Foot Care

Kunekune’s feet need little attention, if any at all.

Should they appear to be getting long and uncomfortable to walk upon, then can may be trimmed with foot shears (the ones used for sheep & goats are fine), but always be careful not to take too much off of them. Cut them alike you would cut your own toenails and be very careful to avoid the quick (= the life inside).  The easiest way to do this is to give your pig a good belly massage or scratch so that it falls over, and then get started trimming. It’s much easier than asking it to raise its trotter and balance !

Our pigs spend a good amount of time wandering on our driveway or on concrete or stone floors, which seems to keep their feet naturally trimmed.  So, if you can allow them some access to hard standing, you will probably avoid foot trimming altogether.

Worming

Pigs suffer from worms like all other livestock, so worming is essential once or twice a year, depending on how much space you have and therefore how clean your grazing is.  Pigs who spend a lot of time grazing over the same patch of ground will need worming more often than those who are regularly moved onto fresh pasture.

There are various types of wormer which can be used. Oral wormer is easy to administer if mixed with food, but generally spoken it only deals with the internal parasites and not the external ones.

As pigs are subject to external parasites on occasions, it is better in the long term to use an injectable wormer.  I use Dectomax®, which comes in bottles of 50ml., and the dosage is adjusted according to approximate body weight (1ml. per 30kgs. Body weight).  If you ask your veterinarian, he will provide you the best recommendations and administer it for you.

Piglets should be wormed when weaned (before you buy them) at the age of 6 tot 9 weeks, so  should not need doing it over for approximately six months.

Liquid and powder pour-on wormers can also be available, although we personally prefer not to use those.  They might be of a sufficient efficiency if a pig is going to be short lived, but for those of us who want our pigs to live to a ripe old age,  they are better avoided due to their small spectrum of worms being eliminated.

Skin

Pigs can be subject to skin parasites, and other dry skin conditions. If you add some cooking oil, cod liver oil or edible linseed oil in the feed once a week it will help to keep skin and coat looking healthy.  Rubbing sun block  oil into the skin is also advantageous.

Sarcoptic mange is an occasional problem, but is easily treated with Dectomax ® .  It is usually first visible in the joints on the legs (rather like eczema) and then behind the ears and eventually along the back.  It needs to be treated as soon as possible as it can be quite distressing to the pig and cause loss of condition.

Pigs itch ! Do not panic every time you see your pig having a scratch.  They seem to do this for pleasure most of the time anyway regardless of mites or parasites!


Vaccinations

Vaccinating your hobby pigs is not compulsory besides the few times a yeat that you inject them with wormers. Nevertheless we stongly advise you to have your piggies vaccinated by your vet twice a year against Parvo & Erysipelas, especially if you wish to breed with your animals.  Prevention against these two illnesses comes as a double vaccin in one shot.

(most of the text based upon the work written by Wendy Scudamore from Barton Hill UK, see links).