Coughing

[Engel]

For about 2 weeks Cyril has been coughing but only when he eats hay or pellets. At first I thought he was eating too fast as it was only every now and again but it has since become more often.

He's on fleece and I haven't changed any detergents or anything. He's away from any drafts and damp. Spot cleaned twice a day and full clean every 3-4 days.

I don't use perfumes/air fresheners or anything. I use F10 to disinfect.

Room temp stays between 19-22°C. Humidity 50-60%. No one else is coughing. There's no discharge or wheezing or popping sounds. He still does zoomies and popcorns and wheeks like his life depends on it. His weight is stable so he's eating plenty.

He only makes the coughing sound when eating pellets or hay, not veggies.

I have changed his hay for the past month and waiting on hay ox now so I'm wondering if it could be that.

I had him at the vets today and listened to his heart and lungs and all sounds great. She checked his back teeth the best she could while he was conscious and his teeth look ok. On exam he's a healthy piggy. She said to try him on metacam for a week just in case there's some inflammation.

Has anyone dealt with this before? Any ideas?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi!

It sounds like there could be a sensitive area in the throat that sets off a cough whenever something harder pushes against it while swallowing?

Hopefully, it settles down again over the coming days/weeks. I get this sometimes with a cough at the end of it; and can trigger another cough episode with things like hard crumbs etc. for some time afterwards.

 

[Engel]

Ok so if this turns out to be a recurring thing because of a sensitive area in his throat, would there be anything I need to do to help him? Or would it be a case of if he is healthy and weight is stable not worry just monitor?

 

[Engel]

Thought I'd update this.

After the metacam he stopped coughing. During this time I thought I'd treat them to Timothy hay. As soon as I started giving meadow hay again the coughing started and as soon as I switched back to Timothy, it stopped.

Hay is the only thing that changed. While inside I have no issues with feeding just Timothy, but when he goes outside what hay can I give him to snuggle up in?

 

[Wiebke]

Thought I'd update this.

After the metacam he stopped coughing. During this time I thought I'd treat them to Timothy hay. As soon as I started giving meadow hay again the coughing started and as soon as I switched back to Timothy, it stopped.

Hay is the only thing that changed. While inside I have no issues with feeding just Timothy, but when he goes outside what hay can I give him to snuggle up in?

Hi!

He obviously has a sensitivity to certain grass pollen.

Look for soft timothy hay - it is out there; not just the stalky one.

 

[Engel]

Hi!

He obviously has a sensitivity to certain grass pollen.

Look for soft timothy hay - it is out there; not just the stalky one.

Thanks Wiebke. I find it a bit strange as pigs are meant to eat hay/grasses so you'd think there wouldn't be much of a problem.

Is this quite uncommon in pigs? Haven't seen many threads about it.