# Pigs... Dog attack!



## JillZaHulk (Oct 7, 2019)

We got two of our goats from my brother in law due to his dog attacking one of them... His dog just attacked one of his pigs. There's a good chance the pigs will come to stay with us in the near future but for now I'm going to go there to tend to it... I currently know nothing about pigs. I also don't know yet how bad the attack was. My brother in law got meds for it. I'm not sure exactly what. Right now I'm just getting ready to go check on it.

Is there a pig forum like there is for goats chickens and ducks? Is there a pig reference book like 'goat notes' for pigs? I'm putting binders together for all the animals... Including the pigs


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## JillZaHulk (Oct 7, 2019)

YES! I AM BEYOND FURIOUS ABOUT THIS DOG AND HIS REPEAT ATTACKS! Right now my only place is to take care of the animals. He is not my dog and it is not happening on our property. Right now I just need help knowing how to care for the pigs in the immediate future.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Some one should give good pig advice soon. They will root and tear stuff up, so their pen needs to be pretty strong and the panels need to go deep into the ground so they don't root under. At least they cannot jump! Pigs can't sweat, so they need a cool area (they like mud), fresh water and feed. You can make a waterer (they like to dump buckets) out of pvc and get a pig water nipple at any feed store.


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## JillZaHulk (Oct 7, 2019)

Thank you. That already is more than I knew.


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## JillZaHulk (Oct 7, 2019)

Are garlic cloves a good 'antibiotic' food for pigs like for goats?


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## goatblessings (Jan 6, 2015)

I'm not sure about the garlic - but they will eat it and it is not harmful. Pigs are susceptible to pneumonia - so a draft free heavily bedded shelter when it's cold is a must. Water accessible at all times, and a place for them to cool off when it is hot. They root - a LOT - we buried our fencing 1 foot deep with a 2x6 board border and wood fence 1/2 way up from the pen. Meat pigs will consume a LOT of feed in the last few months of finishing- depending on the breed you want to process at about 280#. They do love veggie scraps, and any other table scraps, but stay away from meat. Pigs can bite - so be careful of handfeeding. I personally dislike keeping pigs with goats, too many unknowns and possibility of injury to your goats. They do need wormed at times, and can also be susceptible to ecoli etc....... Most people do not keep meat hogs for pets. The breed in the pic looks very much like a duroc which is a meat hog. There are websites devoted to raising hogs - I strongly recommend you do some google searching.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

They are very beautiful and bless you for helping. Any animal bite wound is chock full of bacteria so a long course of antibiotics is critical. Pain meds are also critical. But the first thing to watch for is shock. Going subtemp due to shock can nearly kill an animal. Get a rectal temperature on piggy when you arrive.


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## JillZaHulk (Oct 7, 2019)

They are Tamworth. Yes still meat hogs. They got penicillin and wounds cleaned today. Did not have the means to take temps. Only one had one icky looking wound on its ear that got disinfected today. I’m going to try to go back tomorrow but if I can’t my niece will be doing it. They are getting some spray Neosporin for them since it's difficult to wrangle them but easy to get close enough to spray. Yes giving penicillin shots and cleaning was definitely a challenge lol


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## GoofyGoat (Sep 21, 2018)

I hope they're getting rid of that dog. You have your hands full! I know nothing about pigs but know once a dog starts attacking livestock he's a danger to all other animals. Good luck with the piggies!


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## JillZaHulk (Oct 7, 2019)

GoofyGoat said:


> I hope they're getting rid of that dog. You have your hands full! I know nothing about pigs but know once a dog starts attacking livestock he's a danger to all other animals. Good luck with the piggies!


I can only tell them what I learn (mostly from you all) and hope they do something with him. But I think before they were to even consider that, they'd probably just stop having other animals. But only time will tell what they decide to do. The locations of wounds tell me the dog was in fact trying to kill the pig (neck and face). Her neck looks ok. Minor scratches. But her eyes are pretty swollen. Probably going to need antibiotic drops. Hopefully the penicillin injections will help. The back side of her ear is sliced into pretty well and was quite pusy already. With how difficult it was to hold her still I really hope we got it clean enough. I'm gonna really try to go over there again tomorrow to be able to see if there's any improvement. Same with tomorrow and the next few days. Also to help get them their penicillin shots. ... I gotta say.. Goats are way easier... Maybe it's because they're just friendlier and more trusting lol


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

If you can't get close enough to clean up the ear, fill a squirt gun with iodine water and squirt the injury. (That is if it is infected and piggy is in pain and you really don't think it's safe to be in the pen with it.)


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

Ok pigs. And i read through the page. We have raised 500lb hogs this way that were total babies at butcher time. What was said about a water waller in hot weather is VERY important! And a shelter in winter as well. They will burrow down under bedding to keep warm. So it needs be deep.

At first it is a very small pen. We feed, water and touch our pigs daily. The hot wire is not in this small space. We want them to learn to trust us. These pigs in the pic are young enoughh they should be able to be tamed down. Should bein the key word. Here we want to be able to not worry over any animal not comin to us if we need do anything to it.... so this is what we do. It may not be what you want to do.
Pigs can be trained to hot wire. After they are mostly calm and allow us to touch them and they come up to us we put them in a welded wire fence with a line of hot wire about six to eight inches off the ground and three inches away from the fence. It must be and stay hot hot. They stay in there 2-3 months. They learn to trust us more, root around and just be pigs. But. They are also learning the fence is no fun to touch. It also saves your fence because they learn not to root under it or close to it. Wet noses and electric... We do feed some things from our hands and they learn if they snap it out of our hands they do not get the treat. They learn it is not ok to rush at us for the food bucket too.

Next they go into a bigger space with only three strands of hot wire. Everything continues the same way for a month. Then after they are good in that space we open the gate that has only a single wire about face height. We run ours through the woods and a small pasture. This also keeps them from being in complete mud all the time. Yes they root but they are lookin for bugs and roots and grubs. Pigs do like grasses and nuts. But they have more space so it does not get so bad. Plus if you plant grasses right as they are almost ready to leave a space they will stomp it into the ground for you. Easy seeding and forage for next time!

For water... we use a 55gallon food grade drum with nipple waterers about eight or so inches from the bottom. Pigs drink a LOT of water! Our five empty it every two and a half days right now in the cooler weather. In hot every day we need fill it. Right now ours are about 200 pounds. 

On the ear. If it is badly cut and has pus. If it has closed up and is makin a knot... put the pig in a tight box and cut the ear open again with a sharp knife or razor blade and clean all that gunk out. It needs be able to drain. Using a box that they fit tightly into might help you minster to them better at this point. Think snug cardboard with onoy the head sticking out and someone sittin on the box. Or. Get a strong person.... grab back legs from behind, swing them in between your legs and hold oon tight. The pig is essentially upside down and will calm if they cannot get those feet on the ground any of them. I know it sounds crazy but my dad was a hog farmer eons ago and it does work.


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## JillZaHulk (Oct 7, 2019)

The last part I picture the two of us girls doing while trying to be gentle and not roll in the mud lol. 

This pic is from about 4-6 weeks ago. Tho they aren't much bigger but they definitely are meatier lol

I took screenshots of all of what you just posted for reference and to send to my niece. I like all your suggestions tho I don't think they're set up to do all those steps. They have a fully enclosed chicken coop, sounds small but it's probably 10x10 plywood box with a human door on one side and a pig door on the other. I've got a bunch of cardboard boxes I can take a couple and try it out. The pusy wound has not closed over. But I do think it would be best to remove as much nasty tissue as we can. 

Lol do they make antibiotic eye drops in squirt guns? Lol


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

JillZaHulk said:


> The last part I picture the two of us girls doing while trying to be gentle and not roll in the mud lol.
> 
> This pic is from about 4-6 weeks ago. Tho they aren't much bigger but they definitely are meatier lol
> 
> ...


STRONG person is the key word there. Lol! And. Hold on tight.... that size pig will still take you for a ride. And there is no gentle about it either. Just grab and do it. The pig will squeal like you are killin it no matter what. But really it is just pissed you are holdin it.

I would not put pigs and chickens together in that small a space. It will get muddy and nasty VERY fast. And it will be bad for the birds especially. Pigs will be fine but the stench will be horrible.

You can draw up a syringe of antiobiotic, take the needle off and squirt in the eye. Or terramayicin is an ointment. But you need see if there is somethin in the eye or if it is hurt before doin anything to it. Clean it out really well with a diluted iodine solution.


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## JillZaHulk (Oct 7, 2019)

Lol there are no birds in the. It just was a coop that is now for the pigs


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

JillZaHulk said:


> Lol there are no birds in the. It just was a coop that is now for the pigs


Oh ok. .


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## JillZaHulk (Oct 7, 2019)

Iodine from Walmart.... What percent iodine should I get? Then dilute to what ratio? To dilute, I'm just mixing with room temp water, right? Or is there a process I need to follow? Sorry for silly questions. If this were a human I'd likely just use iodine swabs right on the wound.

And is the diluted iodine ok as a wash in her eyes if we can't get hands on well to hold her still??

What they had gotten for us to use for them was penicillin and syringes. And vetericyn plus hydrogel spray. I left our wound kote with them if needed. I'm stopping at Walmart for iodine, spray bottle for diluting and gloves (my penicillin allergy apparently isn't just from ingesting it myself but apparently getting it on my skin as well so I'm gonna wear gloves lol)


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

Goats Rock said:


> Some one should give good pig advice soon. They will root and tear stuff up, so their pen needs to be pretty strong and the panels need to go deep into the ground so they don't root under. At least they cannot jump! Pigs can't sweat, so they need a cool area (they like mud), fresh water and feed. You can make a waterer (they like to dump buckets) out of pvc and get a pig water nipple at any feed store.


 :up: Pigs are as sensitive to electricity as horses. Just two threads will keep them in. But, they dump dirt on the fence, so a daily walk around the fence to check it and lift it up is necessary.


goatblessings said:


> Pigs are susceptible to pneumonia - so a draft free heavily bedded shelter when it's cold is a must.


They can do a lot with straw, if such is offered in abundance. I have seen pigs in winter so buried in straw, that actually only steam from breath was visible!


goatblessings said:


> They ... stay away from meat.


No, they eat roughly the same kinds of food as we do - except for the kitchen hygien!


goatblessings said:


> Pigs can bite - so be careful of handfeeding.


Yes, always be careful, but most petted pigs are very careful when getting a treat.


goatblessings said:


> I personally dislike keeping pigs with goats, too many unknowns and possibility of injury to your goats.


I agree. There are old stories, though, about pigs effectively defending sheep from wolfs. But, those pigs were really well trained for that task!!


goatblessings said:


> Most people do not keep meat hogs for pets.


Most pigs make exellent pets if only "trained for the task".


goatblessings said:


> The breed in the pic looks very much like a duroc which is a meat hog.


A sturdy and nice breed. If they are meat hogs, be prepared to get very big pets in the end!


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

JillZaHulk said:


> ... it's difficult to wrangle them


:funnytech: Yes, they are both fusiform (is that word correct?), made from almost only muscles, and extremely slippery!


GoofyGoat said:


> I hope they're getting rid of that dog.


Or at least keep it away from other animals - and children ...


Sfgwife said:


> Pigs drink a LOT of water!


May I add that they also "brush" their teeth after eating, by carefully chewing on small stones? I took me a whole summer to figure out from where all those pebbles came at the bottom of their water tub.


JillZaHulk said:


> And is the diluted iodine ok as a wash in her eyes


I would at least ask a vet about that. I would not like iodine in my eyes ... Are the eyes damaged?

_(Corrected a spelling mistake)_


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## NigerianNewbie (Jun 6, 2018)

Trollmor said:


> they are both fusiform (is that word correct?),


Elongated and tapered at both ends = fusiform. Very good one word description.


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

NigerianNewbie said:


> Elongated and tapered at both ends = fusiform. Very good one word description.


Yes, nothing to grab ...


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## JillZaHulk (Oct 7, 2019)

So today, the gooey gross ear owie looked WAY better. No puss or discoloration at all. Soooo much better after just one day. Still continuing cleaning and meds and penicillin. They did get low dose chewable aspirin. 

As for capture method lol the leg holding... that must take a lot of practice because it was a hilarious disaster. Similar to the box ideas we used a large rectangular Rubbermaid tub. With the larger pig, she was more about the food so we held the tub up on its end with some cracked corn in it. She went IN face first and Pretty much let us give her a shot in the butt and clean her ears with minimal touching. The smaller pig could care less about food. But she for the most part fit inside the tub so we trapped her under it and were able to get to her butt that way because she was a tight fit in the tub. Also her wounds are surface wounds and don’t appear infected. They actually look pretty good. So hers just got sprayed.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Good job!


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## JillZaHulk (Oct 7, 2019)

Thank you everyone for your help and suggestions. You've all been so supportive and helpful.


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

JillZaHulk said:


> So today, the gooey gross ear owie looked WAY better. No puss or discoloration at all. Soooo much better after just one day. Still continuing cleaning and meds and penicillin. They did get low dose chewable aspirin.
> 
> As for capture method lol the leg holding... that must take a lot of practice because it was a hilarious disaster. Similar to the box ideas we used a large rectangular Rubbermaid tub. With the larger pig, she was more about the food so we held the tub up on its end with some cracked corn in it. She went IN face first and Pretty much let us give her a shot in the butt and clean her ears with minimal touching. The smaller pig could care less about food. But she for the most part fit inside the tub so we trapped her under it and were able to get to her butt that way because she was a tight fit in the tub. Also her wounds are surface wounds and don't appear infected. They actually look pretty good. So hers just got sprayed.


Yay! And i TOLD you HOLD ON TIGHT! :heehee:. But great job.


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## JillZaHulk (Oct 7, 2019)

Sfgwife said:


> Yay! And i TOLD you HOLD ON TIGHT! :heehee:. But great job.


Lol we did... Well we tried. Their legs are so straight and hard to hang onto :'D


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## JillZaHulk (Oct 7, 2019)

After all this, I am totally fine with them doing the pig thing. We'll do the goat thing. And we'll just visit and help out when needed lol I couldn't do pigs on a daily basis. They’re cute and they were really sweet as long as we weren’t trying to mess with them but holy cow as soon as they knew something was up...


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

:goodjob:


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Yep, pigs sure holler no matter what you do to them! 

A long time ago we had a few pigs raised for meat. When we castrated them as little guys, they did the pig thing and squealed loud enough to burst ear drums. (That was because I grabbed the back feet. Hadn't even begun to castrate!) 

The fellow helping me, recorded the squeal! He used that as his answering machine announcement! Long squeal, then, "I can't talk, I'm castrating pigs, leave a message"! He was a dairy farmer, so everyone got a big kick out of that. (Answering machines were new, so any message was a novelty!)


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

:haha::nod:


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

Hm, even their legs are fusiform ... :shrug:

That squeal is, I think, because a small piglet IS in real danger, if Mom lies down on it. Squeal, and your lift might be saved ...

But, if it was recorded, I guess it is possible to hear a difference in tone, when the fright from being held is combined with sheer pain. At least I think I can hear such a difference.


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## NigerianNewbie (Jun 6, 2018)

Trollmor said:


> Hm, even their legs are fusiform ... :shrug:
> 
> That squeal is, I think, because a small piglet IS in real danger, if Mom lies down on it. Squeal, and your lift might be saved ...
> 
> But, if it was recorded, I guess it is possible to hear a difference in tone, when the fright from being held is combined with sheer pain. At least I think I can hear such a difference.


In the late 80's, helped a pig farmer. The difference in the squeals; alarm was extremely high pitch and shrill, anger was edged with a low growl, pain was edged with guttural sounds. Plain grunts meant happy pig doing something enjoyable. Like the grunts best of all.


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

NigerianNewbie said:


> In the late 80's, helped a pig farmer. The difference in the squeals; alarm was extremely high pitch and shrill, anger was edged with a low growl, pain was edged with guttural sounds. Plain grunts meant happy pig doing something enjoyable. Like the grunts best of all.


Haha, so do I!  Pretty good observation ability, @NigerianNewbie!


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