2 day old piglet..

Question
QUESTION: Ok Yesterday I met a woman who had 3 pot bellied piglets that were being mistreated and neglected by there mother.
So I took one as I have always wanted a PBP and I have bottle raised goats and kittens.. i have a few questions.. 1 is he is very skinny.. I dont know what I expected a 1 day old piglet to look like but he is tiny... he could fit into a large sweater pocket.I am feeding him goats milk out of a bottle but he wont really suckle.. So I have been feeding him from a syringe.. He wont eat more than 12 CC's at a time.. about every 2 hrs.. sometimes less.. I am very worried as I am already smitten.. Last night he actually crawled out of his basket and I found him curled up to me 3 times in bed...
Also I know it is not good to seperate a piglet from his mom so early.. So Im worried.. can I raise a healthy, happy, well ajusted piglet? Thanks in advance..

ANSWER:  Thanks for rescuing this poor piglet!
I say "poor" because pigs should not be taken from their mom until 5-8 weeks (this was an emergency, I know).
The piglets are born skinny, all head. What is important is that every day they gain weight as a newborn piglet (not an adult)!
Feeding by syringe or bottle can be hazardous.....in fact, after diarrhea and dehydration , aspirating from a syringe or milk bottle is the next cause of death in "runts" or handfed piglets.
You need to comvert this piglet to drinking out of a shallow pan, like you would a kitten. Aspirating milk from a syringe causes pneumonia...
Can you raise a healthy happy piglet?
Of course! But you need to keep the pig very warm, feed it goat's milk
( it is rich and easily digestible) and not stress the piglet. If you want to join our educational listserver, go to Yahoo groups and search for PIGINFOANDCHAT
Bless you for caring,
Priscilla Valentine  www.valentinesperformingpigs.com

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our new baby..   QUESTION: Ok right now he weighs 11 oz. I wieghed him once this morning and again after 2 more feedings..still the same.. You are right about him being all head..

I was also worried about the aspirating thing.. i know it can cause Pneumonia. I just didnt think he'd drink out of a pan just yet.. Can I mix goats milk with baby cereal he seemed to kinda like that.. Well I will try him with a pan at his next feeding.. I have been keeping him warm with a heating pad.. I can tell when it does auto shut off cuz thats when he wakes up..
he sleeps all day and gets kinda active at around 6 and just before a feeding but then goes right back to sleep until the next one.. is this normal.. He is so cute Im absolutly in love.

Answer
No cereal for  10 days, they have a very fragile digestive system.
Other than aspirating, the worst problem is "the "squirts" from too rough a diet.
We teach piglets to pan feed at 8 hours of age if their mom has no milk.
We are breeders. Yes, what they do best is eat and sleep, he is a newborn!
Too cute!!!!!!
Priscilla Valentine