So good morning. I'm an old practitioner. I've been a vet for 55 years, and I have always enjoyed working with pigs, and latterly, that has been in a situation where The pigs are mainly smallholder pigs or pet pigs.
I would like you to take a note of my email address, as I'm ever so happy to answer any queries at any time from practitioners. I really enjoy hearing from other practitioners. Without further ado, we'll get on with the presentation.
So we're going to cover smallholder pigs and individual pigs, which are often termed pet pigs. You need to have a non-disposable syringe like the one in the picture, as this is vital for size and bores. The it needs to be strong, and that's why it's non-disposable.
The Plastic syringes which we usually use in large animal work are not strong enough for pigs or or adult pigs. You need a lurelock 14 gauge metal needle at least an inch and a half long. They are usually orange in colour.
I mention Master jet syringes as they are very useful. However, they do cost about 400 pounds, where the disposable syringe in the picture will only cost, say, between 5 and 10 pounds. Handling all pigs, except for neonates is difficult.
Growing peaks up to 20 kg can be held upside down by a strong person leaning against a wall. The hocks of the peak should be grasped one in each hand with the ventral aspect of the peak towards the handler. The upper body and head should be gripped by the handler's knees.
Larger growing pigs will need to be restrained in a crate. Usually I suggest a weighing crate, and then further restraint of a pig snare applied to their nose and upper jaw will be required. Blood testing and giving intravenous injections to pigs is not easy.
The anterior vena cava should be used in adults restrained in a crate with a pig snail. The jugular should be used in large growing pigs restrained with the pig snail. The ear vein may be used in all ages, however, it's a difficult technique, particularly with small ear pigs and black pigs.
Baby pigs should be restrained on their backs. Ideally placed in a handler's lap in a similar way to bleeding or injecting cats intravenously. Anaesthesia.
You can mask down really small pigs with isofluorane. With bigger pigs, that's say 10 to 20 kg pigs, it's best to give them 1 mL of stressn intramuscular, 20 minutes before masking down. Stressnil can also be used to be given to guilts when they're attacking their piglets.
5 mLs of Strenil and 1 mL of oxytocin should be given intramusculin. And then efforts should be made to get the piglets onto the so or guilt in this case. Now, general anaesthetics for pigs.
Are usually an intramuscular cocktail. So here is the details of one general anaesthetic for a 100 kg pig. So you can give 10 mLs of 2% ylazine.
Or if you prefer 2 mLs of a 10%. 10 mL of ketamine and 2 mL of tobegezic. This can be mixed all in the same syringe and given intramuscular.
And it will give you about. 15 to 20 minutes general anaesthesia. Another cocktail for a 100 kg pig is the use of Civet.
Trigeic and ketoet as shown on the screen. These can be mixed in the same syringe. The civet does make it a little bit cloudy, but you have no need to be concerned about this, as it seems to work perfectly well.
Bear in mind that these medicines are not licenced for pigs, so a form should be signed by the owner of the pigs authorising you to give them. The weight of the pig should be ascertained and then the dosage computed in on a weight of pigs rate, as for a 100 kg pig. Castration is the most common surgical procedure.
Ideally, piglets should be under 7 days of age, and then anaesthetic is not required by law. In commercial peaks. It is customary not to castrate them, but to feed them properly so that they reach slaughter weight before they get boretained, i.e., before puberty.
Before a castration, it's vital to check for inguinal hernias. If they are absent, which they should be, then a standard open castration can be performed with no ligatures required, and no emasculators are required even with the biggest bores. No skin sutures are needed either.
This is very different when you're dealing with a pig with an inguinal herniation, which is an inherited problem and is particularly common in pot-bellied pigs. A closed method of castration should be used. The testicle should be freed from the underlying tissue, and having made sure that the only contents of the scrotum is the testicle, a transfixing ligature should be placed under a hemostat, and then tightened on each testicle before the testicle is removed.
The scrotum should be closed with interrupting sutures, interrupted sutures. And I normally use a monofilament nylon because this will be shared in the slaughter process eventually. Rectal prolapse.
This is seen in finishing peaks, particularly those experiencing coughing as a result of respiratory disease. The underlying disease should be treated before the surgical intervention. The problem is also seen in pregnant sows and in sows which have recently furrowed.
Treatment of rectal prolapse should be carried out in well restrained pigs under a local anaesthetic ring block. A purse string suture of adequate strength and resorbability should be placed before a replacement of the rectum. This can then be tightened immediately after replacement.
To give you an estimate of how large an anus should be left. It in a sow, you should be able to insert 3 fingers, or in a finishing peak, you should be able to insert one finger only. Adequate pain relief should be given.
A vaginal pronouns. This condition can often occur at the same time as a rectal prolapse. Good restraint is vital.
However, treatment can be carried out under local anaesthesia. A what is called a bonus suture should be placed. Now this is a single suture of uterine tape placed with a long seat needle from below the vulva to the midpoint below the rectum.
And then return to a midline point below the vva on the other side of the vulva. This should be tightened after replacement of the valva. Uterine torsion.
This is a rare condition. However, if a single horn is twisted, it can only be corrected by using abdominal surgery, and this will obviously have to be under general anaesthesia. However, If torsion of both horns in the body of the uterus has occurred, this can be corrected by rolling the sow under a general anaesthetic.
And as a rule of thumb, the sow should be rolled in the direction of the twist. So insert your hand into the vagina, feel the, direction of the twist, and then roll the sow accordingly. You try products.
Mercifully, this problem is rare. In many situations, euthanasia is the most humane option. Particularly if the piglets can be fostered onto another side.
However, correction is feasible under GA provided a pig crate is available. After the GA, the sower is secured in dorsal recumbency by tying a hocks wide apart to the top rungs of the crate. The the prolapse uterus is laid out on a clean polythene on a straw bale.
And this is a conventional straw bale which is pushed under the back of the sow behind the crate. This will allow gravity to help you, because the head and the fore quarters of the sow will be lower than the hind quarters. Any tears in the uterus are repaired after the organ is cleaned, bearing in mind.
That peritoneal surfaces must be opposed, so mattress sutures of an absorbable material should be used. Then a hand is gently inserted into a single horn. And that horn is pushed into the abdomen over the rim of the pelvis.
Gravity will aid replacement. And then you need to, with a flicking motion of your fingers, allow the horn to fall into the abdomen. The second horn is replaced in a similar manner.
If you find it difficult to replace the first horn, then try replacing the other horn and you may find this easier. After a replacement, a single suture, as described for a vaginal prolapse, a bona suture is then placed in the secured. That should be left in place for a minimum of 48 hours.
Naturally, antibiotics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatories should be given. Caesarean sections. This In my experience is when you have a.
A single portion of a single horn which you. You can't correct by rolling and therefore you have to carry out a caesarean section. It should be carried out under a general anaesthetic with some local infiltration to reduce the amount of general anaesthesia.
The sow should be placed in lateral recumbency, with the uppermost hind leg drawn backwards. An incision is made along the line of the mammary glands in above the mammary gland. It should be made rosal caudal as far caudal as possible.
And be long enough to accommodate the surgeon's forearm. Under aseptic conditions, the gravid uterus is easily located. An incision should be made in the body of the uterus to allow the piglets and placenta to be removed.
It is vital that all the piglets are removed. The uterus can be repaired with single continuous row of Lambert inversion sutures of an absorbable material. 30 international units of oxytocin should be injected intramuscular at this time.
The abdominal musculature, including the peritoneum, should be sutured with two layers of continuous mattress sutures using absorbable suture material. The skin should then be closed with single horizontal mattress sutures. Number one, polypropylene material on a swaged 48 millimetre, 12.5 millimetre reverse cutting needle is ideal.
Sutures should be placed close together because bear in mind that you've made your incision just above the mammary gland and the piglets will be looking and rooting about for the nipples and you don't want your suture line to be compromised. The piglets should be encouraged to suckle, and antibiotics and non-steroidals should be given for a minimum of 5 days. Detasking bores.
And in my experience, you require a long-handed weapon, and what we use is a . An old, cutting, molar cutting, dentistry, cutter, . Which we found in the, the, the surgery, which is no longer used in equine dentistry.
In the literature and other practitioners will recommend using embryotomy wire. In my experience, because of the heat generated, there are continuous breaks in the wire, and it is not a very satisfactory way of doing the job. Ideally, you require the boar to be in a crate secured by a snare.
Now there is no innovation as there is no pulp cavity in the task. However, with experience, the best anaesthetic is to get the boar when they are serving a sow, and you can then detask them without any anaesthetic and without the boar hardly noticing. Wounds in pigs.
Now the main take home message is do not worry about wounds in pigs. They heal very well by secondary intention. And a lot of time and effort can be spent trying to suture wounds, which then break down in a few days.
The owner is dissatisfied and the pig has been put through unnecessary trauma. Euthanasia. Moribund very small piglets may be destroyed in a commercial situation by trauma.
However, I do not condone this practise. I feel veterinary surgeons should behave in a manner different from this. And so I would suggest the use of triple strength pentobarbitone.
Which can be injected into the anterior vena cava. For big pigs. You have a real problem.
And in a pet pig situation. I would give a GA as described earlier. Bearing in mind that the general anaesthetic will be expensive for a really big pig, this will be something in the order of 300 pounds.
But remember, this is a pet animal and should be treated as such. The GA is given intramuscular, time is then allowed, and then somullose is given either intraperitoneally, intravenously, or even in cardiacly. I find the use of an air vein is difficult.
Because somulose is thick and you need to use a small needle in the air vein and it's difficult to inject, particularly if the pig is not anaesthetized. Now regarding firearms, a firearm with a free bullet can only be used by someone who has a licence, and that licence is for the individual, not for the practise. However, what I have used in the past to good effect is a shotgun.
Now this is usually available on farms, can be borrowed by a veterinary surgeon and used by shooting the pig about, A foot away with a line aiming at a cross made by two lines from ear to eye, and that is very effective, so you have no need to have a licence. The obviously the farmer who lends you the gun has to have a, a, a shotgun licence. Now I hope you've enjoyed this video and webinar.
Please contact me if you have any queries and I'm happy to answer them on email. Thank you for listening.