I'm wondering when this bad luck with pig health will end?
Firstly I solved the crackly pig issue. The new feed is a bit to dusty and the pigs keep breathing it in and going crackly before doing a giant sneeze. So URI's are now over and we can move on with that....
But Eddie of course took another turn, the pig has a death wish or something. I'm not sure if it is the corflute he ate a couple of months back or if he got his teeth into some new indigestible object but he's feeling very sorry for himself. I'm not really sure what to do with him really. Clearly a trip to the vets is in order but I'm not sure what they can do.I've read the vet books cover to cover and the closest I can find is stasis. But stasis doesn't usually happen repeatedly. I'm thinking it may be something like megacolon or intermittent soft stools. But both are rabbit issues, not pig issues....
To add to the fun I've been hearing soft cries in the animal room for a few days and finally got it pinned down to Fortinbras. He's crying while peeing. So I pulled him out and got a pee sample. He's clear for blood, ketones, glucose and protein. I'm hoping the lack of blood means it is just a UTI. Seriously he's not even a year old, two unrelated pigs less than a year old both getting stones? that would be very scary. So he's starting a two week course of trimidine and I'll keep a close eye on him. He's not straining to pee or lifting his butt and he hasn't lost weight. I did catch him crying while pooing though.... If he goes downhill he'll go in for an x-ray but right now he's not worrying me that much. Hopefully it's just a UTI and he'll be right as rain in no time...
Still no babies from Ayanna.
An endless journey in the pursuit of cavies, knowledge and joy.
Sunday, 26 August 2012
Friday, 24 August 2012
Cavy news.
I have to share some very exciting news, will exciting for me anyway. Feather is up to 890g! He seems to have finally started gaining fairly rapidly and I hope one day soon he'll get back over 1kg!
In other news I believe Ayanna might pop in the next 24-48 hours. Baby has moved to sit directly under her now and her pelvic bones which have been sitting at a few mm for nearly ten days have slid out to 1cm apart. Fingers crossed anyway! I'm very excited and I'm just praying that the bubba will be small enough to have a smooth birth and won't hurt Ayanna. The second Glimmer litter I ever bred involved one 155g baby which killed her mother because she was too big. So I'm praying Ayanna will be okay. She's the perfect age and she's had everything she could need or want so now it's just fingers crossed.
In other news I had another look at Rosie the other day and decided it did look unlikely that she was pregnant so I groomed her up and washed her so I could take her to the ACA show and what do ya know? she starts gaining weight like billyo and her stomach pudges out...She's put on 100g in the 18 days since I brought her home. Most of that in the past week. At a guess I'd say she'd be five weeks gone. If I'm right I should start feeling little golfballs before the ACA show Sunday week. Needless to say if her weight gain continues she will not be attending the show.
Preparation for the ACA show continues. I've made 28 large Pop Up Piggy Pouches, perfected my Cavy Cookie recipe, revamped my carry cages, loaded a tonne more Compedniums onto CD's, packaged feed and prepared guinealogues. I've also taken flyers all over town.
In other news I believe Ayanna might pop in the next 24-48 hours. Baby has moved to sit directly under her now and her pelvic bones which have been sitting at a few mm for nearly ten days have slid out to 1cm apart. Fingers crossed anyway! I'm very excited and I'm just praying that the bubba will be small enough to have a smooth birth and won't hurt Ayanna. The second Glimmer litter I ever bred involved one 155g baby which killed her mother because she was too big. So I'm praying Ayanna will be okay. She's the perfect age and she's had everything she could need or want so now it's just fingers crossed.
In other news I had another look at Rosie the other day and decided it did look unlikely that she was pregnant so I groomed her up and washed her so I could take her to the ACA show and what do ya know? she starts gaining weight like billyo and her stomach pudges out...She's put on 100g in the 18 days since I brought her home. Most of that in the past week. At a guess I'd say she'd be five weeks gone. If I'm right I should start feeling little golfballs before the ACA show Sunday week. Needless to say if her weight gain continues she will not be attending the show.
Preparation for the ACA show continues. I've made 28 large Pop Up Piggy Pouches, perfected my Cavy Cookie recipe, revamped my carry cages, loaded a tonne more Compedniums onto CD's, packaged feed and prepared guinealogues. I've also taken flyers all over town.
Friday, 17 August 2012
Health Concerns Cont.
I'm still unsure what to do for Rosie, Sterling and Ebbie. Rosie has improved a lot, she was crackling constantly and now only crackles when she's quite stressed, such as when I'm forcing her to take medication. Sterling also only crackles when he's very very stressed. Ebbie hasn't crackled at all but she dd have some gunk on her nose that may or may not have been snot. Listening with a stethoscope they sound a lot less raspy. Maybe I just need to give the trimidine more time to work?
The thing is I have no issue taking Ebbie and Sterling back to the vet and getting them doxycycline. At the same time both of them are improving and I don't think they need the doxy. It's Rosie who's the worst off and it's another four weeks before I'll feel certain whether or not shes pregnant. So do I just keep her on the trimidine until we get to that point and hope she kicks the bug herself? If pregnant she's somewhere between two and five weeks. I can rule out five weeks, she's as skinny as ever and her weight gain isn't fast enough. She could certainly be between two and four weeks though. She's gained 30g in the two weeks she's been home, which since she's seven months old is a normal gain for her age, actually my other pigs are gaining faster than she is. Ayanna gained a full 90g in the first and second week of her pregnancy, and she's only carrying a small litter. She gained another 90g in the second to the fourth weeks of her pregnancy. And I'm going round in circles. Bottom line is I don't know if she's pregnant and while she appears happy and alert and is gaining weight I'm reluctant to risk her or her possible babies with other medications. All three are gaining weight, they are bright and happy, they all eat and drink and act perfectly normal. They are all on twice daily antibiotics and twice daily weighing. So I guess if they did take a turn for the worse I would know it almost immediately. The vets are great about slotting me in. If something happens I can get the pigs to a vet in about 30 minutes.. So I just need to sit on my hands and wait it out and hope the trimidine is just taking its time and they'll be good soon. In another week if they are still crackling with no other change I'll take them in.
The thing is I have no issue taking Ebbie and Sterling back to the vet and getting them doxycycline. At the same time both of them are improving and I don't think they need the doxy. It's Rosie who's the worst off and it's another four weeks before I'll feel certain whether or not shes pregnant. So do I just keep her on the trimidine until we get to that point and hope she kicks the bug herself? If pregnant she's somewhere between two and five weeks. I can rule out five weeks, she's as skinny as ever and her weight gain isn't fast enough. She could certainly be between two and four weeks though. She's gained 30g in the two weeks she's been home, which since she's seven months old is a normal gain for her age, actually my other pigs are gaining faster than she is. Ayanna gained a full 90g in the first and second week of her pregnancy, and she's only carrying a small litter. She gained another 90g in the second to the fourth weeks of her pregnancy. And I'm going round in circles. Bottom line is I don't know if she's pregnant and while she appears happy and alert and is gaining weight I'm reluctant to risk her or her possible babies with other medications. All three are gaining weight, they are bright and happy, they all eat and drink and act perfectly normal. They are all on twice daily antibiotics and twice daily weighing. So I guess if they did take a turn for the worse I would know it almost immediately. The vets are great about slotting me in. If something happens I can get the pigs to a vet in about 30 minutes.. So I just need to sit on my hands and wait it out and hope the trimidine is just taking its time and they'll be good soon. In another week if they are still crackling with no other change I'll take them in.
Thursday, 16 August 2012
Getting better
I gave in and put Ebbie back with the girls, she was getting miserable
and dropping weight so I felt the best thing for her was to be returned
to her usual busy life. It had been a full five days since she'd been
snotty. She gained 80g in the first day back with her besties and is now
back to her usual self, though she's still 60g under he normal weight,
but I'm sure it's a matter of time. Today is day eight of Trimidine for
her. I'll keep her on it for at least six more days if not longer just
to be totally sure she's kicked it.
Sterling went snotty a couple of days after they all started the antibiotic but he seems to have cleared up now and has actually gained 50g, which I'm assuming means he's feeling fine. He's up to highest weight ever now at 1010g. I'm hoping one day I'll get him up to 1200g. He's looking gorgeous, his coat has been steadily thickening since he came to me and now nearly has the same density as Edmund, he's even got a bit of a wave going with some curls on his belly.
Rosie was extremely snotty two days ago to the point I was beginning to worry about whether she was getting enough oxygen. I held off on the vet though, knowing that there's not much can be done because Rosie is likely pregnant. It seems that was the worst of it though as she sounds clear now.
Both Rosie and Sterling will stay on prolonged courses of the Trimidine as well, I do want to chance this thing returning.
Sterling went snotty a couple of days after they all started the antibiotic but he seems to have cleared up now and has actually gained 50g, which I'm assuming means he's feeling fine. He's up to highest weight ever now at 1010g. I'm hoping one day I'll get him up to 1200g. He's looking gorgeous, his coat has been steadily thickening since he came to me and now nearly has the same density as Edmund, he's even got a bit of a wave going with some curls on his belly.
Rosie was extremely snotty two days ago to the point I was beginning to worry about whether she was getting enough oxygen. I held off on the vet though, knowing that there's not much can be done because Rosie is likely pregnant. It seems that was the worst of it though as she sounds clear now.
Both Rosie and Sterling will stay on prolonged courses of the Trimidine as well, I do want to chance this thing returning.
Books, books, BOOKS!
In other news my vet books arrived, I bought the latest editions of Carpenters Exotic Formulary, Blackwells Five Minute Veterinary Consult: Small Mammal, Ferrets, Rabbits & Rodents and my favorite book, a real gem The Laboratory Rabbit, Guinea Pig, Hamster & Other Rodents.
So a bit of a mini review on my new books.
Exotic Animal Formulary by James W. Carpenter 2013 edition (no I do not know how it counts as a 2013 edition, but that's what the book says)
This book is very useful but is unlikely to be of much use unless you have a good relationship with your vet. It doesn't provide info on diseases or treatments, it is simply a concise list of the dosages of all the different drugs used within a veterinary practice. In Australia is is absolutely fantastic because most vets don't know much about medications for cavies beyond Baytril and Metacam. The rOdent section is 34 pages long and covers every drug you could possibly need. But as I said before it's probably not so useful for the pet owner with a couple of pigs. I would however reccomend you insist on your vet having a copy. After spending numerous vet visits trying to work out medications for Feather that he won't react to and neither of us knowing the correct dosages, this will be invaluable for me.
Blackwell's Five Minute Veterinary Consult: Small Mammal edition by Barbara L. Oglesbee 2011 edition.
What can I say? this will now be my go to book. Forget Diseases of Domestic Guinea Pigs, this book is amazing! The guinea pig section is phenomenal and covers everything. I never knew the disease that wiped my cavies out in 2007 had a name... or a treatment protocol. But it does, you just have to look under Tyzzer's disease in this book. This book is easy to understand, though there may be times when you require a dictionary. The information is accurate, useful and covers an immense amount of health problems. It provides 120 pages of phenomenal information on cavies and comes with a formulary as well as as two pages of physiological values. It is not a cheap book but I reccommend it to anyone who owns cavies with all my heart. It is the best book I have ever come across regarding cavy health and belongs on the bookshelf of every single cavy fancier.
Ferrets Rabbits & Rodents: Clinical Medication & Surgery by Katherine E Quesenberry and James W. Carpenter. 2012 edition
I kind of regret buying this book, as thick and heavy as it is I don't find it particularly useful. Guinea Pigs are covered in a 59 page chapter along with Chinchillas, of that, just 15 pages is devoted to cavy diseases. The information supplied is quite basic and I cannot honestly see how a vet can use this textbook to diagnose animals. It's useful to owners providing the absolute basic diagnostic tools but I can name many websites that provide more detail. It does provide more information on protocols fr things such as anesthesia, analgesia and dentistry in the back, but Blackwell's is a lot more useful, though Blackwell's does not cover such protocols and instead focuses on diagnosis.
The Laboratory Rabbit, Guinea Pig, Hamster and Other Rodents by Mark A. Suckow, Karla A Stevens and Ronald P. Wilson. 2012 edition.
Okay so you get to see the nerdy side of me come out... I adore this book, absolutely and utterly adore it. It LISTS the viruses and bacteria that affect cavies... by name. It discusses treatments and diagnosis for such diseases. It gives specifics, numbers, data on all aspects of cavy physiology. It answers every question I have ever had about cavies. I adore this book, I want to marry this book, it is just amazing. It begins with 150 pages covering Ethics of Laboratory Animals, anesthesia and analgesia, biochemistry and hematology, euthanasia and necropsy and zoonoses and occupational health. It then has a 160 page section on cavies which covers taxonomy, history, anatomy, physiology, behaviour, managament, husbandry, general health, experimental models, infectious diseases (viral, bacterial, fungal, protaozaic AND parasitic) and non infectious diseases. AND THEN it has a formulary and a section on normative values.
Now this book probably is far far more than any cavy owner needs, but for a girl who is still disappointed she did the sensible thing and chose law over veterinary science? it is absolute heaven. It will take me months if not years to absorb all the information this book has to offer and I will love every minute of it. And if the worst thing ever happens and I have another disease go ripping through my caviary? I can hunt the bugger down and TREAT it. I can understand it, I can understand my animals health. Although I often do not agree with the use of lab animals, you gotta respect the information the labs produce. This book is a thousand Christmas's rolled into one and it's all I can do to avoid taking it to bed with me. It weighs about 4kg and is larger even then my law books but god it is amazing! It almost makes up for not actually doing veterinary science. Though I think I may scare my vet should I ever lug it in for a consult...
And back to me being cutesy and fluffy and ditsy (coz didn't ya know at 20 that's the only role I'm allowed to play). Ayanna is very heavily pregnant and I cannot wait! I am sooo very excited and looking forward to her popping. Her pelvic bones have begun inching apart and I feel confident to say that I'll see babies within the enxt two weeks!
So a bit of a mini review on my new books.
Exotic Animal Formulary by James W. Carpenter 2013 edition (no I do not know how it counts as a 2013 edition, but that's what the book says)
This book is very useful but is unlikely to be of much use unless you have a good relationship with your vet. It doesn't provide info on diseases or treatments, it is simply a concise list of the dosages of all the different drugs used within a veterinary practice. In Australia is is absolutely fantastic because most vets don't know much about medications for cavies beyond Baytril and Metacam. The rOdent section is 34 pages long and covers every drug you could possibly need. But as I said before it's probably not so useful for the pet owner with a couple of pigs. I would however reccomend you insist on your vet having a copy. After spending numerous vet visits trying to work out medications for Feather that he won't react to and neither of us knowing the correct dosages, this will be invaluable for me.
Blackwell's Five Minute Veterinary Consult: Small Mammal edition by Barbara L. Oglesbee 2011 edition.
What can I say? this will now be my go to book. Forget Diseases of Domestic Guinea Pigs, this book is amazing! The guinea pig section is phenomenal and covers everything. I never knew the disease that wiped my cavies out in 2007 had a name... or a treatment protocol. But it does, you just have to look under Tyzzer's disease in this book. This book is easy to understand, though there may be times when you require a dictionary. The information is accurate, useful and covers an immense amount of health problems. It provides 120 pages of phenomenal information on cavies and comes with a formulary as well as as two pages of physiological values. It is not a cheap book but I reccommend it to anyone who owns cavies with all my heart. It is the best book I have ever come across regarding cavy health and belongs on the bookshelf of every single cavy fancier.
Ferrets Rabbits & Rodents: Clinical Medication & Surgery by Katherine E Quesenberry and James W. Carpenter. 2012 edition
I kind of regret buying this book, as thick and heavy as it is I don't find it particularly useful. Guinea Pigs are covered in a 59 page chapter along with Chinchillas, of that, just 15 pages is devoted to cavy diseases. The information supplied is quite basic and I cannot honestly see how a vet can use this textbook to diagnose animals. It's useful to owners providing the absolute basic diagnostic tools but I can name many websites that provide more detail. It does provide more information on protocols fr things such as anesthesia, analgesia and dentistry in the back, but Blackwell's is a lot more useful, though Blackwell's does not cover such protocols and instead focuses on diagnosis.
The Laboratory Rabbit, Guinea Pig, Hamster and Other Rodents by Mark A. Suckow, Karla A Stevens and Ronald P. Wilson. 2012 edition.
Okay so you get to see the nerdy side of me come out... I adore this book, absolutely and utterly adore it. It LISTS the viruses and bacteria that affect cavies... by name. It discusses treatments and diagnosis for such diseases. It gives specifics, numbers, data on all aspects of cavy physiology. It answers every question I have ever had about cavies. I adore this book, I want to marry this book, it is just amazing. It begins with 150 pages covering Ethics of Laboratory Animals, anesthesia and analgesia, biochemistry and hematology, euthanasia and necropsy and zoonoses and occupational health. It then has a 160 page section on cavies which covers taxonomy, history, anatomy, physiology, behaviour, managament, husbandry, general health, experimental models, infectious diseases (viral, bacterial, fungal, protaozaic AND parasitic) and non infectious diseases. AND THEN it has a formulary and a section on normative values.
Now this book probably is far far more than any cavy owner needs, but for a girl who is still disappointed she did the sensible thing and chose law over veterinary science? it is absolute heaven. It will take me months if not years to absorb all the information this book has to offer and I will love every minute of it. And if the worst thing ever happens and I have another disease go ripping through my caviary? I can hunt the bugger down and TREAT it. I can understand it, I can understand my animals health. Although I often do not agree with the use of lab animals, you gotta respect the information the labs produce. This book is a thousand Christmas's rolled into one and it's all I can do to avoid taking it to bed with me. It weighs about 4kg and is larger even then my law books but god it is amazing! It almost makes up for not actually doing veterinary science. Though I think I may scare my vet should I ever lug it in for a consult...
And back to me being cutesy and fluffy and ditsy (coz didn't ya know at 20 that's the only role I'm allowed to play). Ayanna is very heavily pregnant and I cannot wait! I am sooo very excited and looking forward to her popping. Her pelvic bones have begun inching apart and I feel confident to say that I'll see babies within the enxt two weeks!
Sunday, 12 August 2012
Update on the invalid.
Ebbie seems to have kicked her URI now, she was really wheezy on the first day of treatment, really snotty on the second and clear on the third. Obviously she still needs at least a week long course on the trimidine (aussie version of bactrim) but we are having a slight issue with her weight. On Thursday when I realized she was ill she was 1170g, today (Monday) she is 1105g. I don't believe the weight loss is caused by the illness but rather her situation. She's stuck by herself in the end of the house where she can't even hear the other pigs. I've noticed that pigs always eat more when living with others, the competition makes them hog. On their own they eat a lot less. Ebbie is still eating and munches down on any veggie I bring her but she spends her days just sitting in a cozy burbling to herself. For a pig who's always lived with multiple other sows it's obvious she's bored rigid.
So I'm not sure how far to go with the quarantine, one week is a given but I'm still undecided about two weeks...
The other pigs finish their five day course today. Rosie was a bit snotty at the start but it could just be dust. Nia had a teensy bit of snot on her nose this morning. Sterling has had on and off crackles. I'm not sure how Sterling could have caught it, not having had any contact with any of the pigs that came home from the show, but all pigs are being treated nonetheless and I may give Sterling a longer course just to be sure he's clear.
So I'm not sure how far to go with the quarantine, one week is a given but I'm still undecided about two weeks...
The other pigs finish their five day course today. Rosie was a bit snotty at the start but it could just be dust. Nia had a teensy bit of snot on her nose this morning. Sterling has had on and off crackles. I'm not sure how Sterling could have caught it, not having had any contact with any of the pigs that came home from the show, but all pigs are being treated nonetheless and I may give Sterling a longer course just to be sure he's clear.
Friday, 10 August 2012
Piggy Photoshoot!
Well since I have newbies I needed to photograph for my records I figured I may as well snap pics of all the babies. The only 'kid' not picture is Pipsqueak Ebony Charm who is in quarantine. Her breathing has already improved and she seems healthy but she's doing a two weeks course of antibiotics just to be sure and will remain in quarantine until I'm certain she's clear.
So, we may as well start with the newbies.
Now new baby who I am totally in love with... Piggles! Piggles is a crested sable and I intend to show her to get some experience with the breed before starting my own (not from Piggles, don't worry). Generally Sables should also have a dark spinal bar, but Piggles is a start!
Then we have Piggles' cage mate Pebbles! Though not standardized in any way this girl is so sweet, she has the most adorable personality!
And finally we have Chantilly Wilbur! He's only a temporary guest as he'll need to be returned September 9th, but he'll be representing the ticked at the ACA show September 7th. He is a gold/lilac argente.
And then of course we have all my other babies...
Pipsqueak Edmund who I believe is now a Champion and still has an affinity for inedible objects.
Pipsqueak Sterling who I could swear is getting thicker, curlier hair by the day.
Pipsqueak Feather who is steadily gaining weight after his surgery.
Pipsqueak Fortinbras who is as crazy as ever!
Then we have Chantilly Ayanna who is eight weeks pregnant! Still looks like it'll be a very small litter unfortunately....
Check out her curls!
And Chantilly Emmanuel, who actually agreed to sit still for once for some proper photos!
Then Symphonia Laertes, just one more month till he goes in with a girl....
Symphonia Lavinia who is getting bigger by the day and will soon go in with La-La.
Symphonia Rosaline who may be pregnant, but only time will tell...
Annnnnnd.... Tommi! She's currently looking for her forever home.
And coz I can, a very rare image of Luther...
And my own little darling, who spends his time velcroed to my shoulder... Atticus!
So, we may as well start with the newbies.
Now new baby who I am totally in love with... Piggles! Piggles is a crested sable and I intend to show her to get some experience with the breed before starting my own (not from Piggles, don't worry). Generally Sables should also have a dark spinal bar, but Piggles is a start!
Then we have Piggles' cage mate Pebbles! Though not standardized in any way this girl is so sweet, she has the most adorable personality!
And finally we have Chantilly Wilbur! He's only a temporary guest as he'll need to be returned September 9th, but he'll be representing the ticked at the ACA show September 7th. He is a gold/lilac argente.
And then of course we have all my other babies...
Pipsqueak Edmund who I believe is now a Champion and still has an affinity for inedible objects.
Pipsqueak Sterling who I could swear is getting thicker, curlier hair by the day.
Pipsqueak Feather who is steadily gaining weight after his surgery.
Pipsqueak Fortinbras who is as crazy as ever!
Then we have Chantilly Ayanna who is eight weeks pregnant! Still looks like it'll be a very small litter unfortunately....
Check out her curls!
And Chantilly Emmanuel, who actually agreed to sit still for once for some proper photos!
Then Symphonia Laertes, just one more month till he goes in with a girl....
Symphonia Lavinia who is getting bigger by the day and will soon go in with La-La.
Symphonia Rosaline who may be pregnant, but only time will tell...
Annnnnnd.... Tommi! She's currently looking for her forever home.
And coz I can, a very rare image of Luther...
And my own little darling, who spends his time velcroed to my shoulder... Atticus!
Thursday, 9 August 2012
Sick Pigs... sigh
While getting ready for uni this morning I suddenly remembered I wanted to double check Ebbie's weight. So I pick her up... *wheeze, crackle, cough* stare at her in shock for a minute then notice all the snot around her nose. Neither the wheeze nor the snot were there last night. So all plans for uni were cancelled and I rang the vets and got the earliest possible appointment. Luckily I got my favorite vet and we went through the possible choices, Baytril, trimethoprim or doxycycline. Because URI's are so contagious I wanted to treat all the pigs in the animal room so we went with trimethoprim. It's the only drug the is safe for pregnant sows and young pigs. Since I currently have two pregnant sows, three pigs below six months and three pigs under a year trimethoprim seemed the safest option.
The next issue was to compound it as it came in a very concentrated powder form but we worked it out eventually and the pigs are now on 30mg/kg twice a day. I've compounded it so there is 30mg/ml so it's nice and easy to dose all the pigs by weight.
Ebbie has been moved to the detached studio in the hope that none of the other pigs have caught it yet. She's fairly quiet and subdued and not overly interested in food but that can also be down to being removed from her six cage mates and stuck in a cold quiet room in a strange small cage. I'll keep an eye on her weight (1160g this morning), if she dips below 1100g I'll start handfeeding. Since she's been given the trimethoprim she hasn't had any more snot, but her breathing is still very audible and crackly. So far she's still pooping and peeing as normal and seems pretty relaxed.
If needed I'll take her back to the vet for baytril or doxy as trimethoprim is a pretty gentle antibiotic and may not be enough if this is a particularly virulent bacteria.
I'm dearly hoping though that this will end pretty quickly and simply.... I'm still trying to recover from Feather (who is still far too thin), if possible I'd like to avoid ill pigs for awhile...
The next issue was to compound it as it came in a very concentrated powder form but we worked it out eventually and the pigs are now on 30mg/kg twice a day. I've compounded it so there is 30mg/ml so it's nice and easy to dose all the pigs by weight.
Ebbie has been moved to the detached studio in the hope that none of the other pigs have caught it yet. She's fairly quiet and subdued and not overly interested in food but that can also be down to being removed from her six cage mates and stuck in a cold quiet room in a strange small cage. I'll keep an eye on her weight (1160g this morning), if she dips below 1100g I'll start handfeeding. Since she's been given the trimethoprim she hasn't had any more snot, but her breathing is still very audible and crackly. So far she's still pooping and peeing as normal and seems pretty relaxed.
If needed I'll take her back to the vet for baytril or doxy as trimethoprim is a pretty gentle antibiotic and may not be enough if this is a particularly virulent bacteria.
I'm dearly hoping though that this will end pretty quickly and simply.... I'm still trying to recover from Feather (who is still far too thin), if possible I'd like to avoid ill pigs for awhile...
Wednesday, 8 August 2012
Wow has it been busy!
I'm finally at the end of a pretty hectic few weeks. Assessments are in, show is done and I have a few weeks just to get caught up again with uni as well as preparing for the ACA show.
So, the pigs. The show was great fun though I didn't do spectacularly. Laertes was beaten by the gorgeous Dallie sow again, but he did win Best Junior Marked, so that's something. Ebbie wasn't even looked at in the pet class and Mannie didn't sit still long enough to be presented, so it was a bit of a waste of time with those two. Piggles (more about her in a sec) won a first but no BOB.
I also collected some pigs as well. Chantilly Wilbur has come to stay for a month so he represent the gold/lilac argentes at the ACA show. Rosie gas returned after a hopefully successful date with Piggizpatch Rock n Roll a golden agouti rex. Finally two lovely ladies, Piggles and Pebbles, have joined the Samsara crew.
Piggles is a drool worthy crested sable. I am just so in love with her. Sables have always been my absolute favorite color, but I've always been resigned to the fact they were extinct, those that could be found carried so many different problems that there was no point breeding them. Piggles reignited my passion so off I went to research and lo and behold, sables can be CREATED. All you need is a himi and an agouti dilute. I was very very overjoyed to discover this. So I'm going to use Piggles to show and get familiar with the breed. Piggles is too old for a litter and has some fairly undesirable genetics (such as Abyssinian and longhair) in her background, so she's just for showing. But I fully intend to pursue sables. I'm going to breed one litter of Dallies because I already have La-La and Nia and I think I need to try one litter. However Sables should at least give me more showies then a line of dallies would. Sables breed like creams, sable x sable gives 25% dilutes, 25% himis and 50% sables. I also ahve a friend who can supply me with both a himi and a dilute so it's all systems go.
Pebbles is Piggles' cagemate and she's a chcolate tricolour, though to look at her she could actually be a sable tricolour...
I also have one final new addition who I'll be collecting in September. Shemelle Charmer is a coronet boar carrying texel (and possibly satin). He'll join my crew of breeding boars and hopefully give me a line of merinos. But he is absolutely my last breeding boar, I need sows, sows, sows not boars! LOL.
Considering Manny's horrendous performance at the show on Sunday, plus the issues I'm already having with him I'm coming to the conclusion that he simply isn't cut out for showing. There's no point showing an animal that can't even sit still. So he has the ACA show to go but I'm leaning towards returning him to his breeder after that. He has always been a loan, just so I'd have a long to show but now I have Piggles I might just show her and wait until I have some Samsara longs to start entering the longhair classes again.
Ayanna's baby/s also began moving today so she should litter before the end of the month and hopefully finally give me Samsara animals.
So the litters that are planend for this year are... Ayannas litter (due late August), Rosie's litter (due late September-early October), Nia's litter (will be due mid November). Then I'm hoping to put Ayanna back to Edmund in November which should give me babies by late January so I have something to show at the National. Oh and if I do breed sables that litter would be due about mid December. It's all very open though. Ayanna's looking like she's only going to have one baby, and Rosie's babies are all going to the boars owner, though I may keep one. So if Ayanna does only have one baby she'll be put to Eddie after she's been rested, but if she does have a large litter I won't breed her again till next year. Not sure what I'll do with Nia's litter yet, but since they'll all be short hairs it's not hard to keep them. The longs of course need to be separated if I'm going to show them.
I'm also planning cages too. I have heaps of empty space at the moment, but with so many litters planned I need to expand a bit.
The girls are going to move outside into a big run. I'm going to dig the base out so I can bury wire mesh, and then refill with dirt so there is no chance of critters digging in or out and no chance of injuring the girls feet. It should be a big 2m x 2m space where I can keep most if not all the girls. Pregnant girls and any girls under 3months will stay inside though. I'm also looking at putting in another set of boar cages. If I can get the shelving here it'll give me 8 more 60cm x 60cm boar cages. Plus I still have room for more dog crates
So if I do install all of that I'll then have for caging...
2m x 2m outdoor girls run
2.4m x 60cm indoor girls run
2 x 1.2m x 60cm breeding cages
2 x 90cm x 45cm pet store cages
3 x 50cm x 75cm dog crates
2 x 60cm x 60cm cages
8 x 60cm x 60cm cages
1 x 120 cm x 75 cm dog crate (for the shebas)
Assuming I stick to my usual rule of 4 square feet per pig, that gives me housing for 25 pigs indoors and 12 outdoors. Though honestly in the two big sow runs I could probably fit a few more pigs in. Even by the C&C standards I could fit 5 girls in the indoor cage and 15 in the outdoor cage (they use 0.7 square metres for first and 0.2 square metres for each additional pig). So anyway we'll see, but I'll certainly have a lot of space.... I'll also still have room to add in three more small dogcrates, bringing me a total of 40 pigs in 160 square feet of space.
So, the pigs. The show was great fun though I didn't do spectacularly. Laertes was beaten by the gorgeous Dallie sow again, but he did win Best Junior Marked, so that's something. Ebbie wasn't even looked at in the pet class and Mannie didn't sit still long enough to be presented, so it was a bit of a waste of time with those two. Piggles (more about her in a sec) won a first but no BOB.
I also collected some pigs as well. Chantilly Wilbur has come to stay for a month so he represent the gold/lilac argentes at the ACA show. Rosie gas returned after a hopefully successful date with Piggizpatch Rock n Roll a golden agouti rex. Finally two lovely ladies, Piggles and Pebbles, have joined the Samsara crew.
Piggles is a drool worthy crested sable. I am just so in love with her. Sables have always been my absolute favorite color, but I've always been resigned to the fact they were extinct, those that could be found carried so many different problems that there was no point breeding them. Piggles reignited my passion so off I went to research and lo and behold, sables can be CREATED. All you need is a himi and an agouti dilute. I was very very overjoyed to discover this. So I'm going to use Piggles to show and get familiar with the breed. Piggles is too old for a litter and has some fairly undesirable genetics (such as Abyssinian and longhair) in her background, so she's just for showing. But I fully intend to pursue sables. I'm going to breed one litter of Dallies because I already have La-La and Nia and I think I need to try one litter. However Sables should at least give me more showies then a line of dallies would. Sables breed like creams, sable x sable gives 25% dilutes, 25% himis and 50% sables. I also ahve a friend who can supply me with both a himi and a dilute so it's all systems go.
Pebbles is Piggles' cagemate and she's a chcolate tricolour, though to look at her she could actually be a sable tricolour...
I also have one final new addition who I'll be collecting in September. Shemelle Charmer is a coronet boar carrying texel (and possibly satin). He'll join my crew of breeding boars and hopefully give me a line of merinos. But he is absolutely my last breeding boar, I need sows, sows, sows not boars! LOL.
Considering Manny's horrendous performance at the show on Sunday, plus the issues I'm already having with him I'm coming to the conclusion that he simply isn't cut out for showing. There's no point showing an animal that can't even sit still. So he has the ACA show to go but I'm leaning towards returning him to his breeder after that. He has always been a loan, just so I'd have a long to show but now I have Piggles I might just show her and wait until I have some Samsara longs to start entering the longhair classes again.
Ayanna's baby/s also began moving today so she should litter before the end of the month and hopefully finally give me Samsara animals.
So the litters that are planend for this year are... Ayannas litter (due late August), Rosie's litter (due late September-early October), Nia's litter (will be due mid November). Then I'm hoping to put Ayanna back to Edmund in November which should give me babies by late January so I have something to show at the National. Oh and if I do breed sables that litter would be due about mid December. It's all very open though. Ayanna's looking like she's only going to have one baby, and Rosie's babies are all going to the boars owner, though I may keep one. So if Ayanna does only have one baby she'll be put to Eddie after she's been rested, but if she does have a large litter I won't breed her again till next year. Not sure what I'll do with Nia's litter yet, but since they'll all be short hairs it's not hard to keep them. The longs of course need to be separated if I'm going to show them.
I'm also planning cages too. I have heaps of empty space at the moment, but with so many litters planned I need to expand a bit.
The girls are going to move outside into a big run. I'm going to dig the base out so I can bury wire mesh, and then refill with dirt so there is no chance of critters digging in or out and no chance of injuring the girls feet. It should be a big 2m x 2m space where I can keep most if not all the girls. Pregnant girls and any girls under 3months will stay inside though. I'm also looking at putting in another set of boar cages. If I can get the shelving here it'll give me 8 more 60cm x 60cm boar cages. Plus I still have room for more dog crates
So if I do install all of that I'll then have for caging...
2m x 2m outdoor girls run
2.4m x 60cm indoor girls run
2 x 1.2m x 60cm breeding cages
2 x 90cm x 45cm pet store cages
3 x 50cm x 75cm dog crates
2 x 60cm x 60cm cages
8 x 60cm x 60cm cages
1 x 120 cm x 75 cm dog crate (for the shebas)
Assuming I stick to my usual rule of 4 square feet per pig, that gives me housing for 25 pigs indoors and 12 outdoors. Though honestly in the two big sow runs I could probably fit a few more pigs in. Even by the C&C standards I could fit 5 girls in the indoor cage and 15 in the outdoor cage (they use 0.7 square metres for first and 0.2 square metres for each additional pig). So anyway we'll see, but I'll certainly have a lot of space.... I'll also still have room to add in three more small dogcrates, bringing me a total of 40 pigs in 160 square feet of space.
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