Since I dumped my facebook I don’t have access to the wonderful AGH group anymore, I need some advice in case there are any AGH or pig people out there. (Thank you Kelli for your advice, and I still am not sure I should try and go in yet to see if there are any piglets stuck, because she is not straining.)
Before I left this morning Lucy was making her nest so I knew she was close to having her piglets. When I got home from picking up N from camp, Lucy had already had three piglets and they looked like they never did breathe, but there was one alive. The little piglet is doing well, but mama Lucy is not. It seems that she would have more piglets inside, as four is not very many, but she does not really seem to be straining, but she is breathing extremely fast and has been for several hours. I can’t get her up at all and tried everything to get her up. She can move and every once in a while she must get up because she has laid back down on the other side. I got her to drink a bit of water with black strap molasses in it, and she ate a bit of a peach that I cut up for her, but then spit some out. (Pig people will understand how unusual that is that she won’t eat.)
I appreciate any advice and I sure am nervous about that one piglet for tonight as it does get cold, especially since Lucy lost all her piglets this winter.
and as an aside, Annabelle is heartbroken, but I relieved her of 2 gallons of colostrum and she is eating, and I got the calf out of the meadow so she no longer has to stand over it and mourn.
grassfood. 
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Well, throughout the night she had passed a total of 9 piglets, some completely encased in their sack. I don’t know why this keeps happening with her, so we won’t breed her again. Anyway, the little male piglet is doing well and mama had some nice breakfast and colostrum at 6 this morning and her breathing is all back to normal.
Two more dead piglets and some pretty bad looking afterbirth. She is still breathing pretty heavily. Piglet doing well.
Wow, you are having a tough time! I don’t know what to tell you about Lucy. Is it really hot there? Is the little piglet showing signs of nursing at all? If not, If you want to save her you may have to go to bottle feeding for now. You could put her back after Lucy seems better. You do have some colostrum from your cow, maybe that would work for the piglet.
Sometimes farming is very, very, hard. It only takes one cute little survivor to make things seem brighter.
Kris Bledsoe Upper Island Farm
“…when the last individual of a race of living things breathes no more, another Heaven and another Earth must pass before such a one can be again.” – William Beebe
Dear Kris, thank you. I guess at this point it is just comforting to hear a friendly voice of expertise which I certainly do not have. The porky piglet is nursing very well and constantly on all teats, so that is good. It is not hot here, about 70, but it gets into the low 40’s at night which is why I am concerned of the little piglet getting crushed since she can’t cuddle with any siblings. I finally got the heat lamp working though and I think all is well as can be expected. I panicked because I just could not get her up. Finally N helped me and picked up her baby, who squealed bloody murder and that got mom up! She stood for about 10 min and drank some colostrum (thank you Annabelle) and ate some of her favorite, chicken feed. Her breathing is still abnormal and labored, but not as bad. Hopefully all will go well and thanks for being a sounding board. I hope you are doing well. 🙂