We have a 2 1/2 year old sow that has consistently delivered large, healthy litters and she's an excellent mother. However, the last time she farrowed, she had 13 babies. Within 2 days, 7 had died. I finally realized the sow had very little milk, so we took the remaining babies and tried them on pig milk replacer we got from our vet. Sadly, they continued to die. We had noticed about 2 weeks from the sow's farrowing date that she had begun to have difficulty eating. She seemed to be trying to "scoop" food into her mouth and then she'd tilt her head back to chew and swallow. We gave her antibiotics thinking she might have had an infected tooth or an infection somewhere else. It did not seem to help, and she is still eating like this. Our vet said that to anesthesize her in order to check her mouth is quite expensive and is risky for her as hogs don't generally do well under anesthesia. Has anyone had experience with a hog that behaved in this manner? I hesitate to rebreed her considering the disappointment of losing that many babies along with the waste of time and energy expended by the sow and us. But, any suggestions as to what the problem and/or solution might be will be greatly appreciated.

-- Linda C. (roostertrack@aol.com), June 29, 2000

Answers

Milk fever ?

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), June 29, 2000.

Dogs can get something very similar to milk fever, so a sow might. However, symptoms don't match. Sounds more like a bad tooth or inflation of the jaw joints. In any event, I would recommend either sending the sow to the market or freezer. Replacements are readily available.

-- Ken Scharabok (scharabo@aol.com), June 29, 2000.

P.S. A common reason for poor-doing litters is a deficiency of iodine. Make sure the sow has access to salt which contains iodine (normal kitchen table salt). Ensminger in Swine Science recommends feeds contain one-half percent. If the sow has access to dirt, an iron deficience shouldn't be a problem.

-- Ken Scharabok (scharabo@aol.com), June 29, 2000.

Also pigs can lack iron [babies] I give a shot or the oral at least once .And yes pigs can get milk fever and you will loose all the babies .That could have been the cause of there death. I'm not sure what Mom's problem is now .It takes alot to feed and house a 2 year old pig .Rule of thumb 2-3 litters or in the freezer by 1.5 years .Its cost effective and you still wind up with o.k. meat .Good luck!

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), June 29, 2000.