Tropical Backyard Pig and Piglet Survival and Mortality Log:

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Miss Piggy/AI

First Parity
Mating:

January 13 2015

Farrowing:

Saturday 09 May 2015.

-8 piglets discovered at 11:50 PM
-Problems with suckling. Also some piglets born deformed.
-No artificial milk available (piglets born in the weekend)

11 May    (Monday): The Cripple and the Runt finally die.  -Foster Milk finally available
12 May   (Tuesday): Second Runt dies in the night (trampled on by others)
14 May  (Thursday): Still problems with mother's milk
             -All piglets now being hand fed since Monday afternoon

----- End of 1st week
----- End of 2nd week

25 May    (Monday): First warnings of diarrhea
26 May   (Tuesday): Piglet Whitey dies
27 May (Wednesday): Mr. Spotty dies
28 May  (Thursday): A Brown piglet dies and then Blackie dies

----- End of 3rd week
----- End of 4th week

1 piglet fully weaned: Butlig was the only survivor

Butlig had umbilical hernia and a tumour on his prepuce.
He died naturally 27 September 2016 after successfully mating with No.One

No.One/Butlig

First Parity
Mating:

February 08 2016/February 27 2016?

Farrowing:

18 June 2016.

 -Started labour around 7 PM
-9 live piglets. and one born dead, found with the placenta around 2 AM Sunday

June 23: A sick sow (fever with vaginal infection) and also a sick piglet
June 24: One of the piglets threw up this morning

----- End of 1st week

June 25: Everything at last seems to be nicely stabilized.
June 26: No night-time observation. Everything left to its own devices
June 27: The previously sick piglet got crushed

----- End of 2nd week
----- End of 3rd week
----- End of 4th week

8 piglets fully weaned, one death and one stillborn

No.Three/AI

First Parity
Mating:

01 September 2016

Farrowing:

25 December 2016

-Nesting instinct was clearly present.
-Farrowing Around  6 PM.
-4 large live piglets -no fatalities
-Farrowing was observed but minimal intervention
(the newly born were wiped with a dry cloth)

-Clear signs of tiredness in sow -but no infection

----- End of 1st week
----- End of 2nd week
----- End of 3rd week
----- End of 4th week

4 piglets fully weaned, no deaths and none stillborn

No.One/AI

Second Parity
Mating:

08 September 2016

Farrowing:

30 December 2016

    -The first piglet arrives around 7.30 PM
    -Sow too nervous to suckle (sow Hysteria)
    -One (mummified) stillbirth, Placenta starts arriving around 11 PM
    -11 live piglets

January 03: Piglet suffocated by sow laying on her, possibly while sleeping

----- End of 1st week

January  07: Now only 9 left
January  12: Only Eight

----- End of 2nd week

January  13: Another one didn't make it

----- End of 3rd week
----- End of 4th week

7 piglets fully weaned, 4 deaths and one (mummified) stillborn

1 of the fully weaned piglets, "Blackie"  had Scrotal Hernia and we kept him as a fattening pig without any further problems.  Slaughtered: March 26 2016

Auntie Brownie/Boar Brownie

First Parity
Mating:

March 04 2017

Farrowing:

June  24 2017 (Saturday)

          -Around 8 20 AM we saw the first piglet
          -We left her completely alone to see how she coped
          -but were ready to intervene in case there were problems
          -By 4 PM (normal feeding time) Fatima went in to the pen
           after feeding and collected one dead piglet. 11 piglets born alive
          -Brownie had eaten the placenta.

June  26,  (Monday): On our return from weekly shopping trip Brownie seems somewhat restless and disturbed.
                    Lots of squealing piglets and some crushing incidents.
June  27  (Tuesday): Piglet crushed yesterday finally dies.
June  29 (Thursday): Second crushed piglet found dead

----- End of 1st week
----- End of 2nd week
----- End of 3rd week
----- End of 4th week

9 piglets fully weaned, two deaths and one stillborn

-Ihid II: Slaughtered December 03 2017 Weight nearly 70 kg

No.Three/AI

Second parity
Mating:

04  May 2017

Farrowing:

29 August 2017 (Tuesday):

                     -expected farrowing date was Aug. 27
                     -and all the physical signs of late pregnancy were clearly visible.
                     -7.45 PM first dead piglet seen
                     -11.30 PM we count 6 mummified piglets (plus one normal stillborn).

Sow had fever and was injected with 2.5ml of Oxytocin to remove any debris left inside (August 30) and 15ml of Pen-strep anti-biotic (August 31).

Also August 31, Fatima found another dead piglet (the eighth).
It was buried under the banana leaves but we don't know when it was delivered.

----- End of 1st week

Sow seems back to normal.
However, she will be given at least two cycles before breeding again so she can recover

No live births, six mummified piglets and 2 stillbirths

Auntie Brownie/Pinkie Boar

Second Parity
Mating:

August 28 2017

Farrowing:

December 19 2017 (Tuesday):

                            -2.40 PM first piglet born
                            -6.30 PM ten live piglets counted (at feeding time)

December 21 (Thursday): -Sow Exhausted, feverish and having discharge
December 22:  (Friday): -Back to normal by the afternoon

----- End of 1st week

December  27 (Wednesday): -Piglet Crushed in the Night

----- End of 2nd week

January  06: -Another Dead Piglet (died of stomach cramps -after drinking molasses water)

----- End of 3rd week
----- End of 4th week

8 piglets fully weaned, two deaths, none stillborn

-Ihid III: Slaughtered 14 May 2018 Weight 51 kg

No.Three/Pinkie Boar

Third Parity
Mating:

November 13, 2017

Farrowing:

March 09 2018 (Friday):

                        -12.15 pm first piglets spotted
                        -03.30 pm nine live piglets counted

March 10 -No.Three is a bit warm -but ok after cooling with water
         -Piglet "Blackie" seems Sluggish and was given some Extra Iron
March 11 -Some slight (normal) discharge from No.Three -but no Fever
March 12 -"Blackie" found dead after being Trampled on During the Night

----- End of 1st week

March 17 -"Panda" signaled as being sluggish
                 -"Panda" suspected of developmental problems

----- End of 2nd week
----- End of 3rd week
----- End of 4th week

Panda fully normal after weaning

8 piglets fully weaned, one death, none stillborn

-Ihid IV: Slaughtered August 31 2018, weighing 85 kg., 
had a small abdominal tumor

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Auntie Brownie/Pinkie Boar

Third Parity
Mating:

March 30 - April 09(?), 2018

Farrowing:

July 29 2018 (Sunday):

-10.00 AM: Fatima hears the first piglets
-11.30 AM: Fatima counts 8 or 9 piglets
-  2.00 PM; There are 10 piglets
-  4:30 PM: (Feeding time) There are 12 piglets  

        July 30:   -06.15 Morning Feeding:Piglet found crushed in the night.
                                  There seems to be less fighting among piglets now. Was it a troublemaker?
             
                        -11.15 Am. The Victim of A Deliberate Crushing?
                                   Piglet "Limpy" rescued after crushing  and revived -but she has a limp
                            
                        -3.30 PM -Afternoon Feeding Time:
                                   At first all seemed normal -until we discovered another dead piglet crushed

   Brownie seemed to be over-heating.
   I tried cooling her with a wet cloth and she seemed to improve. 
   Brownie's teats were softer in the afternoon than earlier in the morning.
   Perhaps she'd had a light infection which had made them sensitive.

        July 31:   -06.15 -Morning Feeding:
                                   Brownie didn't get up to be fed but she was suckling still
                                   When Fatima called her to the trough, she got up sluggishly.
                                   She seemed to appreciate having water on her neck (while at the trough)
                                    -but didn't like Fatima spraying her with water (from a plant spray.
                                   She did drink lots of water but didn't eat very much. She ignored the green forage.
                                   Fatima decided to call Nestor (a feed company technician)to come and cut the piglets teeth
                                    -because Brownie's teats seemed very sensitive and she was getting angry when suckling.

                        -08.00 AM Teeth Cutting:
                                   Nestor was only able to count nine piglets, so Fatima looked again
                                     -and found another dead piglet;
                                   Fatima noticed an increase in Brownie's vaginal discharge.
                                   Nestor recommended putting some anti-biotic powder in Brownie's drinking water
                                     - to help with the fever.

Reduced Suckling Times:

Normally Brownie suckles every half hour.
This morning it seems she only suckled every 2 hours
 -at 6, 10 and 12 AM...

By 1 PM the suckling sessions was about 1 hour after the previous one

Around 01.15 PM -Another Crisi s:
        Piglet "Limpy" got crushed and revived again

-4 PM -Afternoon Feed:
        Brownie now seems to be suckling more regularly  -so the problem was
        probably caused by sore teats caused by sharp babyteeth.

However, Brownie still wouldn't get up to eat or drink -so presumably still has some fever. Sponged her neck -and took her a few fresh Tricanthera leaves, which she ate. Also gave her some water, which she drank -but she refused any more leaves.

August 01:  -06.15 AM Morning Feeding:
                                      Brownie is up and eating. Everything looks normal
                            4 PM -Afternoon Feed:
                                      Brownie is hungry and the piglets are sleeping.
                                      It seems the teeth trimming and the oral anti-biotic in the water have worked
                                      and everything is returning to normal.
                                      Suckling times are also back to around every 30 minutes......

August 02:  -06.15 AM Morning Feeding:
                                      Everything still seems normal this morning.
                                      Brownie hungry and the Piglets still sleeping.
                                      Brownie still regularly cooled down with a damp cloth


August 03:  -06.15 AM Morning Feeding:
                                      All seems Normal
                      -4 PM -Afternoon Feed, Another crushing incident this evening:
                                      Brownie was standing at the trough.
                                      The piglets were sleeping behind her.
                                      Then she stepped back (possibly looking for a treat) and stepped on a piglet.
                                      The piglet squealed, the others ran off to the creep space
                                       -and Brownie moved her foot. Everybody was a bit shocked
                                       -but nobody seems badly hurt.


 August 05:     One week old today!
                                       ...and yet another dead Piglet at the end of the day.

----- End of 1st week
----- End of 2nd week
----- End of 3rd week
----- End of 4th week

8 piglets fully weaned (one with crippled leg), four deaths, none stillborn.
The crippled leg healed itself naturally -and "Limpy" seems to be growing up normally.

-Ihid V: Slaughtered 17 January 2019, weighing 70 kg., 

No.Three/Pinkie Boar

Fourth Parity
Mating:

June 29/30, 2018

Farrowing:

October 24 2018

13 piglets born:

----- End of 1st week

November 02 -6 AM: Crushed piglet found near the trough

----- End of 2nd week
----- End of 3rd week
----- End of 4th week

  8 piglets fully weaned.
  3 Piglets crushed, two died on, or around, birth (unknown causes)

-Lucky  (Ihid VI): Slaughtered 6 April 2019, weighing 90 kg.

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Auntie Brownie/Pinkie Boar

Fourth Parity
Mating:

November 10 2018

Farrowing:

March 1 2019 -Friday

March O2: 4.00 PM:

We recovered and buried 4 dead piglets (cause and time of death unknown)

March O3: 6.30 AM:

Another dead piglet

3.00 PM: A piglet got suffocated while suckling on a hind teat. It took s few minutes to get food and persuade the sow to stand up. Finally we were able to get her up and collect the piglet from between her feet. It was unconscious -but revived quickly when shaken and slapped. We decided its chances of survival in the pen were minimal -so have taken it out, fed it and put it in a box as a temporary home.

March O4: 6:30 AM: Another dead piglet in the pen.

Fatima decides another piglet needs removing from the pen. It is very thin.

----- End of 1st week
----- End of 2nd week
----- End of 3rd week
----- End of 4th week

10 piglets fully weaned (8 by mother and 2 hand raised),
4 deaths on or around birth, 2 crushed, none stillborn.
One hand raised piglet (No.One) revived after crushing, the other one was removed from sow as a precaution.

-No.One  (Ihid VII): Slaughtered 9 August 2019, weighing 60 kg.
Suffered severe stomach problems. Suspected pneumonia and stomach ulcer
Blood and Intestines buried -meat consumable but of poor quality

No.Three/Pinkie Boar

Fifth Parity
Mating:

March 02, 2019

Farrowing:

June 25 2019 (Tuesday):

June 25, Around 9.15 pm: 7 live piglets born

June 30: Mother stands on sleeping piglet -and it dies shortly afterwards from the wound

----- End of 1st week
----- End of 2nd week
----- End of 3rd week
----- End of 4th week

6 piglets fully weaned
1 death from being trodden on, none stillborn
Two Piglets (Pork and Beans) kept
Beans farrowed    May 24 2020
Pork   butchered  July  06 2020

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No.One (II)

Born 01 March 2019 (Auntie Brownie's 4th parity)
Culled 09 August 2019
Suspected gastric ulcer
Partially Buried in garden
Gilt/Fattener

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No.Three

Died 24 August 2019
Suspected acute pneumonia
Buried in garden
5th Parity

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Auntie Brownie

Died 01 October 2019
Suspected Porcine Rea
Buried in garden
Expecting 5th Parity on the 5th of October

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Beans/Pork

First Parity
Mating:

January 30 2020

Farrowing:

May 24 2020 (Sunday):

May 24, Starting Around 9.20 pm: 6 live piglets born

----- End of 1st week
----- End of 2nd week
----- End of 3rd week
----- End of 4th week

6 piglets fully weaned: 3 sold and 3 kept.
1 fattened piglet sold October 31 2020
(BMW and Brownie Remain)