Baby Shots

This week has been very busy for me and the piglets.  The piglets each had a couple of necessary procedures that ensures that all of them stay healthy and safe.

Mr. Allen's Agriculture Science classes learned how most piglets are born anemic, which means that we don't have much iron in our body.  This results in having low red blood cell counts.  Red blood cells are extremely important in the body, as they are the vehicle that carries oxygen and nutrients to cells in the body and metabolic wastes and Carbon Dioxide away.  It is very easy to treat the babies for this condition by simply giving them a small shot of iron in the muscle so they can slowly absorb it and start manufacturing more of the very important red blood cells.  This procedure went very well today, and I was so proud of all my babies being so brave receiving their shots.

Here is one of the gang getting an shot of Iron:

The other procedure that happened was clipping the needle teeth on all of the babies.  The needle teeth (8 of them), also known as wolf teeth are located on the the top and bottom of the mouth.  These teeth have the ability to eventually grow out and end up being dangerous to other animals and people.  

Here is a picture of what the needle teeth could possibly look like over time if left alone:

These teeth also are extremely sharp when the babies are born.  This can cause several problems early on, as the piglets can really cause damage to my underline and teats as they nurse.  My babies may also grow to the point where they will want to play around with each other, or even compete for milk and if they still have these sharp teeth, they will start to cause damage to each other.  

The damage to my teats could end up causing infection, where we could encounter problems with the mammary system.  Also, many of us sows will learn to lay on our bellies to keep from getting bitten more, which could lead to malnutrition or starvation for my babies.  

Later in life, the babies could also encounter problems with doing simple things like eating normally if they were to still have their needle teeth.  

The procedure:

This was a really quick, easy, and painless procedure for each piglet to go through.  One of the students would hold a piglet and place their finger in the babies mouth to expose the teeth.  Another student would use a pair of clippers and remove the tips of the teeth.  Because the nerve endings have not fully developed yet in the teeth, the pain level is very low.  Once all 8 teeth were clipped, the baby would receive a mark on their back to signal that they had received the shots and had their teeth clipped, and then they were placed back by me.  At this point, they would go straight back to nursing like nothing had ever even happened.

Again, I want to thank all of the well wishes from all of my visitors and fans.  I was told that our stream has been accessed over 30,000 times already and I have over 400 followers!  That is just simply amazing!!  I feel very honored that I have been able to be part of something so positive and that we have been able to educate so many people.

I know you are all worried about me.  This delivery hasn't gone as smoothly as my first litter.  My team has taken super care to me and every member has jumped into action to help me and my piglets.  I don't want you to worry.  I'm doing fine right now.  I asked Mikayla to put together some information to share with you, she said she would have it posted in the next couple of days.

<3 Pinky Jane