Is that all?
13 11 2007
Dolores, our third Berkshire sow, started farrowing bang on schedule tonight, but while she might have been large appearances were deceiving. She farrowed two piglets in quick succession, then nothing for 20 minutes and then a medium-sized afterbirth. Dolores then stood up, walked around, re-arranged her bedding and lay down to produce… a second small afterbirth. Just two piglets!
I tried to give her an internal examination just in case, but she was not having that. Each time I tried to insert a hand into her vulva, she’d sit up indignantly and growl at me. So I desisted and left her to it. Well, not quite. Dolores wasn’t too keen on having the piglets suckle either and it took some persuading to get her to lie down long enough for them to have a good drink. When last checked on them, all three were sleeping.
Given that Dolores has had a pseudopregnancy, then bit and injured Daisy, and has now produced just two piglets, I think her days with us are numbered. It’s either sausages or finding someone who wants a pet sow that may produce the odd litter now and again. There are people like that - I was contacted recently by someone looking for a companion for their sow as its existing one had died. We shall see…
I had to get the vet out quite late because about two hours after delivering the after birth Dolores start bleeding from the vulva and discharged several large blood clots. This was probably due to either a tear in the birth canal (could range from minor to severe) or placental separation (potentially fatal).
If I’d been able to do an internal examination, I probably would not have needed the vet but the Other Half is neither big enough nor strong enough to hold a pig down or control it with a rope snare over the nose.
The vet wasn’t too happy about being called out at 11pm as he’d just come in after doing two exhausting jobs - a cow that had needed a caesarian and a horse that had been severely cut in a fence. I didn’t have a problem with him being grumpy as it was completely understandable, he did come out, he does a brilliant job and he’s a nice bloke to boot.
Anyway, we got the snare over her nose and behind her teeth, then I passed the rope around a strong anchor point and began reeling her in. Pigs pull back when their nose is pulled like this, which has the effect of holding them reasonably still. (And yes, it doesn’t sound nice but it’s the safest, most humane way of holding a pig for essential treatment.
I emphasise reasonably as she squealed, growled, jumped and kicked as the vet did the internal examination. It would have been a lot easier and less painful if she’d just followed the example of our other sows - they just lie on their sides, relax and occasionally snort if there’s a bit of pain. Not Dolores, though!
The vet couldn’t find any more piglets and while he agreed that she was bleeding a lot, it wasn’t pooling in the horns of her uterus - he’d have pulled handfuls of blood and clots out if that was the case. That meant she probably didn’t have any remaining piglets and she hadn’t had placental separation.
Further examination revealed a small tear just inside the vulva, so she was probably going to be all right.
But just to be sure that there weren’t any piglets remaining, the vet gave Dolores a shot of oxytocin while I held her still again. This brings on contractions very quickly, but within 10 minutes it was obvious there were no piglets or afterbirth remaining.
Dolores and piglets are doing fine this morning, although she’s not mothering them as well as our other sows do and tries to hide her teats from them.
We’ve now completely blown our veterinary budget for the year, so that means cutting back on Christmas. We don’t spend much anyway, but Dolores has ensured it will be very little this time!
All the more reason for her to go…
This is the part about keeping animals that I hate, especially when you’ve got a bond - and we do bond to some extent despite our best efforts don’t we?
It’s a shame I feel for you and Dolores. But you’re right she has to earn her keep.
Sounds like Dolores number is up.
Will pigs take piglets off another sow?
How disappointing. Some animals just don’t make very good mums.
Sows will sometimes take piglets from another sow, but they need to have farrowed fairly close together in terms of time. Newly farrowed piglets also need colostrum, which is only available for the first few hours of suckling and declines in quantity and quality during that time (the first piglets to be farrowed to be stronger for that reason).