Pigs in the Parlor
(Page 4 of 4)
Bottle feeding does make it more difficult to add
pellets to the babies' diet. Therefore, it's best to get
the group out of the house and into the orphanage as
quickly as possible, so you can begin to feed them from a
shallow, nonmetal tray or trough. (Sour grain and milk can
become toxic if served in metal containers, and could
slowly poison your pigs.) Put milk or suckle in the trough
and add a few pellets. At first the piglets will waste more
than they eat, and you might have to combine trough and
bottle feeding for a while. Gradually, though, you'll be
able to wean them from the bottle. While doing so, keep the
self-feeder full at all times, and always provide plenty of
fresh water.
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Your most serious problems—when dealing
with orphaned litters-will likely be waste and dirt. Keep
both pigs and equipment clean, and never allow the food to
go sour . .. even if you have to dump some uneaten gruel on
the compost pile occasionally.
And remember that wherever
you house the pigs and no matter how many there are,
they'll need exercise. Prepare some "playground" space as
soon as the animals begin to eat solid food.
SAFE AND SECURE
One orphan is easy to care for indoors
for a couple of weeks without the bother of the box system
that I use for a whole litter. It's simpler, I've found,
just to keep the floor clean in a blockedoff area.
Furthermore, a single pig can be trained like a puppy . . .
by leaving a few thicknesses of newspaper in a specific
spot.
A lone infant will want a security blanket . . . pigs
like to cuddle and be wrapped up. Mine often make do with
an old coat. In fact, Ozzie—our little
Duroc—used to pack herself into her "blanket" sleeve
every night, looking like a sausage with two eyes and a
squeal.
You must also be sure to protect the tykes from
dogs . . . because even a usually gentle mutt will
sometimes go after the little strangers. And keep in mind
that a pig from a litter that's never been handled will be
a bit wild. It might be half-starved, but it can probably
still run like a deer and hide like a professional. Should
such a piglet get away, you may never catch it.
Finally,
don't be discouraged if you don't save every single runt or
orphan you adopt. After all, without your help none of them
would have survived. Mothering is always a bit of trouble,
but the rewards—in terms of inexpensive pork and
plain old self-satisfaction—are well worth the
effort.
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