Recent death

KitKat

Post   » Mon Oct 14, 2002 12:51 am


Recently, my pig died. He was fine, then all of a sudden stopped eating drinking and moving. The vet gave him some antibiotics, but it didn´t help. She did an autopsy, but couldn´t find anything visibly wrong with him. She said that it was a stomach bacteria and that it happens without warning adn that death comes quickly. Does anyone know anything about this? I´d like some more info so that I can make sure it doesn´t happen to my other pig. Thanks.

Kat

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Oct 14, 2002 7:14 am


Was your pig bloated? Was it an infection?

I´m sorry you lost your pet and understand why you´d never want the same thing to happen. Did your vet give you a cause?

If you have time, you might describe what you feed your pigs and how you handle their food.

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Sunny

Post   » Mon Oct 14, 2002 9:28 am


Kat, I´m very sorry for your loss.

Evangeline

Post   » Mon Oct 14, 2002 11:08 am


If the vet couldn´t find anything, how was it determined that it was a stomach bacteria? Do you have the name of this bacteria?

I´m sorry to hear about your pig.
Last edited by Evangeline on Mon Oct 14, 2002 11:09 am, edited 1 time in total.

pigpal

Post   » Mon Oct 14, 2002 11:42 am


I´m so sorry for your loss. When pigs get sick they often go downhill so quickly that they´re hard to save.

My sweet William became very sick with an intestinal infection after grazing on grass contaminated with feces from wildlife that lives in our area. He too stopped eating and drinking, at first dashed about madly and then wouldn´t move from his house. He was put on a course of Bactrim and I started handfeeding immediately. My vet (at that time) told me to feed him baby food, which I did at first. He did not improve and I thought he was going to die, so I got on the internet and searched desperately for information on what to do. Thanks to the handfeeding information on GuineaLynx, I made up a pellet slurry and started feeding that by syringe, as well as giving a probiotic after the antibiotic dose. He eventually started to improve and pulled through, though I really thought we were going to lose him.

The vet identified the bacteria as a form of e.coli. This bacteria can be present on fruit and vegetables that have not been thoroughly washed, as well as on any grass or leaves your pigs may have eaten from the yard. Unless your vet identified the bacteria from your pig, there´s no way of knowing if this could be what caused your pig´s illness but I would be careful in washing fresh food. Since this incident I do not let my pigs on the lawn, which is a shame but I´d rather be safe than sorry.
Last edited by pigpal on Mon Oct 14, 2002 11:42 am, edited 1 time in total.

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AuntyLaura

Post   » Mon Oct 14, 2002 12:02 pm


Hi..I´m so sorry to hear of the loss of your precious piggie. Thank you for posting and letting us know what happened. You may have saved another pet with the knowledge. Please be good to yourself.

Nurgle
...what, what, what?

Post   » Mon Oct 14, 2002 12:21 pm


I´m sorry you lost your piggie.

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Kacee

Post   » Tue Oct 15, 2002 2:03 pm


I´m sorry too, Kat. Hopefully you´ll find comfort in knowing that there are people who understand just how deeply you care about your GP. I know there are those who think I´m nuts feeling the way I do so it helps me knowing that I´m not alone.

AuntyLaura, love the pic of your hot-rodding GP!

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AuntyLaura

Post   » Tue Oct 15, 2002 3:24 pm


Kacee...love the bunny ears on your piggie. I wasn´t so sure about posting the pic of the piggie in the car...figured Evangeline would jump on my case about letting a gp drive without a license. (j/k E :) My husband has a thing about dogs being dressed up in clothes or Halloween costumes. He thinks it´s sick.

susan

Post   » Tue Oct 15, 2002 4:33 pm


KitKat: so sorry about your pig. Good for you to do some exploring and get to the bottom of it; it shows you cared about your piglet, and care about helping others. Hopefully you´ll find an answer. Sorry I don´t have one for you -- I´ve had my share of sudden deaths, and can feel for you.

AuntyLaura -- I bet your pig feels special in her hot pink car, and maybe driving without a license is OK on a closed course

Kacee -- bunny ears would be fun if not for the sole purpose of getting to chew on them when they fell off, as a reward for being mistaken as "the other rodent."

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Zoe

Post   » Tue Oct 15, 2002 5:23 pm


I am so sorry about the loss of your piggie. Those situations can really tear you apart. These little guys can get sick so quickly and be so quiet about it.

KitKat

Post   » Thu Oct 17, 2002 1:15 pm


Thank you everyone. My vet said that it was a bacteria because of the symptoms he exhibited. Yes, his stomach was slightly bloated. His heart was also slightly enlarged, as was his liver. This she found out after doing an autopsy. We think he might have gotten it from the herbs we gave him. We grow them outside specially for him because he is (was) a gourmet eater. Only the very best for him. Maybe we didn´t wash the herbs well enough. We don´t know. We do know that there is a wild rabbit that sometimes comes into the yard. Does that have anything to do with it? Thanks again.

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