Getting the flock out of here - a diary of a crazy chicken man

[vehve]

Good that she's producing milk. I hope she continues delivery soon, of course it's also possible she only had three piglets in there. What breed(s) is she? The more production oriented breeds can be a bit lazy at giving birth, oxytocin would induce labor again. I'm told that if nothing happens for 2-3 hours you should consider feeling around in there to check for more piglets.

 

[ozexpat]

I really appreciate the advice. keep it coming. i am hesitant to go in. she is a big girl that could snap am arm with a twist of her hips. I also wear size 10 surgical gloves and would do damage. at this stage I a more concerned with mama than retrieving piglets. Bernie has small hands but the language barrier may be too difficult and Mrs Oz is in Bacolod.

she is a landrace. her sister delivered 11 with 10 alive. her other sister had 8 delivered.

it could be that she only had 3 but the placenta is a no show.

if she has not delivered the placenta by morning I will give her a pitocin drip IV.

 

[ozexpat]

I have a scalpel and a soldering iron but only silk suture and no real anesthesia save 10mg midazolam and 100mcg of fentanyl.

I would have done a c section of she did not stop bleeding and was going to die but not now.

to do an internal exam I still may need the midazolam

 

[vehve]

The problem is that if you don't get the piglets out of there, the risk of infection goes up significantly. Here are some instructions for getting in there:

-Immobilize the pig to minimize the risk of damage to both you and the pig. You need to have something pretty sturdy to tie her to.
-Wash your hands properly, and the surrounding area. If you've got shoulder long gloves, those might be nice, but if not, don't worry about it. In any case, cleanliness and lubrication are important. If you don't have lube, cooking oil might work, but it's not recommended. Again, risk of infection. And don't go easy on the lube, you'll want your arm nice and slippery.
-When going in, keep your fingers together to form a pointy sort of shape, not a fist or spread fingers, it will be easier to get in there. You should run out of arm before you run out of uterus.

*Edit* Oh, by surrounding area I meant on the pig, not the ground, but you probably got that.

 

[ozexpat]

I have been up to my shoulder in a cow but not a pig.

she is covered with a chlorquinalone antibiotic and will get oxytetracycline if I start an iv.

I will give her eight hours from her last piglet. to expel the products of conception on her own.

I used all my oxytocin earlier and I have more arriving at 645 with Mr feed delivery.

I remain nervous about inadvertently causing placentia abrubta from an internal and not having pitocin to clamp things down. we even tried the local hospital pharmacy where I bought the Ringers Lactate.

 

[ozexpat]

I have been up to my shoulder in a cow but not a pig.

she is covered with a chlorquinalone antibiotic and will get oxytetracycline if I start an iv.

I will give her eight hours from her last piglet. to expel the products of conception on her own.

I used all my oxytocin earlier and I have more arriving at 645 with Mr feed delivery.

I remain nervous about inadvertently causing placentia abrubta from an internal and not having pitocin to clamp things down. we even tried the local hospital pharmacy where I bought the Ringers Lactate.

 

[vehve]

Karin is wondering why you already have her on an antibiotic? She also says that there shouldn't be a risk of tearing out the placenta, the piglets should be free from them already, so when you feel a piggy, just pull it out.

 

[ocap]

my dog that died developed an infection (retained placenta), you could feel the fever by touching the bare part of her belly just in front of her hind legs. We could not keep up with feeding ten puppies every two hours so we gave them away. Oz, the BYC world is full of cheer leaders yelling "save the sow".

the nursing pigs are good for the sow, that should help cause the rest to be delivered if that is possible.

 

[ozexpat]

I gave an antibiotic as I was concerned about the stalled labor in a pig and increased chances of infection, tied with a bit of guilt of getting a bit our of my depth, tied with possibly over reacting following the loss of blood.

things have moved a touch.

she expelled two seta of membranes that look to be long time dead fetus sacks.

at least the "stuff" is heading in the right direction

 

[ozexpat]

now a fully developed dead piglet

I don't think anything short of a c section would have saved this guy and that was not an option.

the blood loss was too great to support the piglet(s) left.