PIG BIRTH HELP!!!!

Shes is about 120-130 lbs, she put most of her weight on during pregnancy. Idk if my arm would fit or not and I have no one here to help me until my dad gets off work late this evening, and my husband doesn't come home until this Saturday. I've got a friend I could call to help me check but I worry about hurting the pig, I have slim arms but I'm just not sure. I'm terribly afraid of losing my sow, she's my bestfriend around the homestead, she does everything with me
 
I feel like she's going to be fine. To reassure you, you could make a ramp up into your car and see if she'll climb in with a treat as a lure. Then you could bring her to your vet. If she was mine, I would just keep an eye on her. If she's friendly enough, you could keep an eye on her temperature too. And I read that you do not have to do anything to dry her up. Just also watch the udder area for signs of infection (hot, painful, swelling not going down in a few days).
 
Shes is about 120-130 lbs, she put most of her weight on during pregnancy. Idk if my arm would fit or not and I have no one here to help me until my dad gets off work late this evening, and my husband doesn't come home until this Saturday. I've got a friend I could call to help me check but I worry about hurting the pig, I have slim arms but I'm just not sure. I'm terribly afraid of losing my sow, she's my bestfriend around the homestead, she does everything with me
She's a fair sized pig...lol. I've seen both small and large potbelly pigs so its hard to judge what size she was. I would be more worried about you possibly getting hurt, especially if you don't have assistance and don't feel comfortable.

IF you have concerns, make an appointment with the vet at the earliest possible point that you have assistance. And anytime you visit a vet, observe what they do and ask questions so you can replicate any appropriate care in the future.

If you feel that she's be done, you can leave her and observe her. You should have a quality rectal animal thermometer. If the discharge from her vulva turns a bad color, smells bad or she developes a temperature...that mean she has infection and requires immediate care and most likely antibiotics. I haven't seen many sows with mastitus...but pot bellied pigs can be lower to the ground. As Mylied mentioned...it may be something to watch.
 
Another question...were the piglets alive or were they born dead? If they were dead they'd be in the sac...or they would still have the protective soft coating on their hooves? They may also be stained a yellowish color if the birth was difficult or prolonged.
 
I have no idea if theu were born bead or not, I found them dead at about 8:30 this morning. They weren't in a sac, and I don't remember seeing anything unusual about their hooves. Their bodies have been disposed of already. I checked her inside, I couldn't fit my whole hand in but I didn't feel anything and my hand came out clean. I've done it to horses growing up, I was just really worried about hurting her. I'm going to continue to monitor her, but so far she has been her normal self, nothing unusual.
 
I have no idea if theu were born bead or not, I found them dead at about 8:30 this morning. They weren't in a sac, and I don't remember seeing anything unusual about their hooves. Their bodies have been disposed of already. I checked her inside, I couldn't fit my whole hand in but I didn't feel anything and my hand came out clean. I've done it to horses growing up, I was just really worried about hurting her. I'm going to continue to monitor her, but so far she has been her normal self, nothing unusual.
I apologize for not replying sooner. I just got home. This is for you just for you in case you have more piglets, Here is a pic of the hooves of a newborn piglet that would have been born dead or died prior to walking. You can see the protective coating on the hooves to protect the mother through the birth.

pig-12 (2)shopped.jpg


The reason I was asking if the piglets were born alive or dead can give a key to what was might have been going on. Dystocia during birth will usually result in meconium staining. That means there was some type of stress during the birthing and the piglet's meconium was passed while it was still in the birth canal. That means the piglet, the placenta and/or the birthing fluids could be stained a yellowish color. That's "usually" a sign that things aren't right. A clean dead piglet could just mean a dead piglet. Or it could mean birthing didn't progress normally. It's clues to what may have happened and what might be happening.

I'm glad that she appears normal. Hopefully everything's fine if you didn't feel anything. When a birth progresses normally, usually all the signs exhibited by the birthing female are normal as well. BUT, if there have been issues a female may not present normal signs...or even distress. They may act somewhat normal. It's called uterine inertia. There can be a partial or total absence of contractions. We've experienced it from time to time within our range of livestock. I don't want to cause concern or scare you. I simply want you to be aware. :)
 
I apologize for not replying sooner. I just got home. This is for you just for you in case you have more piglets, Here is a pic of the hooves of a newborn piglet that would have been born dead or died prior to walking. You can see the protective coating on the hooves to protect the mother through the birth.

View attachment 1209726

The reason I was asking if the piglets were born alive or dead can give a key to what was might have been going on. Dystocia during birth will usually result in meconium staining. That means there was some type of stress during the birthing and the piglet's meconium was passed while it was still in the birth canal. That means the piglet, the placenta and/or the birthing fluids could be stained a yellowish color. That's "usually" a sign that things aren't right. A clean dead piglet could just mean a dead piglet. Or it could mean birthing didn't progress normally. It's clues to what may have happened and what might be happening.

I'm glad that she appears normal. Hopefully everything's fine if you didn't feel anything. When a birth progresses normally, usually all the signs exhibited by the birthing female are normal as well. BUT, if there have been issues a female may not present normal signs...or even distress. They may act somewhat normal. It's called uterine inertia. There can be a partial or total absence of contractions. We've experienced it from time to time within our range of livestock. I don't want to cause concern or scare you. I simply want you to be aware. :)
This is great information to have in the future, thank you! I'm fairly sure their hooves didn't look like that, but I'm not 100%. I do remember one was clean and pink, and the other was an odd color, stained looking. This may be what happened. She is still doing good this morning, no apparant signs of something wrong and no fever. I will continue to monitor her the next few days to be sure. Thank you all for support and advice, it helped me so much yesterday
 
This is great information to have in the future, thank you! I'm fairly sure their hooves didn't look like that, but I'm not 100%. I do remember one was clean and pink, and the other was an odd color, stained looking. This may be what happened. She is still doing good this morning, no apparant signs of something wrong and no fever. I will continue to monitor her the next few days to be sure. Thank you all for support and advice, it helped me so much yesterday
This information goes for sheep, goats, and cattle too. But pigs are the ones that keep a person guessing as to how many piglets there are coming...lol.
It sounds like you are doing a good job. :thumbsup She sounds like a lovely pig. :love
That'll make it much easier to keep a good eye on her. :clap
 
Lol Thats good to know because I have goats as well, and planning on our first kid next June :) she's a great girl, had her since she was 6-7 weeks old. Couldn't have asked for a better piggie
 

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