questions about pbps

Question
QUESTION: Hello. We got a pbp almost a week ago and I have a few questions. He is about 4 weeks old and pretty active. He only weighs about maybe a pound. Is that normal? When should we get him neutered?
We are also bottle feeding him. When should we start weaning him?
Is it normal for him to be sneezing? He sneezes quite often but we thought it was because he sniffs everything.
Also he acts like he gets the hiccups sometimes when hes sleeping. Is that ok?
Thanks for the help!

ANSWER:   Awww, I bet he is so cute!
But I am a bit worried, he should weigh 4-5#. He may have a disease called rhinitis or atrophic rhinitis. It causes pigs to not grow at first and to sneeze and/or have a sloppy nose. It is an infection in their nose that can damage it by causing it to twist, or the inner turnibates which filter dust to be destroyed.
He can be neutered (by a vet only) at 6-7 weeks.
The vet can tell you if he has rhinitis.
He really should be  pan fed instead of bottle fed. That is because bottle feed piggies often aspirate milk into their lugs, causing pneumonia. That could be a cause of the sneezing, too.
If milk comes out his nose holes, he has aspirated.
Weaning is done at 6 weeks.....on a pig without a mom.
Normally piglets are not taken from mom until 8 weeks.
The hiccups I have never heard of.....
Good luck,
Priscilla Valentine
valentinesperformingpigs.com


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the help! He is still doing very good! We are just having a little bit of a hard time trying to find someone who will neuter him. We think hes still too small to be neutered even though he is 8 weeks old. I do have another question though. He has a ton of freckles and I was wondering if that was normal. He goes out in the sun so I'm assuming its because of that. Thanks for the help!

Answer
If he weighs over 7#, he is old enough to neuter.
Try exotic vets or large animal vets. Of course, your state  vet school does it.
Pigs do not normally get freckles from the sun at that age.
I suspect they are pig-ment (hahaha) marks.
But if he is a white pig, they can and will sunburn.
Be sure and use sunscreen if he is out in direct sun over 20 minutes and it is warm.
Give him a hug,
Priscilla Valentine
valentinesperformingpigs.com