need help, butchered a beef, and didnt get a chance to bury the stomach and rest of carcass till the next day. well during the night i had 2 sows get out and you guessed it, they got into the left overs , now i have a sow that is not eating and is loosing weight fast. she is trying to pass what ever has got her bound up but not able too. any ideas how to help her out passing what has her bound up?anything to give her to help break it down?thanx in advance for your help. cindy

-- cindy young (cin_sue63@webtv.net), November 17, 2000

Answers

How long has it been ? If to long you may have no choice but to butcher her if there is a blockage .

-- Patty (fodfarms@slic.com), November 17, 2000.

Banamine, and a bucket full of stool softner and mineral oil tubed into her stomach would have saved her if done the first 12 hours, but not much chance of saving her now, especially if she hasn't passed any manure lately. No manure, you got a blockage or a torsion (twisted gut), either of which, if allowed to remain for any period of time, cause the affected section of gut to die off from lack of adequete blood supply, now that section of dead gut is turning septic, and killing her. Very little hope at this point, I'm afraid. Annie in SE OH.

-- Annie Miller (annie@1st.net), November 17, 2000.

Did I miss something? I don't know why eating the guts from a beef would kill a hog. They are kind of made to eat almost anything in their path... We use the hogs as disposals, as long as what we need to get rid of is from someone who only died of 'lead poisoning', not disease.

-- Fran Ogren (trumpkinland@plix.com), November 19, 2000.

Fran, it isn't what the sow ate, it was the quantity. Even a hog has a point that is too much for the digestive tract to handle, especially a type of food the digestive tract is unaccustomed to. Even if the amount itself wasn't enough to cause a blockage, the change in bacterial content in the gut can be drastic enough to cause illness, and even death. Like colic from overeating grain products in horses. Annie in SE OH.

-- Annie Miller (annie@1st.net), November 19, 2000.

Also when butchering you usually cut off the lower legs , heads , ect. Given a chance the hogs will eat it .Cindy what's going on ? Any change ?

-- Patty (fodfarms@slic.com), November 19, 2000.

hi all thanks for your suggestions.there is realy no change in her.she drinks water fine also yesterday she ate 6 eggs that i hand fed her but today she wouldn't eat them. if she does have a blockage or a twisted gut how long can she live like that? she's not realy suffering yet she walks around drinks water and all that she just won't eat. if she gets any worse we'll probably have to put her down. i'm hoping she will get better as she is my favorite pig. but i don't want her to suffer either. please keep the sugetions coming. thanx cindy

-- cindy young (cin_sue63@webtv.net), November 19, 2000.

This is one of those times that a vet is worth calling. There are too many variables for you to decide what is wrong. She will die while you try to do what a trained vet can do in a few minutes.

Do yourself a favor and give him/her a call. Advice is usually free from a vet, and it is more educated than most of us can give here.

-- Christina (crublee@homer.libby.org), November 19, 2000.

Cindy, if she is passing manure, that is a good sign that she does not have a blockage, or a twisted gut. Also, if you could take her temperature, normal is 101.5, that would help indicate if she was going septic or not, a normal temperature would help eliminate the possibility of serious trouble. If her temperature is normal, she is drinking water, and passing manure, she will probably be OK, but if any of these things are not normal, call the vet, she might be able to be saved still. Annie in SE OH.

-- Annie Miller (annie@1st.net), November 19, 2000.

Cindy, just wondering what happened with your sow? Sure hope she got well. Let us know.

-- Cathy Horn (hrnofplnty@webtv.net), November 24, 2000.