Piglet Rescue in West Sussex October 2010

Whilst having a coffee at a country hotel with my sister last Sunday we heard some strange noises and went to investigate.  The barman was sitting outside in the sun and had a small box on the table, when he lifted back the cover there were 8 little black & white piglets born earlier that day. We don’t really know how he came to have them but apparently the mother had died in birth and if the piglets weren’t fed soon they would definitely die!  One of the hotel staff was calling around locally to see if any of the farms would take them but was having no luck. The staff were busy and didn’t have the time to deal with the problem so when my sister and I offered to take the piglets home and call the RSPCA they gladly accepted the offer.

Piglets open their eyes  and ears as soon as they are born and though only a few hours old these little creatures  were running  around squealing clearly in search of their mother and their first feed. As soon as we got them home we called the vet and the RSPCA. The vet told us how and what to feed them and the RSPCA said they would be able to find them a home where they would be properly looked after. Because of UK rules to inhibit the spread of Foot and Mouth disease we were not allowed to put the piglets in the garden, so we kept them in the house in a nice sunny spot as baby piglets find it hard to generate their own heat. We warmed some cow’s milk and added an egg for high protein and then fed the piglets in turn using a small plastic syringe. We were amazed at how quickly some of them took to suckling and soon all were fed and happily asleep, piled up on one another for warmth. We kept a close eye on them until the lady from the RSPCA turned up  and were reassured by the knowledge that her boss was an expert on pigs and they would be well looked after.

The survival rate is not high for piglets that have not received antibodies from their mother’s milk and  also have had to be hand feed as this can lead to respiratory problems; pigs have week lungs and are prone to bronchitis and pneumonia.  However, we are waiting for an update on how the piglets are doing and are optimistic that these  little babies will survive given the  love attention and good will that is now coming their way.     

It’s not every day you go out for a cup of coffee and come home with a box of pigs!