Curious if anyone has any suggestions about what I'm dealing with:
I've got a 100 lb or so berkshire hog that isn't doing too good right now. He actually crossed from a group of hogs his age into a paddock with smaller pigs a couple months ago. A few weeks ago he developed a significant limp in one of his front legs. I decided to keep him with the smaller pigs, since i thought he was less likely to get bullied or harmed further there. He has possibly lost a little weight while the younger pigs have almost caught up to him. In the last week, he's started to walk more on his front knees than on his feet. He still gets over to the feeder and waterer. But he also seems to be loosing conformation a bit, and also just yesterday I started to see some discharge from his eyes. I'm not afraid of using pharmaceuticals in a case where I can save a life of a complex creature, such as a 100 lb growing pig. Though I'm not very adept in selecting and administering them, I could. Then I would just
sell him to a customer who understands, and isn't afraid of meat from a pig that had to get meds to get better. Problem is, I don't know what to do to help him. Erysipelas seems to be a possible culprit. Anybody have any thoughts? I've seen pigs limp for a week, then get better. So this is just new to me.
thanks,
Incredulous in Indiana
