bleeding from rectum

Question
My 10 or so year old female pig-adopted from good home-
about 6 years ago- I think she is spayed because I know what an unspayed female behaves like monthly...
who has some bleeding from her rectum for a month now.
Blood is bright red, not vast amount but clearly blood droplets  No tissues protruded.anus looks totally normal...
poops look fine-no blood...
she does seem to spend alot of time positioning to urinate though.
and the urine stream is not strong...very weak.
Great (normal) appetite, drinks plenty of water,
normal weight- has always been on the lean side,
no tenderness or odd bulges on stomach,
active, seems content and behaving normally in all other ways.
I bough some Atrgard to deworm her
(and other two pigs too-both rescues
one 10 years ago the other about 5 years ago)
They have not been dewormed before.
Could you could give me your opinion first please?
Thank you Helen!
Peg

Answer
I am not a veterinarian and can not make a medical diagnosis over the internet. A number of things can cause bleeding from the rear.

Bleeding from the rectum can be caused by parasites, colon or intestinal cancer, hemorrhoids, scar tissue or a physical object lodged in the intestine or colon. Deworming will eliminate parasites, but it won't help with any of the other possibilities.

Pigs are prone to urinary tract crystals, blockage and infections. Males tend to experience blockage, females tend to get infections. In males, it's obvious when blood comes from the urinary tract. In females, the body openings are close together and sometimes it can be difficult to be sure exactly where the blood is coming from. Because there is no blood on or in the stool, and the urine stream is weak, it's possible the blood may be coming from the urinary tract.

My recommendation is to consult a veterinarian. There's so many possible causes for this, and no clear evidence, like worms in the stool, that the cause is parasites. Deworming will not hurt, but will not help at all for infection, cancer, or a foreign object. And if the pig is parasite free, deworming will simply subject her to unnecessary medication. There's a list of veterinarians that treat piggies at www.farec.org