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piglet help

6K views 62 replies 18 participants last post by  Tanya 
#1 ·
My brother went hog hunting and brought home a piglet...
So now i guess Im stuck with it now. I'm not sure how i feel about that. Im not a fan of pigs, but i feel bad for the little guy.
He is VERY tiny. Umbilical cord is still attached, but dry and has been bitten off pretty low. I would say a day or 2 old, maybe 3 but i know NOTHING about pigs. ill post a pic.
Should i put iodine on his cord even though its dry?
Getting him to eat hasn't been fun, but am getting him to swallow a little. I'm feeding goat milk by the way. He hasn't gotten much.
I've tried feeding him 2x, and we've had him for about 3-4 hours. I read they need fed about every 3-4 hours, so I'm trying to stay on that schedule.
Right now he is in a little cat crate buried and snuggled in towels right next to me. Hes staying warm, and is squealy, and likes to explore my room. I think he is pretty healthy.
He's a wild pig, so i wiped him down with a warm soapy rag because i dont want whatever he may have.
He has peed, but i havent looked for poop in his crate.
Ok so questions:

How much milk should he be getting at each feeding?
Read that the milk needs to be at 90 degrees. Just confirming that is correct.
Should he be getting dewormed, or anything? Any medications at all?
If you have ever bottle fed piglets, what is the best way you get them to take a bottle? I am using a screw on yellow and red nipple. I think its called a Pritchard but i forgot lol.
Probably a very stupid question: baby goats dont drink water until about 2 weeks. Is it the same for piglets? Or does he need water free choice?

If i think of anything else, ill share :)
Thanks!
 
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#2 ·
Flooring Dog breed Carnivore Floor Felidae
Dog Dog breed Carnivore Fawn Companion dog

next to a Pepsi can for reference. Teeny tiny. Maybe 2 pounds, but I haven't weighed him. a lot of people reccomend stuffed animals, so I'll find one for him :)
Maybe a sock, stuffed with more socks?
 
#3 ·
View attachment 194743 View attachment 194745
next to a Pepsi can for reference. Teeny tiny. Maybe 2 pounds, but I haven't weighed him. a lot of people reccomend stuffed animals, so I'll find one for him :)
Maybe a sock, stuffed with more socks?
Uhm. Piglets are akin to baby rabbit as far as keeping them alive without mamas. Being this is a wild pig.... you absolutely need to call your wildlife game warden and ask if you can even keep this thing. The squealing is coming from it being alone and cold and hungry. You have to keep piglets warm like baby goats. They will die fast. No that temp is not warm enough for a bottle. Since you have never had a piglet before i would ask the game warden about a rehab place where this pigLet can grow up and be a wild pig. Sorry. I know none of this is what you want to hear. But trying to raise pigLets with no experience usually equals a dead piglet. That milk is not rich enough for the piglet either.
 
#4 ·
Scent association with feral neonatal mammals is important. Something to snuggle against that carries the scent of the person feeding him will help with a trust bond.
The trust bond is important for successful feeding sessions with wild critters. He will need a heat lamp to help regulate body temperature as well.

It's been many years since I've reared piglets, so please bear with ancient advice. Those Playtex baby bottles and short Playtex nipples and plastic baggies, if these products are still produced, worked very well. Sows have short fat nipples, so something along those lines.

Use the same feel the tummy, full, but not tight method.

Piglets will let you know when they are hungry. If they want milk sooner than a couple of hours between feedings, give a little more next feed and see if that amount filled them for a longer period. They grow rapidly so needing to increase the amount of milk every 4-5 days is to be expected.

Good luck with the little guy. Maybe you could find a wild animal rehab center for him.
 
#5 ·
#6 ·
@Sfgwife i had no idea they were so hard to care for! My neighbor has raised multiple wild piglets!
I will call game warden in the morning if that's the right thing to do!
How hot does the milk need to be if 90 is too cold?
I did get him to eat and now he is cuddling with me keeping warm :)
He has a heating pad as well :) I can go grab a heat lamp
He only squeals when I try shoving a bottle in his mouth
He also peed again, no poo though. Should I be worried?
 
#11 · (Edited)
@Sfgwife i had no idea they were so hard to care for! My neighbor has raised multiple wild piglets!
I will call game warden in the morning if that's the right thing to do!
How hot does the milk need to be if 90 is too cold?
I did get him to eat and now he is cuddling with me keeping warm :)
He has a heating pad as well :) I can go grab a heat lamp
He only squeals when I try shoving a bottle in his mouth
He also peed again, no poo though. Should I be worried?
First... i hope i did not sound snippy before! I SO did not mean to. I was in the middle of chores and dinner and was tryin get it done quick for you. And yea sorry piglets are hard to do. ;/. My dad did production pigs and occasionally he would let me bring a sickie in the house.... most often it did not end well. They are just hard to keep alive and thriving.

Now. Warm the bottles like you would for a baby goatlet.... a bit warmer than an infant bottle. For poop.... you may need stimulate him like you do goatlets too. Just because he is stressed and different food. Plus not eating like norm you may not see much for a few feeds since he is not taking much milk. For a night the goat milk will be ok. But not longer as far as the richness of it. If you have some heavy whipping cream add a lil bit to the goat milk... or add some from your goat milk cream from another container if it has risen to the top. I know this was not the case so much with my Gracie.. she didnt gift much top cream.

Also... it the bottle is causing more stress try a bowl. Just a few tbsp of milk. Dip the snoot in it quick. And see if it makes it easier for it to drink. The pritchard might be too thin and long for him. So just watch that he is not choking. A lamb nipple is about the right width but too long. Breastfeeding bottle nipples are gd sized for them but the wrong shape. But the thickness of them and length is good. So that might work. A pig teat is about the thickness of your pinky or ring finger and a tad longer than to the first joint in one of those fingers from the tip of your finger.

The temp should stay steady at 101-102 like for a goatlet. You might could add some straw in the box ad put the heating pad under him. They like to burrow when cold. That way the pad is not up against his skin... it can get too hot that way. And he also needs a place to be able to get away from the heat if needed.
 
#12 ·
Just something to consider: wild hogs carry Brucellosis. I don't know how prevalent that is in wild hog populations nationwide, but I know it is a concern. Here in Missouri, we've been a Brucellosis free state for many years. Now, with wild hogs running rampant in many parts of the state, I think it's only a matter of time before we will have to begin testing our domestic livestock for Brucellosis again. I, personally, would not want a wild hog on my farm. There may be other diseases carried by wild hogs that may be passed on to domestic livestock, too. I don't know a lot about hog diseases.
The piglet is a cutie, though, and good luck to you if you decide to keep it.
 
#14 ·
He just got done roaming around my room and fighting milk. Took a lil out of the bowl, but ill try again before i go to bed.
Now he is on a heating pad which is under a towel and snuggled between 2 stuffed animals.

Thank you sfgwife for the help! I didnt take your original post any wrong way :)
he's doing well it seems. Lots of sleeping, rooting at the carpet, pushing tennis balls around, and fighting the milk haha!
We went grocery shopping today, not sure if we have whipping cream. Ill check.
Thank yall so much for the help! I would love to keep the little guy, but i know he will do a lot better under professional hands lol.
 
#16 ·
Momma got shot, and most of his brothers and sisters were torn up by hog dogs. :( My brother grabbed 4 and I got one his friend got one, and some other guys took the other 2.

I called the game warden and they said they will see what they can do and haven’t called back. This was a little over an hour ago...
 
#23 ·
Momma got shot, and most of his brothers and sisters were torn up by hog dogs. :( My brother grabbed 4 and I got one his friend got one, and some other guys took the other 2.

I called the game warden and they said they will see what they can do and haven't called back. This was a little over an hour ago...
[emoji20] why the hog hunting?
 
#18 ·
Sherriff just came to the house, said they don't want him because he is an invasive species. So we are stuck with him...

So, if the milk isnt rich enough for him is there anything i can add? maybe add a bit of replacer? Can the whipping cream thing be long term? Maybe even butter?
The goat milk I am giving him is frozen from a few months ago, so I don't have any fresh cream.

Approximately how old do you think he is? I wouldn't guess beyond a few days.

He just got done walking around, and is back to sleep. His next feeding is at 11:00, or whenever he gets hungry again.
 
#20 ·
Up here they're killed baby or not because wild pigs do so much damage to farmers/ranchers land and animals.
I know same here. I'm not sure what we will do with him when he gets big. Possibly neuter him and just let him go... The neighbor has kept a bunch of wild pigs, so he may want it.
 
#31 · (Edited)
Just curious, what breed and/or crosses of dog are used for hunting hogs? A Boxer was originally developed using a cross between Bull Dog and Mastiff just for hunting boar. They deliberately use their paws to grab the legs of the quarry to fell them, and then hold tight at the neck area with jaw power surpassing a Pit Bull until the gunners dispatch the prey. The Boxer fell out of favor as a hog hunter.
 
#36 ·
Just curious, what breed and/or crosses of dog are used for hunting hogs?
All types. A bunch of pointer breeds, pit bull, lots of terriers of all types. A few vizslas (my favorite doggos). Mostly just high strung mutts lol

Last night he was restless. Lots of playing and running around. I had to leave the room and sleep on the couch haha.
He is eating very well.

i am thinking about offering oatmeal today. We'll see if he takes it!
 
#35 ·
Oh man the two things that bother us ranchers in texas are wild hogs and wild dogs. Both will kill any small or defenseless animal and will DESTROY acres of land in one night!! People are payed by the state to hunt and kill them. My great uncle was kinda famous in the community for living off the land and hunting hogs. He lived in the middle of the woods in a tiny shack. And after his wife died no one saw him for 6 months because he just disappeared in the woods. He just died a few months ago. Anyway to get to the point: HOGS ARE BAD!!!
 
#46 ·
not yet! I dont want to get too attached to him!
Have you decided on keeping him? He's really cute!
Actually, I may have found a lady who wants him, but she hasn't made up her mind yet. She used to be a vet tech, but now grooms dogs and takes in all types of wild animals. Squirrels, skunks, raccoons, she even took in monkey once!
Is it similar to deer at all in the fact that you mostly should/have to hunt males instead of females?

My question was as to why the female was killed.
I don't know, my brother didn't kill it. Usually, people see a hog and just kill it. Maybe they didnt know she had babies on her, but at the same time, we have a lot. Way too many to be honest.
It really is kinda sad, but it has to be done. The state literally pays 7$ per hog tail. Just take the tail to your courthouse, and they pay up lol.

Use small amount of baby cereal (rice) and mix with the milk. It needs to be really soupy (watery) so it can be lapped up. Then in a couple of days, just a tad more baby cereal till it is like runny gravy. Hold off on a more solid food for a few weeks, their digestive isn't developed enough to process much more than milk liquids yet.
He didn't take the oatmeal anyways, so in the morning I will run to the store and get baby cereal and cod liver oil (for iron, in a previous link)

No increases on feed intake, but the neighbors kids came over today and pet him. He liked the attention :)
 
#40 ·
I think the trouble is that they are an invasive species, so there aren't any regulations in place to keep the populations in tact. If their populations are decimated by hunting that would actually be a good thing. Sad that it has to be done in such a brutal way, but C'est la vie.
 
#49 ·
I think it was European settlers that brought them over as “domestic” pigs and since back then everything was kinda free range they got away and did their thing. I’m sure some of our normal domestic pigs did play a part in it all as well. Years ago one got in with a sow we planned to butcher and other then having the black with a white belt those dang things looked 100% wild. But anyways I have also heard that some were brought over for hunting purposes and those also have escaped over the years. Totally true I do not know for a fact
 
#50 ·
Wow, what a story. We've raised pigs for meat and love it. If you consider keeping it for meat- I would give it a whirl if you are able- like goats, they don't like to be alone. In a few weeks you could find a little feeder (around here nobody would sell them until at least 8 weeks) as a friend. We slaughter most pastured heritage breeds around 9-10 months but you could fill your freezer anytime you are ready or if it gets aggressive. Is it male or female?

You may be able to rehome it to someone raising pigs, too.
 
#51 ·
He is extremely cute (as are all babies) but, please be careful and recognize that this isn't a domestic animal...WILD HOGS HAVE ACTUALLY KILLED PEOPLE!!!

The most recent account that comes to mind happened in November 2019. A lady was a care-giver for an elderly couple...she was walking from her car to her clients door when she was attacked and killed by a wild hog "herd" just a few feet from the front door of her clients home in Anahuac, TX...so horrific and very, very sad.
 
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