bottle babie pigs

[Kenz]

I was just wondering, has anybody had experience/success raising bottle babie pigs? We had three once. Two died and one made it, but she died when she was about one yr. :cry2: :cry2: She was so sweet. Wish I can do it over again knowing what i know.
I've only talked to one other person who had one, and it died also.
I don't really know, but seem's to me they're pretty hard to get past the early stage.

 

[angie1]

Sure I've raised baby bottle pigs!! Cute enough to kiss, they are :nod:
Lost one, but I got it from the neighbor and he waited till it was too far gone for me to help.
What are you feeding them? What happened?
Were they healthy when they came to you?
How old?

 

[Kenz]

The one that died (Ginger) when she was older died from a prolapse. It was in the family. That's how her mom died and two sibs. I miss her :cry2:
One was the runt and I just don't know. We found him dead one morning. He was so small his backbone was even with the underline of Ginger.
I don't really know what happened with otherone either. He kept gettin beat up by Ginger but screamed bloody murder when they were separated. He lost the use of his back legs... they just shut down and stopped working. It was really sad, he would scoot around on his front legs sliding on his butt. I think the leg thing was in the family too, because as Ginger got older, she walked with really stiff legs.

I don't remember how old they were, as it was a long time ago and i was pretty young. We fed them all-types-of-livestock formula and I don't remember what else or what kind of pellet-feed.

 

[angie1]

OK ~ well, the point i was making is that it is for sure do-able.
Start with one that is healthy.
We used to get runts. A couple of them were kept in a cardboard box in the kicthen in sawdust until they had their feet under them (coincides with their ability to bust out of box! :nod: ). Fed them goats milk with a goat nipple on a beer bottle. Can feed goat milk replacer as well. They get fat and sassy. Most can be in the barn with access to a heat lamp. I would not encourage keeping in the house unless they are very fragile.
If you have questions ~ ask, I will try to answer.

 

[Kenz]

I don't really have any specific questions, just wondering. But thanks!
As for the one that was in the house, he did get really sick and then we moved him to the basement to keep an eye on him. :nod:
Thanks for the responses

 

[katscars]

we raise our pigglets on calf formula. They are kept out door with access to shade and shelter. We buy a all in one vaccine wich we give them as soon as they arrive at our place. also we make sure they have access to grass and greenary to start rooting around. Hope you have better luck next time

 

[Katie]

I raised a potbelly pig on a bottle with calf replacer milk and mixed baby rice cereal and karo syrup in it. Worked like a charm. I thought I would never get her off the bottle though lol.

 

[FarmGirl10]

I had luck with it the one time i tried it. One of the sows had 18 piglets and the little runt kept getting pushed back, so my dad gave it to me (i was like 7). It turned into a pet....until it bit me on the nose. :shock: By then it was big enough to go back in with the rest. Being bit is now funny, but at the time it wasn't. :lol:

 

[farm princess]

I raised one, who was the runt of her liter. Momma had 16 pigs and she was small and almost certain to die. I had brought others to the house, when they needed it but they generally died, so my house became known as the "house of death". So when I brought "Weenie" over, I just thought she would live a few days to a few weeks at the most. She was fed out of a pan instead of a bottle (easier to get them off of, and she didn't like the bottle). She had milk replacer at first then after a small bit of research, I found that giving them kayro syrup (it gives them extra energy) would help them. Then she was started on food. She hated the pellets, so she was given a mixture of that and grapes with the skins peeled off. As she grew she started on the dog food and anything else she could eat. Kids loved it cause when they didn't want something, they knew to give it to her and she would get rid of the stuff, no matter what it was!! She started living outside when she got big enough, but then was all of a sudden anti men and especially the ones who wore work boots!! :shock: She would take a man down in a heartbeat if they had them on!! It was so funny!! Especially since the men all thought they could take her on!! Boy was they wrong!! The kids on the other hand could ride on her and she was very gentle with them unless they sat too far up on her back, then she would give them a heck of a ride!! She finally got moved to the pen with the other girls and done great.
My husband won't let me take anymore of them runts in the house, since she made it!! And now that we are taking care of his Grandma she says I can't bring them in either!!

;-)

 

[wablacktoplady]

I have a small farrowing operation here in washington state and raise them on calf milk several times a year. If I don't have time I get them well started then find someone who wants them and sell them. I am not fond of sawdust for the pigs. They can inhale it like older pigs do if they have a lot of dust in their pens sometimes and can cause dust pneumonia. I keep mine in the house in a box with a light of some kind for extra warmth they like 80-90degrees. I use old towels under them until I feel they can go out at about 3 weeks. I put them in a small penright outside the back door with a heat lamp in a dog house, water bowl and some kind of ground feed and start them on a routine feeding schedule only in the daytime instead of free feeding in the house. When they are with the moms they have begun to eat feed at around 2-3 weeks and I wean at 5 weeks.