emaciated piglet loose stools

Question
I was asked to take a piglet who was orphaned.  He is all skin and bones.  He does not move around a lot and mostly stands.  He seems to have a problem with one foot.  He is alert just very malnutritioned.  I got him today and they gave me a powder milk called unimilk.  He is very tiny but must be at least 7 or 8 weeks old or more.  He has his tusk.  What is the best thing to do to try to save him?  How do I stop his loose stools?  I got him goats milk and baby cereal and have given him the milk they gave me.  He is not gaining energy and needs to gain weight fast.  He was covered in ticks or lice of some sort and I got all of those off of him but if I don't feed him right I am sure he will die.  I do not think he is sick I think he was just close to starved.  What should I do to try to help him make it?
Thank you,
Pam

Answer
If you are bottle feeding him, switch him to pan feeding right away. Bottle feeding is cute. When taking your pig out and about to the park or other places, a bottle is a quick, easy way to give the pig a drink of water. But, when baby piglets drink from bottles they tend to inhale the liquid, which can cause them to cough or choke, or possibly even develop pneumonia.

Goat milk is an excellent food for most animal babies. Make it even more nutritional by mixing 1/2 goat milk with 1/2 Ensure (or Boost or a similar product) Let him have as much as he wants, but in many small meals, at least 4 per day.

He'll need fresh water, as much as he wants, but again, try to make sure he doesn't way overdrink at one time but drinks moderate amounts often throughout the day.

The diarrhea could be from an infection, e.coli is very common in piglets and if left untreated, can be fatal. Internal parasites may also cause diarrhea. Or it could be from the sudden change in environment and diet.

E. Coli and parasites require drugs for treatment. If this is the cause of the diarrhea, he'll need to see a vet.

If the diarrhea is from all the sudden changes, it should pass within a day or two at most. Adding a banana or two to his goat milk in the blender, like a banana milk shake, will help ease the diarrhea, especially if it's caused by changes. The banana won't help much if the problem is e. coli. So if the diarrhea continues, get him to a vet along with a stool sample.

Keep him someplace warm and dry, but not hot. It will take a few days, maybe even a week or so, for him to perk up. Now is a good time to start socializing him, playing with his feet, etc.

As for the unimilk, I am personally not familiar with that particular product. I am sure it's a decent product, but it sounds like this piglet was not thriving, and so if this is what he was being fed, I'd just switch him to goat milk and Ensure (or such).

Finally, after about a week, you can start mixing a few starter pellets in with his milk. Gradually add more and more pellets in less and less milk mixture, until his food is like oatmeal, then like dry cookie dough, and finally, like damp pellets.

Good luck and enjoy your baby piglet