Our male feeder pig went off his feed (stopped eating) this morning. When a pig does not show up for slopping, take note because it is an unusual occurrence. When we called the vet the first thing she wanted to know was whether he had a fever. Well, we had never taken the temperature of a pig before. I immediately envisioned Matt sitting backward on a running, squealing pig while trying to get a thermometer into is anus. It fortunately (for the pig and Matt) and unfortunately (for my entertainment) did not happen this way at all. Mudflap (as our barrow is affectionately called) did not want Matt touching his head... or is back.... or cornering him in the pen. However, he was completely willing to allow Matt to stick the pediatric thermometer (complete with the happy bumble bee figurine on the end to show which end is NOT to go first) in his anus. 106.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Sounds high. Well, it is, since a normal pig temperature is around 102. The above picture shows Matt at his new found job as pig nurse. [This is where I should NOT tell you I have a video of this event.]
Our local large animal vet willingly makes house/farm calls. She came and saw our poor droopy pigger, diagnosed him with pneumonia, which can be cause by dust as well as bacteria & viruses, and treated him.
As of about 30 minutes ago Evelyn visited him and reported that he is up, eating, and drinking. We are hopeful that he has turned the corner.
Our local large animal vet willingly makes house/farm calls. She came and saw our poor droopy pigger, diagnosed him with pneumonia, which can be cause by dust as well as bacteria & viruses, and treated him.
As of about 30 minutes ago Evelyn visited him and reported that he is up, eating, and drinking. We are hopeful that he has turned the corner.