Hello, I just bought three 100 lb hogs from a local farmer. We did this last year and fed them up to 240 lbs and it was much cheaper than paying $50 for a weiner and getting them up to 100 lbs. The problem is, they may not be the healthiest hogs. One is a bit lame on a front leg, happened in shipping, one of the others took a good chunk out of her ear in shipping too. I've also noticed she has some eye discharge, and twice got up on the front but seemed to struggle on the rear. One of the others had his tail bit off before we got him. It looks swollen, though pretty well healed (not a wound anymore). That one woke up with one of his eyes almost glued shut, like a sickly kitten. Both eyes have some discharge. The third looks perfectly healthy, whew! At first I thought they were such nice polite hogs at the trough, now I'm starting to think they don't feel good enough to fight over it. They are all eating, drinking and rooting. Is there a medicated feed I could give them for a bag or two to neaten them up? Should I give them combiotic or something? Also, they are being attacked by mosquitoes. This is a bad time of year here in Alaska and the pigs are in the woods, rooting moss which is where the skeets hibernate. I saw a device in Jeffers that you suspend between two posts and they treat themselves by rubbing on it. The problem I had is it said to wet it with 1 1/2 gallons of diesel fuel, 1/2 gallon of fly control. Yuk! Do I want that on my food? I thought maybe of a nylon stocking stuffed with wool and WIPE or pyrethrin? What would you do? They literally have a hundred at a time, so I feel I must do something. I sprayed them with Cutter's, but they're not real keen on that and it wears off so fast. You're input is appreciated. Thanks, Jill schreiber@santanet.com

-- Jill Schreiber (schreiber@santanet.com), May 18, 2000

Answers

Jill, I'm not sure how to help with the health problems, but I don't think the diesel and fly control stuff would be any worse to put on your puture food than Cutters, which is also a chemical. You won't be butchering them until the weather is cooler in the fall, will you? So by then, the mosquitoes shouldn't be a problem, and you could do a thirty day withdrawal -- wait to butcher them until thrity days after the last use of the insect repellant. Also, this is just a thought, but in looking at pictures of pig breeds, I saw that some of the older breeds still have quite a bit of hair -- it might be difficult to come up with any of those in Alaska, as they are rare breeds for the most part, but if you *could*, the hair might protect the animals enough that the insect repellant wouldn't be necessary.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), May 18, 2000.

I don't have the skeeter problem but one thing I do use is a fence post stuck in the ground wrapped in burlap and oiled, I pour the oil & diesel on the burlap and let it drip down, the pigs use it for a scratching post or rub. I use to have one with a 5 gallon pail and a nail hole in it that would drip the, (used motor) oil, it wickes down through the cloth. It is a good possibility that what those pig needed is to root in the woods, they will get needed vitamins minerals & herbs from the soil which should bring them up to health speed. What did you do last year about skeeters with your pigs?

-- Hendo (redgate@echoweb.net), May 18, 2000.

Jill-

It sounds like you will have your hands full for a while anyway. I don't know how you feel about using standard antibiotics, but as this is really the only way I am familiar with treating these health disorders, my suggestions will be pointed in that direction.

Lame hogs: Lincomix and Tylosin are good choices for arthritis. Brand names we use are Linco 300 and Tylan 200. Linco has a 2 day withdrawal time, is administered 1 time/day for 5 - 7 days, and is given at a fairly low dosage. We give anywhere from 4 - 8 cc for sow/gilts ranging from 350-600lbs - the label will give dosage requirements by weight. Tylan 200 has a 14 day withdrawal time, is best given 2x per day, and is adminstered at roughly the same dosages as Linco - again, check the label. I have given both at the same time (in seperate injections) and the hogs seem to respond well.

Sore tail- generally not a problem, but I have seen infections move into the spine when tails are cut too short (or in this case bitten off). If you see considerable inflammation around base of tail, a round of penicillin or ampicillin (we use the brands Pen-G and Polyflex respectively) will likely help. You mentioned a general rough appearance as well - these 2 drugs are good, perhaps better for just 2 or 3 hogs than a feed grade medicine, for giving the pigs a slick appearance. Pen G has a 16 day withdrawal time and I think the withdrawal time for Polyflex is 40 days. Used early, neither will be a problem at slaughter time.

Eye discharge- flush thoroughly with water at least once daily, better to do it 2x daily until problem clears.

Regarding cumbiotic- last I heard it is off the market here (Arkansas) maybe you have access to it. As near as I remember, it was an effective drug. Seems like I once heard it had a very long drug residue withdrawal time.

For the money, the diesel/used motor oil mosquito rub treatment is probably a good way to start. I have the impression that many of the pour-on/spray-on insect treatments are fairly ineffective as compared to their cost.

Best wishes, I hope this has helped. You may not be able to find the specific brands I mentioned in Alaska, but something comparable should be available, if you should choose to use them. N Mays

-- N Mays (mays@raptor.afsc.k12.ar.us), May 18, 2000.

Sorry- Linco 300 contains the drug Lincomycin, not Lincomix. Got my names mixed up.

-- N Mays (mays@raptor.afsc.k12.ar.us), May 18, 2000.

Thanks for your suggestions. I think I'll try the rubbing post. Last year we didn't get them till late June and kept them in a dirt floored pole barn, so skeets were never a problem. One of these does have hair and is not as bothered. I'll keep that in mind next time.

How do I treat them, physically? They are not at all tame and are in a 60 foot roundish pen in the woods. I don't think I could catch one if I tried. My herding dog is so shy of the electric fence I don't think I could get her to work in there. We may be able to move them to last years area while we're treating them. I really wanted to clean the eyes up. I'm sure with time they'll get tamer, they came from a pretty big operation. Jill

-- Jill Schreiber (schreiber@santanet.com), May 18, 2000.

Lots of times confinement raised pigs have bad legs - we bought a batch that had both abceses & joint injuries - it didn't affect the meat taste but did seem to slow down their weight gain. For catching, we took a hog panel & wired it into a teardrop shape. Then two people chase the chosen hog around until we were able to drop one end of 'cage' over it. Hog panels have narrow openings at the bottom & normal sized openings at the top; make sure you have the normal sized openings at the bottom. Your chosen pig will try to toss the 'cage' off & you'll both have to hold it down by standing on it - much easier to do when you can put your feet thru the bottom openings. Once the hog decides it can't get out, it calms down to wait you out so you can move it someplace else or treat it; in either case it will try to escape again.

-- Judy Genereux (thistle_farm@hotmail.com), June 25, 2000.

What you need is an American Bulldog that will catch the pig by the ear and hold it down while you do whatever you need to do..they're bred to guard and catch in the deep South...beware of the hucksters selling genetically flawed dogs. I would also recommend an American Pit Bull terrier..hear me out. They're excellent dogs provided that they're not bred from dog fighting stock or taught to bite people....however non-dog agressive pits have been bred from dog fighting stock...simply put...if a dog is dog aggressive that means the dog is gonna be aggressive on dogs not on people but alot of people get the wrong idea and think a dog that's dog aggressive is gonna be human aggressive which isn't true. The old timer dog fighters used to put down every dog that bit people and would put down their pups as well..it's not followed as well as it was in the past so just do your research as well.

If you are interested in an American Bulldog that's bred right and is gentle..let me know I know a few people who breed those. As for pit bulls..it's hit and miss around here.

Ted

-- Ted Hart (tedhart71@hotmail.com), July 09, 2000.