My sow's piglets are dying before birth. What could be the reason?

So sorry to hear you are having this issue. There are a range of causes of abortion in the pig. Majority of abortions are non-infectious and some 90% are never diagnosed. Causes of abortion can be simply divided into four categories. If you have an abortion problem I suggest you discuss these issues with your veterinarian. 1. Seasonal effects: 70% of all abortions fall into this category. Remember it is normal for sows to farrow in the spring, and therefore, there is a natural tendency for pregnancies to be lost in the summer and autumn. There are many factors believed to be involved in the summer infertility/autumn abortion syndrome – reduction in light length, effect of heat, loss of appetite in the summer, etc. 2. Environmental effects: Sows may be subjected to stress factors relating to their environment: draughts, excessive heat stress, inadequate cooling, change in the feeding routines, changes in stock people, bullying when introduced into a new group and trauma from moving through narrow doorways. All of these factors singly or combined can result in abortion in the individual sow. Injections can also result in abortions at times. 3. Mycotoxins: Although difficult to prove, mycotoxins have long been suspected as being responsible for abortions. In any case of 2 or 3 abortions over a short period of time, clean out the feed bins and feed lines. Never feed moldy feed to animals. Moldy straw can also play a significant role in the causes of abortion. 4. Infectious causes: There are a range of infectious causes of abortion. Examples include swine influenza, erysipelas, swine fever and leptospirosis. PRRSv (porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus) can also be responsible for severe abortion storms when a new stain enters a naive population of pregnant sows. So, as you can see, there are so many factors that come into play here. It is impossible for me to tell you exactly what happened. If you want to know 100% you would have needed the vet out to do a necropsy (autopsy) on the sow and send tissue samples out the the lab for analysis. Otherwise we are just guessing. My recommendation is to consult with a local vet to get the best outcome with the rest of the sows. I hope this helps. If you have more questions feel free to ask again. Best wishes!

Your sow may have a piglet stuck in the birth canal if she has not produced another within 30 minutes of the last one born. There should not be more than 30 minutes between piglets. It is likely she has more piglets waiting to be born, as it would be rare for her only to have 2 piglets. best to call a veterinarian for help. He would examine the cause for the dystocia (piglet could be too big to pass through the pelvical opening, or birth canal, it could be blocking the birth canal, etc.) The vet will then try to remove the obstacle and hopefully birthing can continue naturally. Your sow may also be exhausted and need an injection to be able to continue with contractions. If it is not possible to remove the obstacle your sow may need a cesarian section.Pl3ease call your large animal vet now.

As you probably already know if your pigs are sitting there quietly when you try to do something to them then it's safe to say that something is probably very wrong. I would first try and get us a temperature on them see if they are carrying any sort of fever and I would also look to see if they have any sort of skin lesions. Regardless of what the cause of the current problem is I'd say that it is probably not safe to eat or butcher these animals at the moment. You can contact a local veterinarian that deals with swine and see what they think but in all likelihood they will probably want to administer an antibiotic. If they do then you will have to wait the withdrawal prior to butchering and selling these animals for meat. I would also be curious to know if they have any sort of diarrhea as many swine illnesses cause this.

The piglets should be weaned by now. Do not let them suckle her anymore. By now they have teeth and will injure her teats which can then develop mastitis (inflammation of the mammary glands). Redness, pain and not eating, weakness, are all signs of a severe mastitis and she will need to be seen by a veterinarian. Your vet will likely prescribe anti-inflammatory medication and, if there is a bacterial infection, antibiotics.

Hi Your piglets need to be seen by a vet. Vomiting can be caused by parasites, viruses or bacterial infection in piglets. Vomiting can cause lots of dehydration, so try and see if they'll eat. Your vet can find them medication to help.

Usually any medical issues we see in pigs this young are related to a nutritional deficiency. What type of diet were you feeding? Other options: Dippity Pig Syndrome, mycoplasma arthritis, trauma, other viral or bacterial disease. I don't know if it's a death sentence for him. I would take him to a vet that is used to treating pigs as they may be able to diagnose him and turn him around. I doubt it is anything contagious to your dog but without knowing the underlying cause it is hard to say 100%. To the best of my knowledge pigs do not get tick paralysis so I don't think has anything to do with it. If you are worried about ticks then I just recommend treating your dog with a tick prevention to ease your worry. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Vomiting is serious in pigs. You need to call the vet for a visit. This could be a viral infection, bacterial infection or a gastro-intestinal problem. Take their temperature if you can, and tell the vet on the phone. They will need an exam.