mites/sore/labored breathing/skinny

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LER

Post   » Sun Apr 17, 2005 6:30 pm


I took in 7 very unwell piggies today. They are extremely skinny. And quite mite infested.

3 boars, all young, one a little guy. Severe mites, one has an open sore on his hind end, another is breathing rather labored. I only saw one guy poop two poops and they are small, hard, and sort of orange in color (but all they had in the cage was a carrot). I think they are dehydrated.

4 sows. All young, 2 are real little. Not as severe mites as the boys but still obvious. Skinny, but didn't hear labored breathing from any of them.

These guys are either super scared, or feeling so unwell that they are just sitting in their cages. They did try to escape while I was weighing them, though. But I am very worried. In the cages I have hay, pellets, veggies. 1 boar, the guy with the sore and the funny poops, is eating lettuce. The other bigger one (with the labored breathing) is also exploring a little and hopefully nibbling. The baby is just sitting there.

The girls went under the hay to hide, though I do see a little movement now so hopefully they were just really scared.

I treated them all with Ivermectin. Even the little ones. I have the pour on kind so it is easier to measure the smaller doses. I just couldn't leave them like that.

The weights are:
boar1 - 728g
boar2 - 642g
boar3 - 374g
sow1 - 444g
sow2 - 588g
sow3 - 352g
sow4 - 316g

They really should weigh more, they are just skin and bones.

I work tomorrow and have to leave at 2pm. I can go to the vet (45 minutes away) in the morning and get meds. What do you guys recommend? Do you think they should have sub-q's? I don't know how to do that, but could get someone from the vet where I worked to show me. That vet is close. But if I need meds, it's a lot cheaper for me to go to the other vet.

I'm thinking the labored breathing guy (boar 1) should get started on antibiotics. Would baytril be ok for him at 728 grams? I'm not sure if either vet stocks bactrim, so it is likely that is something that would need to be mail ordered.

Do you think pain meds are called for, for the guy with the sore? And antibiotics for him? That is boar 2? Anything else? I have chlorohex here I could rinse it with but I don't want to hurt him more than I have to.

Any other thoughts/concerns/suggestions/advice?

Photos here:
http://photobucket.com/albums/v429/LERPhotos/MassPigs/

User avatar
LER

Post   » Sun Apr 17, 2005 6:34 pm


Here is the sore:
Image

And his eye, which looks strange (They all do):
Image

Nurgle
...what, what, what?

Post   » Sun Apr 17, 2005 7:14 pm


Wow, the eyelids look inverted to me. Otherwise deeply swollen for whatever reason.

My god, I hope you figure something out.

Paulo's pig had a sore/sores that looked a lot like that, maybe you can search out his thread too, see what (if anything) was found?

User avatar
LER

Post   » Sun Apr 17, 2005 7:19 pm


That same guy is the only one I see eating anything. He is enjoying the green leaf lettuce, at least.
Image
Image

User avatar
LER

Post   » Sun Apr 17, 2005 7:26 pm


I think I will call the vet where I work (only teaching classes there now) in the morning and see if one of the vet techs is willing to come by and do/show me how to do the sub-q's. They will not give me meds without a vet examining the pigs, and don't always write off all the office/exam charges, while the other vet who is further away will charge me for the meds only, and those are cheaper too. I think it's so hard on them to travel, I will go with the closer vet, though. Even though it will cost more, it will be eaiser on the pigs.

Nurgle, I'm wondering if it could look like that because there is no hair there due to the mites? And squinted due to pain, possibly?

Nurgle
...what, what, what?

Post   » Sun Apr 17, 2005 7:29 pm


Except when I've seen pigs squinting, the edges of the eyelids still look flatish, not rounded?

Anyhow, PauloF was kind enough to point me to his thread: Caetano's Sores

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LER

Post   » Sun Apr 17, 2005 7:37 pm


Thanks Nurgle. Seems there was no resolution to Paulo's pogs. Hopefully they are doing better now.

At first I thought it was a sore that was related to mites. But, it's not exactly an area ho could have scratched himself . . . so I am not sure what is going on there or just what to do for him.

Should I do a rinse with dilute chlorohex tonight, or wait until tomorrow and see what the vet thinks (they are good vets but don't see a lot of pigs other than mine, but they are open to listening to me).

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PauloF

Post   » Sun Apr 17, 2005 7:43 pm


I still have to update Caetano's thread. LER, from your pictures it seems the sores are pretty much the same.

We had culture done for bacteria and fungus, with samples taken form the three pigs, and got some results.

In Caetano's case it was a bacteria, and he was treated with Chloramphenicol palmitate for ten days and also with a Chloramphenicol-based cream on the sores, to help eliminate dead tissues and to aid with overall healing, until there were no more sores and/or scabs.

It has been some 15 days since I stopped with the cream, and he has been fine since then.

More on Caetano's thread later...

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Apr 17, 2005 8:09 pm


Wow, those poor pigs! Syringing water may help. Subcues and an evaluation by a vet certainly is a good idea. Bactrim is satsifactory for many uri's. I wish you the best. I hope the food you offer them they eat heartily.

pinta

Post   » Mon Apr 18, 2005 4:41 am


Subcues and Doxy(5mg/kg every 12 hours) for the ill one if he's an adult. Baytril can also be tried. Bactrim if he's under 6 months.

Subcues are very easy once someone shows you how. For these guys, I'd recommend twice a day for a few days.

Handfeed with Critical Care until they are eating enough on their own.

Billy Bob

Post   » Mon Apr 18, 2005 12:07 pm


Poor piggy, those sores look nasty. One of my pigs got mites last year and she scratched herself until she had wounds very similar to that. It turned out she was hypo-alergenic so very alergic to mites. She had a course of cattle worming injections from the vet though, and she cleared up within a few weeks. I say while your waiting to give them some TLC. Do they scream when you cuddle them? For the long term, try freezing hay to stop the mites from getting to them.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Apr 18, 2005 12:10 pm


These mites don't come from hay.

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