Worming the Pigs



This is one of the less gross pictures of
roundworms I could find.



So we don't use medications with our animals unless they need them.  We think of them like children.  You wouldn't give your kids a teaspoon of penicilin every day "just in case" and we wouldn't feed our animals medications daily "just in case."  Not only does it create resistence to the meds, it just doesn't seem right.  But when we see a problem that needs medication, just like our kids, we medicate.  And this also speaks to the importance of knowing your animals intimately, so that you see when they are ill.

A few days ago, I noticed a roundworm in the pigpen.  These are not the same kind of roundworms that people get.  These are real worms.  In fact, they look a lot like earthworms, only they are longer (like 12 inches) and mainly white.  They are also firmer in texture - I've picked them up with gloves on (and then washed my hands like twenty times after I threw the gloves away).

I went to the store and picked up some Atguard.  It is amazing how little of it you use...something around a teaspoon of these little crystals mixed into the food takes care of a full-grown pig in one dose.  I mixed the wormer into the pig food (I treated everyone because although it may only be one pig, I have no way of knowing which one in the pen has it).  Today when I came out to feed, I found a familiar (albeit gross) present.  Several large masses of roundworms were mixed in with the pig feces.  In fact, there was one worm that hadn't quite made it out of George yet and was swinging around like an extra tail.  Yeah, I know, you didn't need to know that.  But I'm trying to share the whole farm experience...

The problem with roundworms is that they live in the soil for up to four years.  We knew that we had them when we first bought pigs.  Kevin had worms when we got him.  We didn't know until he was home.  We treated him, but that set the stage for worms to reappear from then on.  I guess that's why most bigger farms (farms that have the space/ability to do so) quarentine new livestock for a month to make sure that all medical issues are cleared up.  We would have to have a concrete-floored pen to do that in, but it might not be a bad thing to work toward.

In the end, we will watch and treat our pigs when necessary...just like we would our children.