Newbies

Question
Hi.  My wife just discovered two newborn piglets in the cage.  Both have been cleaned and are breathing.  One is actively nursing and moving around.  The other seems to be alive but not moving very well.  We have placed him under her to nurse but without much success, she keeps moving around.  My wife says that it looks as though one of his legs is shorter than the other front leg.  Maybe that is an issue.  Since we don't know exactly when they were born were not sure what to do.  They still have umbilicals attached.  

Also, my wife thought it would be a good idea to remove the male for a little while as he was keeping the mother from the newborn that wasn't moving much.  She put him in his playpen, which he has just JUMPED out of, it is about 8-10" tall and went over to the big cage.  Is it alright to let him back in?  

HELP!

Thanks

Steven Hirsch
snshirsch@cs.com
973 580-8048 (Cell)

Answer
Steven,

Hello and thanks for the question. I wanted to get back to you asap as I really think you have had a premature birth. GPs are self sufficient in mating, pregnancy and birthing live young. GPs are rare to the mammal world as they give birth to fully developed, fur-bearing, eyes open young with the ability to walk and run right from birth.

First of all I cannot stress taking these babies and their mother to a GP EXPERT vet immeadiately. There may be nothing they can do though so another route is as follows:

1) Get rid of those umbilical cords. Tie them 1/2 inch from the piglet's belly TIGHT with dental floss and cut above them. The rest will fall off in time. This needs to be done to prevent bleeding and infection.

2) Remove the father from the family until the babies are weened (4 weeks). He will not hurt them but may "annoy" them or the mother.

3) Feed mom some milk soaked bread 2x's per day while she nurses. This will help the babies nutrional needs. DO NOT feed the babies cow milk.

4) Make sure the bedding and food is fresh every day.

The little one may still not make it without help from you. You may have to bottle feed it. Watch it and see if it eats on it's own. There is a product called "Critical Care" that a vet would have. If that is not available a pellet "mash" can be used (search on yahoo.com on how to make a mash). Another tip that might help is giving the runt more time ALONE with it's mother. This may help in feeding. You should only do this for short periods of time though.

Good luck and prayers to you,
Ryan
PS: If you have more questions, please feel free to ask. If you found this info useful, please rate me.
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