Mangy Pigs

The thing about running a farm is that the work does not pause in undesirable weather.  Whether it is a blizzard, thunderstorm or heat wave, the chores just keep on coming.  In the same way that mid-winter is our slowest time of year, late spring is our busiest.  With heaps of baby plants and animals to get established and help thrive, farm chores right now take forever.  Even on incredibly hot days like today.  We are talking a solid two and a half hours in the morning and over an hour at night.

And that is just to get the everyday things (feeding and fertilizing, watering plants and animals, opening and closing barns, moving animals, milking, etc.) done.  There is always more to do; one off things like rototilling, planting, transplanting, weeding, moving straw bales, ordering feed, sheep shearing, hoof trimming, barn mucking, etc., and also issues that pop up without any notice at all.

Today our surprise issue involved the pigs.  Their ears have been looking a bit sore for two days now which we figured was just the aftermath of too much sun.  We have been limiting their time in the direct sun to help keep them shaded but they are very fair skinned and seem to burn quite easily.  This afternoon; however, when I went to refresh their pail of water, in addition to their scabby ears I noticed that their bellies were totally covered in a bazillion raised red bumps.  They had also begun scratching themselves on everything, including each other.  That cannot be good.

After some WebMDing (Version Pig), Ian and I have diagnosed their problem as mange.  They would have picked this up from their mother or the drove that they came from and it could also explain the etiology of the hemotoma on Gloria's ear.  I cannot imagine how uncomfortable these poor beasties are being so itchy in this heat.  We placed a call to the pig farmer to ask about getting them a shot of Ivermectin to clear up their mites.  Luckily pig mange cannot spread to poultry, other livestock or humans.  Phew!

If it is not one thing, it is another.  Who would have thought that we'd be the proud owners of truly mangy pigs?  Lucky us.  Makes me itchy just thinking about it.  Scratch, scratch.