Read
the story of Paige, Pearl and their piglets, then scroll down for photos & video!
Paige and her daughter Pearl were rescued from a tough situation during the winter
of 2009. Both were pregnant at the time of their rescue although Pearl kept her secret until February! Six days after
arriving Paige gave birth to her litter-13 little Christmas piglets, and in February Pearl surprised us.
It was a rough time for both mothers; Paige was exhausted, having mothered large litters continuously
for about 2 years and Pearl, who was only a year old, had already raised a litter. Paige refused to go into the
barn and parked herself in the corner of the pasture furthest from the barn. Due to her extremely delicate condition
there was only so much pushing and conjoling we could do so we ended up building a shelter around her which became affectionately
known as "The Manger".
In a perfect world animals wouldn't give birth in the middle of winter
but these are two tough girls. After giving birth Paige developed an infection and her milk dried up so it was up to
us to raise her piglets. Potbelly Manor is an animal sanctuary which means no breeding so raising piglets was a
first for us.
In the house and under the heat lamps the piglets went for what was the start of
a heart-wrenching month with very little sleep for Audrey-feedings 4x/day and trips to the veterinarian as the piglets
began to die. It became a perfect storm of tragedy with a few miracles sprinkled in. Piglets must receive
their mother's colostrum (milk with antibodies) at birth and must be kept at 90 degrees. Since Paige had an
infection we couldn't be confident the piglets got their colostrum so a regimen of special care was developed in
concert with a team of veterinarians but the piglets were very weak and many did not make it. Additionally, the piglets
were inbred and even under the best of conditions a high mortality rate would be normal. The piglets' were fathered
by either Paige's father or son.
Dr. Bird from Wickford Veterinary Services took 4 of the piglets and
personally oversaw their care for several weeks. Three of the piglets were adopted out but when pigs are inbred
survival is always tenuous and one morning one of the piglets passed in his sleep. We are happy to report that the other
two have thrived and are living very happy lives-see their story on our Happy Tails page.
The 4th piglet remained
at Potbelly Manor. One of the farm volunteers arranged to board her in return for working at the farm. Rachel,
a/k/a Petunia, is healthy and shares a barn with JD, Benjamin and Amelia.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to the wonderful
veterinarians who provided expert care, advice and support: Dr. Meredith Bird-Veterinary Services of Wickford, Dr.
Max Balmforth-N. Kingstown Animal Hospital, Tufts University Ambulatory Service and Dr. Chan from the wildlife clinic.
