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Post by derralou on Jan 7, 2013 17:53:33 GMT
Hi guys, I have a sow who has littered coming up to 3 weeks ago. she seems to have major and i do mean major hairloss. i will try to upload a picture if possible but full length of one of her sides from her neck to bum has virtually gone. I had suspected that it was the barber in my herd Frankie that was responsible but having removed her from the pen, and treating with ivermectin for mites twice in as many weeks just incase.. cos hairloss is usually caused by this the hair is still being lost. what i cant understand is its not falling out when i handle her, shes not being nibbled at anymore by frankie so im at a loss?? she has had a litter before and this didnt happen after her last litter. any clues or ideas would be greatly appreciated. her skin is not sore or scurfy or scabby shes not itchy and scratches no more than her normal grooming. her skin basically looks like a baldwin mid loss. nothing down either side a mohawk over her back and everything on her face... could this be related to pregnancy hormones or what? NEVER SEEN ANYHTING LIKE THIS EVER!
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Post by Kayleigh on Jan 7, 2013 19:53:56 GMT
Some sows loose their hair during and after pregnancy, its an imbalance of hormones. It should grow back in just fine.
Iv been lucky and not had this with any of my breeding sows.
Ensure she has plenty of fresh food and good pellets and she should recover just fine.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using proboards
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Post by derralou on Jan 7, 2013 19:56:36 GMT
im now thinking it could be mites... just got another sow littered today and shes now clawing chunks of hair out. either jenny is that chilled she just doesnt itch, or theyve sort of gone through her made her hair fall out i dont know. one thing after another looks like ill be spending my eveing ivermecting everything... the joys!
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Post by Kayleigh on Jan 7, 2013 20:32:05 GMT
If they have been treated with ivermectin its unlikely thats the cause. Treat everyone just in case. and wash cages etc down. But sometimes sows pull their hair out/loose hair due to hormones.
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Post by derralou on Jan 7, 2013 20:57:03 GMT
i have treated who i can this evening got some more ivermectin ordered for urgent dispatch... for gods sakes i thoguht i was on the up this new year...it didnt last long. Its even making me itch the thoguht of it. it just feels like as soon as i get ontop of one thing theres another right round the corner to trip me up. im even considering in investing in one of those high pressure steam thingys for cleaning out my shed.
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Post by Kayleigh on Jan 7, 2013 21:34:53 GMT
Did you find the source of your previous mites? Once the pigs are treated that is usually that. Once you have the source that is.
Do you wash/clean the cages out with the prior treatment of ivermectin?
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Post by derralou on Jan 8, 2013 7:08:18 GMT
everything was cleaned out and sprayed down with adarp, everything was treated the only thing that changed was the hay. i had no option but to buy in a bale of regular hay as my feed store didnt have in a bale of graze on that i normally feed as this is dust extracted and free from mites. Hay round me is rubbish at best full of junk and damp. has been for 2 years and doesn't look like its going to improve anytime soon. every 4 weeks my shed is blitzed with virkon, and sprayed down with pemethrin to try and prevent things like this and though they are bedded on fleece the fleeces are washed at 60 degrees to kill off any nasties and fleeces are spot cleaned daily and changed every 3-4 days. the only thing i can put it down to is them coming in on a bale of hay. im wondering if its this damp weather that is attracting them if only we could have a dry summer for once.
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Post by Kayleigh on Jan 8, 2013 7:30:58 GMT
If possible try to dry out the hay. My recent bales have been damp in the centre so im splitting it up into duvet covers and putting in the house to dry out. That way pigs get nice dry hay and no risk due to dampness.
Im unsure if its mites it sounds like your doing everything right. Could be a severe case but unusual. Do you have a picture of the hairloss?
Maybe washing the fleece in an antibacterial/mite shampoo will help.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using proboards
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Post by derralou on Jan 8, 2013 8:22:37 GMT
it varies from sow to sowsome are just going bald no scabs no scratching nothing example is jenny the abbysinian with a mohawk hairdo going on. then theres the other extreme of shandy whos back is bald as was within about 3 hours she has litterally pulled her hair out at the root and made her skin raw. not one has got the traditional scurfy little black specks, not one has scabby lumpy bumpy bits like you would see in sarcoptic mange and wierdly its all in sows, not ( as far as i can see) the boars, which is odd as theyre all in the same shed?  ?? its only affecting my smooths and abbys again odd? none of the babies that i can see im wondering if its something fungal rather than mites... i've ivermectin'd everything thats been affected and ive ordered more to do the others as back up... im racking my brain but the only thing that is different is the hay which has now been removed completely i am never going to buy hay again well certainly not from round here ill stick with the graze on as i never had issues with that. they all eat it. its really frustrating me as i like the fleece and its suits me well seen as i do have a lot of piggies. if i were to go back to shavings it a big bale a week ( not very nice on the pocket ) lets hope i can get whatever it is under control as ive only got 5 isolation cages and 3 of them have people in at the minute. Im dreading going out this morning to find more piggies with something on them :-( |
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Post by derralou on Jan 8, 2013 9:09:23 GMT
  the top one is jenny the abby, the bottom one is shandy the smooth... 2 totally different skins jenny has lots of hair fallen out skin not sore in any way had her litter 20th dec. shandy ripped her hair out skin red and raw have been putting soothe gel on from gorgeous guineas both have been treated with ivermectina week ago. again last night. I think its mites possibly something fungal |
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Post by Kayleigh on Jan 8, 2013 12:09:45 GMT
The top pig looks like general hairloss. The bottom looks sore. Try not to overtreat with ivermectin. What strength are you using?
It may be worth dipping the pigs in imaverol for fungal. May help.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using proboards
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Post by derralou on Jan 8, 2013 14:04:17 GMT
the ones with hairloss all had a dose of bephar spot on on 28th dec then again last night. ive got some mite and lice shampoo today and see if that works. shandys is less sore ive been using gorgeous guineas soothe gel its working wonders. most of the redness has gone just 3 sort of spots on her back. poor jenny the top one is still plodding about like theres not a care in the world. if her hair doesnt grow back will she get cold do you think? im so tempted to put a litte coat on her ive given her a nice fluffy piece of vet bed in her pen so she has something warm to snuggle into. but she doesnt seem bothered by it one bit. im keeping a close watch on all the others but its odd. if it were mites then surely other pigs in the same groups as them would have it?? none of the others these 2 lived with (2 herds of 5) have got anything. checked them all today with the tape test and a fine tooth comb not even so much as a bit of scurf but others in the shed have that are at the oppposite end. i shall keep you updated and hope i clear whatever it is soon its worrying
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Post by derralou on Jan 16, 2013 14:55:42 GMT
*****UPDATE ******** well having had jenny the brown abby go completely bald apart from her head like some strange hairless skinny pig ( not used to skinnies as she did have fur before this episode) she is now starting to grow it back again...hurrah.... Shandy although not yet showing any new bits of fur growing back through is no longer sore Jenny will feel much better i dare say once i have weaned off her babies gave them til 4 weeks old as they were very small when they were born but have grown briliantly. Jenny will be able to get some much needed rest in a couple of days
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