, or so I thought. Several minutes later she started contracting again and again I went fishing. It took me 15 minutes to clean the pieces of that piglet out. I then found another one that felt normal all the way up and it was big. I couldn't get it so I gave her another shot and left her be for a bit.
I went back out 2 more times to feed the babies and she was sleeping with no signs of passing any other babies. The third time I went out I was going to glove up again but when she saw me she tried to stand and was shaking something horrible so I got her settled down and comfortable and made the call.
People ask me all the time how they will know when it is time. I tell them that all they have to do is to look in their eyes and they will know. As I sat there on the floor with her massive head in my lap, with all the trust and love she had for me she knew that I knew and would do right by her. As I sat there holding her head and telling her how much I loved her and what a good girl she was she relaxed and quietly slipped away at 115 am Saturday morning. All I could do was sit there rocking her now lifeless head in my arms whispering to her and crying. In all my 62 years it was one of the hardest things I have ever been through.
Thank you for letting me share as to every one around me she was just another pig....To me, they are never "just another pig".
Hopefully her 2 surviving piglets are doing well. Hugs to you...
