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Pneumonia takes Piglet.

One of the piglets has died. The little one. He had pneumonia. Pigs show no signs of pneumonia until they are far advanced. No coughing or runny nose. Not even a hot nose actually. Just a creeping lethargy I suppose. Lack of appetite and then eventually no appetite at all.

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I noticed the night before yesterday that he was not eating, this triggered a memory of thinking he was often coming out late to eat. Sleeping more than the others.  He was standing alone with his head and ears down.  I took him aside and his coat was dull, his head heavy. I offered him water and he would not even duck his head in so I started feeding him water and molasses with a stock syringe every half hour until we could get in to see the vet, which unfortunately was not until the late afternoon.

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Pneumonia takes them very fast. The vet gave him antibiotics and wormed him but it was too late.  He died quietly late last night. I hope you are not beginning to hate being in the Fellowship  – we are having a hard year.

The pneumonia was exacerbated by a parasite that we have not seen before here and that cannot be handled by organic wormers like VermX which is the one I use.  This parasite is collected from the soil and should not be here, we are a closed shop and this land has not had pigs on it since the 20’s. But moving them onto the pasture actually caused the problem. Like almost all parasites it is species specific and  does not affect other animals, only pigs. All the other piglets have been wormed against it now so they can stay outside. So much learning to do as we feel our way through this mire of threats.

But now I know the signs of swine pneumonia.  This particular problem will not get the better of me next time.  I wish I had known these signs before. But frankly I am not feeling like much of a farmer at the moment. At the moment I want to be Our John and just grow the tomatoes.

But there you are. I am at a loss. Poor wee fella. There is a biblical quote about all Gods creatures, I can’t remember it at the moment. I have to admit I am not part of any organised or disorganised religion but each little creature has his place. Some lives are short and some long. Number Seven’s life was short and taught me an important lesson. But once again the cost is too high.

I have increased the amount of apple cider vinegar that goes in everyone’s water. And the pigs will be shifted to a new hopefully clean pasture.  And I will clean and lime their quarters again, though they are already clean and dry.  We have to go up a gear on the parasite watch. I probably need to increase the barn flock too, they spread the manure and peck and scratch through the pens, keeping things clean, maybe some of those older chickens who have stopped laying can join the barn flock.

I am determined to learn or teach myself all the things that a regular farm wife knew in the 20’s. But they knew so much instinctively. She learned all these things as a child and young woman from her own people.  I have to find other ways to learn all this. Plus I guess she worked as part of a team, and I am working alone.  I need to sharpen my eyes.

On another subject I have worked out a deal with the local feed mill and have ordered half a ton of feed mixed just how I want it, without any pig by-product additives. It is shockingly cheaper than buying it a bag at a time, but I need to pick up today.  I was hoping that Our John would not have to work today (Saturday) though he has worked 6 days a week all summer so why I thought that he could help me I do not know. I was hoping he could drag the trailer over to this town, an hour away, and help me pick this feed up. But he is working.

But that is OK. ( Although I want to spit and stamp my feet and chomp down on my teeth.) I am going to call the guy  at the feed store this morning and ask if they can break the pallet and I can pick it up in two trips with the little white truck.  One day I promise I will learn how to drive pulling a trailer and reversing it and all those things. But not today. Today I am tired. This is such a tiny problem, but I had so much else to do today..

Good morning, the sun is almost up. Time to climb onto the tractor and drive out into the sweetcorn and collect the animals breakfast.  I always feel better after feeding out in the morning.

Oh and the little chicks are growing fast, they are doing very well. Soon I will shift them into bigger quarters.

Now you all have a lovely day. For me. I promise I will look for loveliness today too  – after all I am surrounded in it.

your friend, celi

 

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89 responses to “Pneumonia takes Piglet.”

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  1. Don’t be disheartened, you are doing really well and learning everything the hard way. Loss is part of farm life and part of life. Trying to do things alone means that it’s tougher. Don’t blame yourself. As you say, next time you will know more. Breaking a big load into two is a good strategy. Do the same with the emotional load. Just take a small piece at a time. The old time farmers no doubt knew how to factor in loss.

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  2. The glass is more than half full, Celi: remember that! . . . and ‘equus’ has summarized things pretty well, just missing all the time you put into us . . . the biggest hug hoping you have had a better day with Big John at home . . .

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  3. “I am determined to learn or teach myself all the things that a regular farm wife knew in the 20′s.” You’re halfway there, at least! 🙂 So sad about the piglet, but, as you know already, it’s just part of the deal.

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  5. I thought the same thing as Equus (but WordPress wouldn’t allow me to reply to that thread), and though many of them do a fair job at non verbal communication, they cannot speak, other than John. It’s a great responsibility, one you carry out with full transparency to your wider audience. Sometimes no matter the best you do, things go awry, and you go on, sadder, disappointed and wiser.
    Today when we went for a walk there was a pig at the market, for the kids to pat. The pig was enthusiastically participating, the kids not so much – ewww, yuck, it’s pooey…. but I couldn’t resist, and we had a few joyous minutes of muddy nose hand interaction, and it was a lovely link to the Farmy 🙂

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  10. Dear Cecilia,
    I’ve just recently found your wonderful blog and had to tell you how sorry I am to hear of your loss. You clearly care a great deal for all of the creatures, both great and small, that depend on you and for that, I respect and admire you very much. I’ve been reading all of your archives and am inspired by your humility, grace and fortitude. I wish I lived near you so that I could lend a helping hand and lighten your load. My dad grew up on a farm in Michigan and although he passed a bit of knowledge down to me, he admitted that his mom was the real keeper of the flame. Sadly, grandma passed away before I was born and my dearest dad has passed on too, but someday I’ll have hens and “farmy” just like them. And you. Thank you for everything you do.
    With warm regards,
    Carolyn

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    • Carolyn what a wonderful message. You are so right that we learn so much from our elders, if only we knew to listen and learn when we were young. I do hope you get to have your chooks and your farmy, it is such a simple good life, one I can see myself in for years and years.. what a lovely thing of your dad to say that his mum was the keeper of the flame, those women worked so hard.. and they did not have a fellowship of blog friends such as yourself to keep them going! take good care and pop in again.. you are very welcome.. c

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  11. Very late commenting – have been trying to catch up after a few days away from the computer. So sorry to hear about your little piglet. I was devastated when two of our calves died when they had ticks that we missed and the cow that died in calf whilst we had a family emergency. Even when a chookie or a budgie dies, its still hard to take. We can only do our best and give our animals the best chances whilst they are in our care and no one cares for their animals more than you do. Meanwhile I am on the occasional Baby watch and hope those piglets arrive soon. I saw Baby and the new dog scampering along together the other night – what a scream. I was in fits of laughter 🙂 Joy

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  13. Aw, Miss C! My heart breaks for you. The law of the farm/ranch/the land. It is a hard one and one often fraught with emotional concerns. You truly are learning and doing the only way that we all have learned. I have had to console myself that some lives are just short. Then I have to set about seeing what it was I needed to see, but missed. Then I watch ever more carefully and will sometimes fail. This may sound dumb but I send a little prayer to follow the life of my animal friend that lets them know I appreciated their gift of being with me…I do this even if the animal is going to butcher or dies suddenly or dies slowly (and I’ve tried everything to help it). As you know living on the land is really living with the land…and sometimes it is just plain hard.

    Hugs,
    Linda
    http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
    http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com

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