Our Pig Problems
Help us find the reason for the sudden deaths of our pigs
The Symptoms
With both pigs, we had the same quick decline in health of our pigs. The night before, they would behave completely normal, very attentive and no signs of illness. The next morning, the timeline would be the following:
8.30AM Feeding Time. This is where we’ve found that they’ve only eaten half their dinner. They’re breathing very heavy, short breaths. They can’t or won’t get up to move.
within three to four hours, the pig collapes dead. There is a bit of blood coming from mouth and nose.
The Living Situation
The pigs were pastured full time with a mobile electric fence system and a small shelter. At the time of death, they were around 6-7 months. Both were deemed a healthy weight and overall good condition by the vet.
We feed them kitchen scraps and when there’s not enough forage or fresh veggies, we will feed additional pig pellets (commercial feed), about 500-700g per meal. Mostly, they’d eat acorns and roots in the forest, with the occasional extra pumpkin provided by us.
We have wild pigs in the area, though they have most likely not been in contact with our pigs.
The Vet’s Post Mortem Conclusions
The pigs seemed overall healthy, there was no prolonged illness or any signs of a chronic condition. The vet examined the food and their living area and the only thing he critized was that it might be a bit cold with just the shelter and it would be better if we had a permanent housing with more straw as insulation. Although he said that this did not cause the death, the cold (-2°C) temperatures at night could have affected how well the pig could deal with the condition.
Higgy had a very bloated stomach and gas in her intestines, which led him to believe that she might have had a colic. The gas would have enlarged the stomach and compressed the lungs. With Pigl, we did not remark on this, although we saw that the intestines and stomach were a bit bloated, but not like in Higgy.
The organs were of a normal colour in Pigl, except for heart and lungs. In Higgy, the organs were discolored.
The only clear indication of something wrong: The heart was filled and surrounded by fluid, same as the lungs. In his career, he has never encountered this and especially not twice.
Our Ideas
The most likely culprit: Bracken poisoning, though it is not very documented in pasture pigs. We got them specifically to clear bramble and bracken after reading, that they were very successful. But it seems bracken leads to a vitamin B deficiency. If anyone has experience with this and giving vitamin b preventatively, that would be good to hear
After talking with a friend, they said that it might be the commercial pig feed. It should be given in the same quantities each day, since it can lead to more bloat. Duly noted.
Feed again: After doing some research, Vitamin E deficiency could lead to the heart being filled with water, though it seems unlikely to be the case with us since we didn’t feed exclusively on commercial feed
Maybe it was something genetic, as both sisters died from the same condition
Something in the ground. Maybe we have to test the soil in our forest for contamination. Again, this seems unlikely, since it is untouched for years now