Odd Pig Out.

[Cronk]

We have a fairly large herd, 8 sows. There's no major issues, as we have a VERY good peacekeeper pig who keeps everyone in line as well as a second-in-command who used to be a bit of a terror but now she helps keep the peace, and they have plenty of space. What we DON'T have is much paired bonding... while they all get along ok with nothing more than the occasional head-raise/light nip/rumblestrut, there's no real major affection either (except the two at the top... #2 cleans #1's eyes, and very occasionally some of the others eyes)

My biggest concern though is a teddy we just separated out from the herd. She has what appears to be ringworm above her rump (sigh... licked this a few months ago with the herd, NOT fun) and the occasional cough while eating/drinking (no other URI/heart/scurvy/bumblefoot/cold symptoms... she's behaving normally and seems healthy otherwise, and we're not super worried about the cough since there's no discharge and it seems to happen mostly when she's eating/drinking). What we're worried about is whether the stress was enough to bring on the hair loss/skin problem, and the reason we're concerned is she lost her mother a few months back (seizure) and wondering if the lack of a heavily-bonded buddy could be causing issues.

She's fairly low on the totem pole, even though she's a bigger pig and doesn't struggle keeping the ounces on. She'll squeak a lot if the others are nearby while she's attempting to drink (a "back off" series of squeaks).

I guess the question is that once we get the health conditions sorted out, would it make sense to pair her up with one of the other more loner pigs and see if we can kinda force a bonding before re-introducing the pair back to the others? With a herd this large, how much actual "cuddling" behavior is normal? Ours very occasionally share a pigloo, but for the most part they're solitary and stick to themselves.

 

[Wiebke]

Having several piggy groups myself, the behaviour sounds very normal to me! Nothing to worry about! You may get the occasional closer bond and snuggle-up, but even those sows are not constantly hanging out with each other; they are all part of the group, first and foremost.

Your ringworm girl should be able to just go back into the group two weeks after the ringworm has stopped being active (the incubation period is 10-14 days, so you want to make sure that she isn't carrying anything back).
If she is losing weight/loss of appetite from pining, you can consider putting another low ranked friend with her, but you will have to give the friend a series of 3 anti-fungal baths spaced 3 days apart to prevent her from catching ringworm, too. I had to do this when my most skittish girl promptly came down with fungal this spring and stopped eating when separated. They have both gone back with the group again without problems. You will see some dominance between the two girls as they establish a mini-group hierarchy while separated, which may include chucking our of a hidey etc. however!

Please disinfect everything that has come into contact with a ringworm piggy thoroughly with an antifungal disinfectant like Virkon (or whatever corresponding brand you have got in the US) and wash any fabric in contact with the fungal piggy at least at 60 C/140 F - and that includes any clothing of yours that has come into contact a ringworm pet. I find using disposable gloves and an antifungal hand gel useful. Anything wooden has to be either thrown away or dunked completely into disinfectant. Ringworm spores can stay active for about 18 months.

What kind of treatment are you using for the ringworm? Was it diagnosed by a vet?