Runts

One of the most challenging and most amazing things about piglets is how fast they grow.  On the first day, our piglets couldn't have been more than two pounds a piece.  Today, only eleven days later, they have easily doubled their size.  Well, most of them have.  And this is where the challenge lies.

There are always runts in the litter...one or two babies that are smaller at birth or were injured early on and didn't get as much to eat.  These piglets struggle to keep up and as their siblings pack on the pounds, their battle gets that much more difficult.

I have two piglets that are runts in this litter.  The first one I have named Sprout.  She is the one that I wrote about a few days ago with a cut on her leg.  This cut made it harder for her to push her way in to nurse and meant that she missed out on several feedings.  When you are growing as fast as these guys are, every meal counts.

The second one I have named Grunt.  He is just small.  When I go out to check on him, I often find him almost asleep standing up.  His snout has fallen just far enough to touch the ground allowing his head to balance as if on a tripod.  His little body is wrinkled and the word "scrawny" comes to mind almost immediately.  He is a sad little guy who does his best to fight for a snack, but is edged out by his bigger siblings and is falling further and further behind.

Today I decided to try to give Grunt some extra fortification via bottle.  He didn't fight me too much when I picked him up, but he did squeal enough to let Ruby know I had him.  I quickly retreated with him to the house.

He seemed to do ok with the bottle.  At first he wanted nothing to do with it.  While I was obviously not his favorite person, he kept trying to snuggle up under my chin for warmth and protection.  I had to pry his mouth open with my fingers and then stick the nipple into the side of his cheek to get him started.  He never actually sucked on the bottle, it was more of a chewing behavior...kind of like Little Plow.  I guess that this must be how piglets nurse on their mommas.

He did eventually allow the bottle to go into his mouth without force.  He seemed to like it best if I had my face right next to his snout...almost like the skin to skin contact was necessary for nursing.  At one point, he was rooting around for the nipple and bit my nose.  By the end, we were both covered in milk but I think he got a few ounces into his belly.

I took him back out to Ruby and he immediately snuggled up with her.  He was obviously still hungry though, because the minute Ruby grunted the dinner grunt, he was in there fighting for a plate.

I think that I will continue to work with him and Sprout.  I would like to see them growing better than they are.  And while I want them to stay out with Ruby because that is the best way for them to grow up, I will work with both of them on bottle-feeding so that we can supplement their diets for awhile.