Piglet Care
Piglet Intensive Care Plan
You go to your local pet store, or to a farm, or perhaps you have a friend that desperately needs your help, either way you find that you now have a newborn orphaned irresistible peachfuzzed piglet that weighs mere ounces looking at you with complete dependency. You are thinking where do I begin?
The first thing that you should do is go to your veterinarian and make sure your baby has its initial check-up. She may get weighed, her CR (capillary refill) checked, her respiration checked and pulse rate too. Your baby a may need an iron shot. She may need labs drawn and a complete nervous system evaluation checkpointed. Make sure you do this within the first hours of adopting your new baby. Taking your baby to his or her veterinary pediatrician will not only establish a relationship, it will provide you with more confidence and you will not feel so alone in this new journey of Motherhood or Fatherhood. Make sure that you get the medical records copied for future reference.
The second trip should be to the supermarket. You will need Isomil if your baby's Doctor did not give you a piglet milk replacer like UNI Milk. Please see the list below for all the items that you will need to raise a healthy thriving butter bean of love.
Isomil: Soy based baby formula for extra easy digestion.
Heating Pad: CAUTION, always keep heating pad on low and investigate through Consumer Reports which one is currently safest. Sunbeam is normally the safest pad but that can always change. Always keep the entire cord out of the crate and put a receiving blanket around the pad itself or towel so it is not in direct contact with your little one. As soon as you can get a manually powered heating pad from Jeffers Pet Store do so. It is reported that it is much safer than a consumer one.
Eyedropper or Syringe: The eyedropper or syringe will help feed your infant if the sucking reflex is not well developed. Use with caution make sure that your baby does not aspirate (breathe the fluid into her lungs).
Poly-vi-sol with Iron Drops: Contains vitamins that will help your baby. Make sure you use ratio and proportion while measuring the amount an 8 pound human baby is far different than a 8 ounce piglet, some R&P will have to be evaluated before administration.
Molasses: Contains iron and glucose and will help your piglet thrive. Use about a tablespoon per 8 ounce bottle and shake well. It also makes the dropper or bottle extremely palatable therefore creating a positive bonding experience.
Baby Magic or Baby Shampoo: Prudent grooming and great hygiene will help your baby get stimulated. Grooming also aids in the thorough daily examination process. Bathwater should be warm, about 104 degrees and should be tested on your elbow before submersion of your baby. Lather your infant up very quickly and rinse your baby very well with fresh rinse water. Make sure that you don't get water into your piglets ears, their ears are very deep set into their heads and often times the water will do damage to the ear and create an earache. A wet warm washcloth should be used on her head. Your piglet will squeal very
loudly during a bath and earplugs should be worn during this process due to the pending damage they can do to your ears. Do not be alarmed if your baby squeals. Squealing actually assists in the development of their lungs. Keep the bathtime short and make sure that you wrap your newborn up in a towel immediately after his or her bath to keep her from getting a chill.
Cottonballs: A newborn piglet will have to have his or her rectum stimulated in order to eliminate. Use a wet warm cottonball and some latex or vinyl gloves for this task. Wipe his or her rectum with the wet warm cottonball quite firmly until your baby defecates. Do this twice a day to three times a day the bowel movements may look like raisins.
Receiving Blanket: They make great blankets to hold your baby, plus they are very washable.
Baby's First Comforter: Every baby needs his or her own blankie. It will help your baby feel secure and warm during the night if you are not sleeping with him or her.
Small Crate: This will be used as a crib for your new baby.
Bottles: Get about four 8 ounce bottles with good hearty nipples. Criss cross the tops of the nipples to make adequate flow. Make sure everything is as sterile as you can get it.
Playpen: Your new baby will grow very rapidly and will quickly need a bigger play space that keeps her safe.
Camcorder and Blank Tapes: You will want to look back at this experience with pride and joy.
Pen and Paper: Makes for good charting.
Nail File or Emery Board: Handle your piglets feet quite often and get him or her used to devices being used on his or her feet, also make sure there is nothing sharp that can scratch him or her or you for that matter.
Bulb Syringe: Great overall device for emergency care.
Pedialite: Makes a great introduction to clear fluids. Excellent for use on a sick baby.
Digital Thermometer: Do not get a glass mercury one, they are quite slow and very dangerous you will need KY Jelly also. Normal temp is 101-102.
Postal or Diet Scale: Regular home scales are not accurate enough to weigh in ounces.
Litterbox with Corncob Litter: Corncob litter will not be dusty and get into the fragile bronchial linings.
Merck Manual: Veterinary Merck Manual is the reference book that most doctors use and will give you accurate medical information. It is sold at Barnes and Noble. Inoculations should be discussed with your veterinarian as well as spay and neuter plans.
Bottle Recipe: 8 Ounces of Isomil or UNI Milk 1/2 ounce of molasses and 2 drops of Poly-vi-sol. Warm bottle to 104 to 106 degrees and shake it very hard and test it on your inner fold of your arm to make sure that it is not too hot. Feed your newborn every 2 hours for the first 2 weeks then go to every 4 hours. Remember even a half an ounce fed is an accomplishment a full ounce is even better. Make sure that your baby is warm so it will eat. Oftentimes cold babies will completely refuse food making them fail to thrive, failure to thrive is deadly. It is good to hold your baby, talk to him or her softly and maintain eye contact during feeding. Hold your baby in a standing like position during feeding to aide in the prevention of aspiration. Make sure to chart the input after each feeding with your pen and paper. Formula amounts will gradually increase and that's a sign of proper growth and development. If your baby can drink an entire bottle you can introduce solid foods. Never ever feed dry food, but add a little water to it to soften it.
At 2 weeks old your baby is ready for a well baby check-up at his or her vet.
Sowena from Jefferes is reported to be an excellent formula also call them at 1-800-JEFFERS to inquire about it.
Written by Kari Nord 2002
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