MAISE – Case Study

Date of Birth: 04-27-2003

Deceased: 09-25-2006

Maise was a healthy sow with a wonderful disposition and no history of medical

problems. She had farrowed and raised two litters of piglets. She had excellent

maternal qualities. While difficult and heartbreaking, this is a conscientious

history of a medical incident from a breeder and caregiver of potbellied pigs.

DATE

SYMPTOMS

Wed. 9-20-2006

pm-

1 hour w/3 contemporaries for yard time. All had access to acorns,

grass -- the farm. She ate dinner.

Thurs. 9-21 2006

am-

Ate most of breakfast but I could tell she was not feeling well. I isolated

her.

midmorn-

Lots of very stinky vomit that looked like digested food.

pm-

Did not eat dinner.

Fri. 9-22-2006

am-

Found more vomit. She ate breakfast (regular ration). Found poop in

her outside pen.

1:00ish-

Noticed blood around right nostril. Took temp. 100.25. Noticed no

muscle tone in anus. Called the vet school. Dr. Cowart not available. Dr. Dawes

would call me back. After checking Maise again, I noticed that on her right side,

each teat was purple (only on the right side). She also had purple splotches on

right front upper leg and back leg groin area. While waiting for Dr. Dawes to call

back, I contacted Dr. Sczepanski who called this condition dependent blood,

indicating that Maise’s blood was not clotting properly. Dr. Dawes told me to

check her mucous membranes (vaginal tissue and gums) for pinpoint red spots

and if she had this condition, I would need to bring her in immediately. Maise did

indeed have this condition, so I was quick to get her kenneled and off to the vet

as it was Friday afternoon.

3:45pm-

Large Animal UMC: Dr. John Middleton and his students examined

Maise: All vitals were normal, but they noted the blood condition. He suspected

poisoning (acorns or rat poison) and a blood test would be required. He was ready

to treat w/vitamin K for poisoning, but blood test results indicated: high

creatinine (10.5 w/normal being 2). Other high levels included: Urea nitrogen,

sodium, potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium. A major finding was that Maise

had no platelets. Dr. Middleton told me the normal treatment would be to give

her a blood transfusion that would require us to procure blood from a donor pig.

Also supplying IV fluids would be indicated, but he felt this was not practical and

could cause additional problems. He used the term DIC to describe her condition

with a dismal prognosis. We discussed euthanasia, but I was not ready for this.

Mon. Sept. 25, 2006

I had a vet visit scheduled for herd accreditation with Dr. Dawes and if Maise

survived the weekend, she could be checked then.

6pm-

She ate her dinner and a can of sardines and drank. She fussed with her

blankets and seemed very content.

Sat. 9-23-2006

am-

Maise had urinated a large amount. She was more particular about

breakfast, not wanting her usual ration or sardines, but was happy to eat sow

pellets. I called Dr. Middleton to report she had urinated, and her general

condition and he suggested starting her on 5cc of Pen G daily to treat

pyelonephritis. He also wanted me to try to get a urine sample so that we could

see if she was concentrating her urine. He said the reason he had not tried to

extract urine directly from her bladder on Friday was due to the possibility of

bleeding since her blood was not clotting.

9:30am-

5 cc Pen G with no bleeding.

midmorn-

Maise pooped twice before noon. She was not interested in the

cranberry/honey water I offered her but was busy digging into the lime waste* in

her outside pen and appeared to be ingesting it. She was happy to be outside and

enjoyed sunbathing.

2pm-

I noted blood dripping from Maise’s nostrils, mostly right and not a

large volume, nonetheless very troublesome.

5pm-

She ate sow pellets.

Sun. 9-24-2006

am-

Drank good amount of water. There was poop in her run and she had

urinated. Still blood at nostril. Gave her choice of regular wet ration or sow

pellets – she gobbled down the wet.

9:30am-

5cc Pen G, with just a little blood. Pooped and urinated around this

time, but I was unable to catch a urine sample. Her poop was small, hard and

darker than usual pellets.

3pm-

There was a small amount of poop in her inside area. She was resting

inside instead of sunning outside.

6pm-

She did not eat dinner. Blood still in nostril.

Mon. 9-25-2006

am-

I called the vet school to suggest that Dr. Dawes bring the blood work

results with her so that we could discuss. There was new poop and urine in the

outside run. Maise still had not eaten Sun. dinner. Offered her both wet and dry

food and sardines and she wanted none. She roamed around the interior of the

barn and seemed to enjoy that. She was not anxious to go back into her pen,

anticipating another shot, so I let her into another pig’s pen.

10am-

Drs. Cowart and Dawes arrived. We discussed how to approach Maise’s

condition after looking over her blood work results. We would: 1) check vitals; 2)

hand-held ultrasound (we might detect a mass in the uterus); 3) check mucous

membranes; 4) draw blood. The FINDINGS were: Temp-96.9; Heart rate-128;

Mucous Mem.-Still pinpoint condition; Ultrasound-Nothing significant. Therefore,

Dr. Dawes proceeded to draw the blood and was successful. Immediately upon

releasing Maise she began convulsing. Dr. Dawes helped me get Maise into my lap

so that I could hold her, comfort her, and keep her from hurting herself. After

what seemed a VERY long time, she died. Her body was taken back to the Vet

School for a necropsy.

Tues. 9-26-2006

Preliminary Path Findings:

Small pale kidneys Blood in thoracic cavity

Final Path Findings:

Kidneys gone – uremia

Severe tubular necrosis (inability to filter)

Maise could have had a chronic kidney condition and with the ingestion of acorns,

the condition became severe, and she succumbed.

These Plants Can Kill, Today’s Farmer, Oct. 2006

*ACORNS

There is tannic acid in acorns that can be toxic. It can damage both the digestive

tract and kidneys. Drought makes acorns more toxic. The toxic effects can be

countered by feeding a palatable concentrate mix (feed ration) with 7 to 10%

hydrated lime. After a hard frost the danger is usually over.

Note from Nancy:

It is interesting to note that Maise could have been self-medicating with the lime

waste in her pen. I have been raising potbellies since 1989. We are always careful

at the farm with toxic materials such as antifreeze and rat poison, since we have

cows, pigs, cats, and dogs who roam the property. I have been aware for many

years that acorns contain tannic acid that can cause the kidneys to work harder

than normal. I do notice that when the potbellies eat acorns, their urine takes on

a rusty color. I have always been cautious to limit the time and frequency my

potbellied pigs are allowed to graze and/or have access to acorns. This incident

with Maise is a first.

I spent several hours raking, mowing, and collecting the acorns and related yard

debris from under the only oak tree my pigs frequent when afforded “free time”.

Needless to say, I am VERY concerned about the health of my herd and have

allowed my pigs very little access to acorns since this incident, always followed

by adding cranberry concentrate to their drinking water. Next year I will follow

the recommendation above and add lime to their ration during acorn season. I

will research this further since the article from Today’s Farmer was mainly

referring to sheep and cows– pigs were not mentioned.

MAISE – Case Study

Date of Birth: 04-27-2003

Deceased: 09-25-2006

Maise was a healthy sow with a wonderful disposition

and no history of medical problems. She had farrowed

and raised two litters of piglets. She had excellent

maternal qualities. While difficult and heartbreaking,

this is a conscientious history of a medical incident from

a breeder and caregiver of potbellied pigs.

DATE

SYMPTOMS

Wed. 9-20-2006

pm-

1 hour w/3 contemporaries for yard time. All

had access to acorns, grass -- the farm. She ate dinner.

Thurs. 9-21 2006

am-

Ate most of breakfast but I could tell she was

not feeling well. I isolated her.

midmorn-

Lots of very stinky vomit that looked like

digested food.

pm-

Did not eat dinner.

Fri. 9-22-2006

am-

Found more vomit. She ate breakfast (regular

ration). Found poop in her outside pen.

1:00ish-

Noticed blood around right nostril. Took temp.

100.25. Noticed no muscle tone in anus. Called the vet

school. Dr. Cowart not available. Dr. Dawes would call me

back. After checking Maise again, I noticed that on her

right side, each teat was purple (only on the right side).

She also had purple splotches on right front upper leg and

back leg groin area. While waiting for Dr. Dawes to call

back, I contacted Dr. Sczepanski who called this condition

dependent blood, indicating that Maise’s blood was not

clotting properly. Dr. Dawes told me to check her mucous

membranes (vaginal tissue and gums) for pinpoint red

spots and if she had this condition, I would need to bring

her in immediately. Maise did indeed have this condition,

so I was quick to get her kenneled and off to the vet as it

was Friday afternoon.

3:45pm-

Large Animal UMC: Dr. John Middleton and his

students examined Maise: All vitals were normal, but they

noted the blood condition. He suspected poisoning (acorns

or rat poison) and a blood test would be required. He was

ready to treat w/vitamin K for poisoning, but blood test

results indicated: high creatinine (10.5 w/normal being

2). Other high levels included: Urea nitrogen, sodium,

potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium. A major finding

was that Maise had no platelets. Dr. Middleton told me the

normal treatment would be to give her a blood transfusion

that would require us to procure blood from a donor pig.

Also supplying IV fluids would be indicated, but he felt

this was not practical and could cause additional

problems. He used the term DIC to describe her condition

with a dismal prognosis. We discussed euthanasia, but I

was not ready for this.

Mon. Sept. 25, 2006

I had a vet visit scheduled for herd accreditation with Dr.

Dawes and if Maise survived the weekend, she could be

checked then.

6pm-

She ate her dinner and a can of sardines and

drank. She fussed with her blankets and seemed very

content.

Sat. 9-23-2006

am-

Maise had urinated a large amount. She was

more particular about breakfast, not wanting her usual

ration or sardines, but was happy to eat sow pellets. I

called Dr. Middleton to report she had urinated, and her

general condition and he suggested starting her on 5cc of

Pen G daily to treat pyelonephritis. He also wanted me to

try to get a urine sample so that we could see if she was

concentrating her urine. He said the reason he had not

tried to extract urine directly from her bladder on Friday

was due to the possibility of bleeding since her blood was

not clotting.

9:30am-

5 cc Pen G with no bleeding.

midmorn-

Maise pooped twice before noon. She was not

interested in the cranberry/honey water I offered her but

was busy digging into the lime waste* in her outside pen

and appeared to be ingesting it. She was happy to be

outside and enjoyed sunbathing.

2pm-

I noted blood dripping from Maise’s nostrils,

mostly right and not a large volume, nonetheless very

troublesome.

5pm-

She ate sow pellets.

Sun. 9-24-2006

am-

Drank good amount of water. There was poop in

her run and she had urinated. Still blood at nostril. Gave

her choice of regular wet ration or sow pellets – she

gobbled down the wet.

9:30am-

5cc Pen G, with just a little blood. Pooped and

urinated around this time, but I was unable to catch a

urine sample. Her poop was small, hard and darker than

usual pellets.

3pm-

There was a small amount of poop in her inside

area. She was resting inside instead of sunning outside.

6pm-

She did not eat dinner. Blood still in nostril.

Mon. 9-25-2006

am-

I called the vet school to suggest that Dr. Dawes

bring the blood work results with her so that we could

discuss. There was new poop and urine in the outside run.

Maise still had not eaten Sun. dinner. Offered her both

wet and dry food and sardines and she wanted none. She

roamed around the interior of the barn and seemed to

enjoy that. She was not anxious to go back into her pen,

anticipating another shot, so I let her into another pig’s

pen.

10am-

Drs. Cowart and Dawes arrived. We discussed

how to approach Maise’s condition after looking over her

blood work results. We would: 1) check vitals; 2) hand-

held ultrasound (we might detect a mass in the uterus); 3)

check mucous membranes; 4) draw blood. The FINDINGS

were: Temp-96.9; Heart rate-128; Mucous Mem.-Still

pinpoint condition; Ultrasound-Nothing significant.

Therefore, Dr. Dawes proceeded to draw the blood and

was successful. Immediately upon releasing Maise she

began convulsing. Dr. Dawes helped me get Maise into my

lap so that I could hold her, comfort her, and keep her

from hurting herself. After what seemed a VERY long time,

she died. Her body was taken back to the Vet School for a

necropsy.

Tues. 9-26-2006

Preliminary Path Findings:

Small pale kidneys Blood in thoracic cavity

Final Path Findings:

Kidneys gone – uremia

Severe tubular necrosis (inability to filter)

Maise could have had a chronic kidney condition and with

the ingestion of acorns, the condition became severe, and

she succumbed.

These Plants Can Kill, Today’s Farmer, Oct. 2006

*ACORNS

There is tannic acid in acorns that can be toxic. It can

damage both the digestive tract and kidneys. Drought

makes acorns more toxic. The toxic effects can be

countered by feeding a palatable concentrate mix (feed

ration) with 7 to 10% hydrated lime. After a hard frost the

danger is usually over.

Note from Nancy:

It is interesting to note that Maise could have been self-

medicating with the lime waste in her pen. I have been

raising potbellies since 1989. We are always careful at the

farm with toxic materials such as antifreeze and rat

poison, since we have cows, pigs, cats, and dogs who

roam the property. I have been aware for many years that

acorns contain tannic acid that can cause the kidneys to

work harder than normal. I do notice that when the

potbellies eat acorns, their urine takes on a rusty color. I

have always been cautious to limit the time and

frequency my potbellied pigs are allowed to graze and/or

have access to acorns. This incident with Maise is a first.

I spent several hours raking, mowing, and collecting the

acorns and related yard debris from under the only oak

tree my pigs frequent when afforded “free time”.

Needless to say, I am VERY concerned about the health of

my herd and have allowed my pigs very little access to

acorns since this incident, always followed by adding

cranberry concentrate to their drinking water. Next year I

will follow the recommendation above and add lime to

their ration during acorn season. I will research this

further since the article from Today’s Farmer was mainly

referring to sheep and cows– pigs were not mentioned.