Pigs screaming

[SteveHants]

we had a batch of trial genetics that wouldnt shut up. the best pigs we ever have had, next to no animals needed jabbing, best ever growth rate for the company, no tail biting. Almost the perfect pig, just they wouldnt shut up, i would go and give them extra straw in the middle of the night to shut them up for a bit. All they were doing was sitting on each other, drove me bonkers the noise they made. these were split sexed pigs.

All i would say is, the farmer is probably very aware of it and is not happy about it himself, and is driving him mad with it.
if its the first time you have noticed them, its probably some trial genetics.

i know its hard, but to be honest having the council giving him grief over it is probably the last thing they need, and also there is very little he can do!

359s?

 

[mwj]

No intention of reporting anyone ,something you just don’t do to a fellow farmer,but another night of no sleep is not bloody funny

Have you spoken to the owner of the pigs? Maybe he could give you an answer as to what is causing the problem.

 

[Paddington]

We sometimes have squealing when handling weaners, most are quiet when picked up, but others will scream when you approach them, only lasts a few seconds.

 

[borderterribles]

A couple of times, I have hand reared a litter of piglets after losing a sow and not having another one to foster them onto. They never lose the familiarity of being picked up to be fed and I have wondered if it un- nerves the man with the tongs when they get to the abattoir, as they clamour round him?

 

[Christoph1945]

pigs fight, hell of a racket, used to have to get back, pdq, and pull the victim out, why, no idea, big pens, out door run, and 'toys'. If you didn't pull the victim out, they would kill them. Thankfully not a routine thing, just occasional.

Strange!

 

[som farmer]

Strange!

we used to do heavy hogs, 360 lb, all males castrated, that used to make them squeal, fighting was just the occasional one, if bad straight to 1 of 2 slaughter houses, if not to bad, oakwoods, if bad, small local one, never paid much, but l can still hear the old bugger, 'he just about lasted till i got the water hot enough'. translated as, dead before slaughter !

 

[Kidds]

I worked on a pig farm many years ago, some of the poor creatures we loaded in the hope that they got there alive was sickening. Most disgusting job I ever had in my life, way worse than paying my way through college by cleaning toilets.

 

[Suffolk Serf]

I worked on a pig farm many years ago, some of the poor creatures we loaded in the hope that they got there alive was sickening. Most disgusting job I ever had in my life, way worse than paying my way through college by cleaning toilets.

Many years (about 30-40) ago there unfortunately was a "stress" gene that ended up in pigs, via the terminal sire line, that very unfortunately meant that those pigs with the full gene died in high stress situations such as being loaded or transported.
This gene (called the Halothane gene after the gas used to test for it) was eliminated fairly swiftly thankfully.
The pig industry is a very different place to back then, in 1985 I vowed never to work with pigs ever again. I now own 1200 sows!

 

[Kidds]

The pig industry is a very different place to back then, in 1985 I vowed never to work with pigs ever again. I now own 1200 sows!

It was pretty much exactly the same time and I am glad things have changed. As for the genes thing, it was the genes of the owners and their workers that had more to do with it that the pigs.
I did leave the industry but have kept a few of my own on occasion.