Any rescues / people experiencinga high mortality rate in their piggies at the moment

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Gosh, this is very concerning but I think it's important as others have said not to create a mass hysteria - thank you for taking the time to come onto our forum to raise awareness and I hope we can get to the bottom of this quickly with minimal losses.
 
Has anyone compared regular preventative treatments used? ( such as Ivermectin ) just wondering if there could be a dodgy dose of something out there, bearing in mind that younger animals are more sensitive to medicines etc than older animals. Also, as someone has already mentioned there could be a common factor in dry food if all the cases have used different dry foods, has any one looked to see if there's a common ingredient in ALL of the dry foods and who supplies the petfood manufacturers and if so the pet food manufacturers should be made aware of this.
I don't know if all this has been covered on the "other" forum because I don't have a clue what forum that is so apologies if I'm just repeating what someone else has said. This is very worrying, is it worth everyone letting their vets know so that they are more clued up about patterns to be on the lookout for?
 
Just thought I'd add a bit more info...

August-October - 80 pigs in one stud in Somerset, either died with no symptoms or collapsed and then died, 3 pm's done - all inconclusive

November - 60 pigs in one stud near Exeter, no symptoms, all died over a 3 week period. PM's done and all inconclusive

December-January - 5 sporadically in Wales, fine one day, dead the next.

January - Bristol, can't find how many pigs were lost, but a subsantial amount, all died over night, no symptoms

January - Derby, 20 pigs died overnight, again no symptoms

January - Hertfordshire, 80+ pigs died over the course of 48 hrs, no symptoms

Will add more info as and when I find it.
 
double post...I keep getting error messages up as well when I'm posting...wondering if it's this that's causing it?!
 
I joined the facebook group for it and it really is terrifying. I'm going home next weekend (though I am rather tempted to go this weekend) and my shed is getting cleaned to within an inch of its life. We've had a few issues of damp in there and whilst the radiator we have has sorted it, I don't want any spores or anything left on surfaces in there that could harm my pigs. The FB group has several mentions of toxins/mould as being a possible cause... so I'm not taking any risks with my babies!

If anyone can suggest a relatively cheap disinfectant/antifungal/all singing all dancing thing for me, I'd appreciate it...
 
F10 is the only fungal sporicidal disinfectant, it's easy to get hold of online.

Suzy x
 
Squidge said:
Just thought I'd add a bit more info...

August-October - 80 pigs in one stud in Somerset, either died with no symptoms or collapsed and then died, 3 pm's done - all inconclusive

November - 60 pigs in one stud near Exeter, no symptoms, all died over a 3 week period. PM's done and all inconclusive

December-January - 5 sporadically in Wales, fine one day, dead the next.

January - Bristol, can't find how many pigs were lost, but a subsantial amount, all died over night, no symptoms

January - Derby, 20 pigs died overnight, again no symptoms

January - Hertfordshire, 80+ pigs died over the course of 48 hrs, no symptoms

Will add more info as and when I find it.
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I for one feel that I need more evidence before making any decisions on this. I know this is not the same thing, but when my Treacle and Piggy Wiggin died of old age I nearly lost Sweetie as well to the shock. It strikes me that if one guinea pig in a herd got stressed and had a heart attack, there could easily be mass fatalities without showing any symptoms. This could be particularly true for large breeding operations where many animals may share the same congenital weaknesses. There may not necessarily be an outbreak of anything. Also, we all need to be very careful about believing accounts of things on that we read on the internet. There could be any number of things motivating stories of guinea pig fatalities (such as people feeling the need to justify why they did not act on treatable symptoms, people explaining the disappearance of guinea pigs that they have dumped in the wild, people feeling the need to justify why they have not even given their pigs basic care). We all see regular cases of guinea pig neglect on this forum and for the perputrators of that neglect this was normal behaviour.

I would need to hear an account from a forum member or rescue in good standing before I was 100% persuaded that there was a problem.
 
Fair enough, but you don't just get 80 pigs drop dead over the space of 48hrs due to neglect...they die gradually over a protracted length of time.

And the lady who has lost pigs in the last few days was a member on here.
 
threelittlepigs said:
I for one feel that I need more evidence before making any decisions on this. I know this is not the same thing, but when my Treacle and Piggy Wiggin died of old age I nearly lost Sweetie as well to the shock. It strikes me that if one guinea pig in a herd got stressed and had a heart attack, there could easily be mass fatalities without showing any symptoms. This could be particularly true for large breeding operations where many animals may share the same congenital weaknesses. There may not necessarily be an outbreak of anything. Also, we all need to be very careful about believing accounts of things on that we read on the internet. There could be any number of things motivating stories of guinea pig fatalities (such as people feeling the need to justify why they did not act on treatable symptoms, people explaining the disappearance of guinea pigs that they have dumped in the wild, people feeling the need to justify why they have not even given their pigs basic care). We all see regular cases of guinea pig neglect on this forum and for the perputrators of that neglect this was normal behaviour.

I would need to hear an account from a forum member or rescue in good standing before I was 100% persuaded that there was a problem.
Click to expand...

Well , I for one am taking this seriously, I know of a couple of the people affected and they do not fit any of the above descriptions. Well cared for pigs with very knowledgeable owners who are devastated at the loss.
 
Squidge said:
Fair enough, but you don't just get 80 pigs drop dead over the space of 48hrs due to neglect...they die gradually over a protracted length of time.

And the lady who has lost pigs in the last few days was a member on here.
Click to expand...

Hope my post didn't cause offence. It's important that people stay informed. It's just that this type of story is scary and has a way of gathering a momentum of its own.
 
Suzygpr said:
F10 is the only fungal sporicidal disinfectant, it's easy to get hold of online.

Suzy x
Click to expand...

Thank you Suzy! I shall order some. If anything, this will be for my own peace of mind... My shed is very clean already and gets cleaned out often but I want to be on the extra extra safe side! Do you use F10 as a general use thing or just every so often? I'm just used to using the pet-shop bought sprays...

:)
 
threelittlepigs said:
Hope my post didn't cause offence. It's important that people stay informed. It's just that this type of story is scary and has a way of gathering a momentum of its own.
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No I understand what you're saying, I'm not offended in the slightest...it's just that...do you really think breeders would be sharing this information out if they honestly truly had neglected their animals? they certainly wouldn't be telling a soul if that was true...let alone a whole forum of pro-rescuers
 
I also want to add...this wasn't intended to scare or start scaremongering...it was purely to advise and gain further information...we should all be watching our animals closely and taking whatever precautions we feel necessary.

I personally think that it is some sort of poisoning rather than a virus, as nothing is really adding up to it being a virus at the moment.
 
...double post...at least I'll get to 50 posts quickly this way! :D
 
This is really scary - IMO everyone that can pull together to get to the bottom of this should - regardless of their 'backgrounds' - after all none of us want some virus/poison/whatever to spread through the piggy populations....

Very sorry to hear about all the losses :(

x
 
Squidge said:
I also want to add...this wasn't intended to scare or start scaremongering...it was purely to advise and gain further information...we should all be watching our animals closely and taking whatever precautions we feel necessary.

I personally think that it is some sort of poisoning rather than a virus, as nothing is really adding up to it being a virus at the moment.
Click to expand...

We think that double posts are happening when you use the quick reply function: try using the main reply instead.

I take your point. I also remember that in other years fatalities have been cause by fungal spores from mouldy hay. Symptoms (as I remember) were suddenly swelling throats which were stopping pigs eating. I know someone who lost several pigs in her herd to it. It has been such a mild winter that it has been the perfect breeding ground for spores...
 
This is very scary, especially to hear about the one in Hertfordshire.
I'm going to keep an eye close eye on all my boars just to give myself peace of mind.
 
threelittlepigs said:
We think that double posts are happening when you use the quick reply function: try using the main reply instead.

I take your point. I also remember that in other years fatalities have been cause by fungal spores from mouldy hay. Symptoms (as I remember) were suddenly swelling throats which were stopping pigs eating. I know someone who lost several pigs in her herd to it. It has been such a mild winter that it has been the perfect breeding ground for spores...
Click to expand...

mould is one of the fore-runners for a cause at the moment...especially as we have had some very mild and wet weather over the last year, mould could have grown in the hay, or even readigrass, and caused it to go toxic...but to only be toxic to pigs. It would account for why there are some cages found with some alive and some dead...as they would have eaten different amounts, whereas a virus would have attacked everything the same regardless.
 
Squidge said:
...double post...at least I'll get to 50 posts quickly this way! :D
Click to expand...

Are you using "quick reply" instead of the post reply on the left, as quick reply seems to do double posts!

It is very worrying. We need to find out what feed all these pigs were on, hay suppliers etc, any common denominators.
 
Poppy'sMum said:
Are you using "quick reply" instead of the post reply on the left, as quick reply seems to do double posts!

It is very worrying. We need to find out what feed all these pigs were on, hay suppliers etc, any common denominators.
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This is being done for those who have internet access and have come forward about it.

So far there is no correlation whatsoever...the only commonest factor is readigrass, but even then not everyone uses it.
 
Squidge said:
This is being done for those who have internet access and have come forward about it.

So far there is no correlation whatsoever...the only commonest factor is readigrass, but even then not everyone uses it.
Click to expand...

I've got a bag of Readigrass that I've had for a couple of months, & I've been using it with no problems so far. Should I bin it? Mine don't have English hay, they only get Timothy hay from the US to keep mite problems away :)
 
Squidge said:
mould is one of the fore-runners for a cause at the moment...especially as we have had some very mild and wet weather over the last year, mould could have grown in the hay, or even readigrass, and caused it to go toxic...but to only be toxic to pigs. It would account for why there are some cages found with some alive and some dead...as they would have eaten different amounts, whereas a virus would have attacked everything the same regardless.
Click to expand...

When the previous outbreak happened, the person whose herd was affected got treatment and advice from Vedra. Karen from Reading GP Rescue also posted some advice about storing hay. I have just posted on her Facebook page to see if she remembers anything about it.
 
Poppy'sMum said:
I've got a bag of Readigrass that I've had for a couple of months, & I've been using it with no problems so far. Should I bin it? Mine don't have English hay, they only get Timothy hay from the US to keep mite problems away :)
Click to expand...

That is entirely up to you...many other people are using it with no issues...
 
Have merged all the threads on these topics. Also just to let people know to only post information from elsewhere if you have the permission of the person who wrote it.
 
threelittlepigs said:
I for one feel that I need more evidence before making any decisions on this. I know this is not the same thing, but when my Treacle and Piggy Wiggin died of old age I nearly lost Sweetie as well to the shock. It strikes me that if one guinea pig in a herd got stressed and had a heart attack, there could easily be mass fatalities without showing any symptoms. This could be particularly true for large breeding operations where many animals may share the same congenital weaknesses. There may not necessarily be an outbreak of anything. Also, we all need to be very careful about believing accounts of things on that we read on the internet. There could be any number of things motivating stories of guinea pig fatalities (such as people feeling the need to justify why they did not act on treatable symptoms, people explaining the disappearance of guinea pigs that they have dumped in the wild, people feeling the need to justify why they have not even given their pigs basic care). We all see regular cases of guinea pig neglect on this forum and for the perputrators of that neglect this was normal behaviour.

I would need to hear an account from a forum member or rescue in good standing before I was 100% persuaded that there was a problem.
Click to expand...

I have to say I agree with the others. There is no way you would simply see that number of piggies drop dead overnight through neglect.

I think people should be encouraged to stay informed, ensure that they don't take on any new animals and properly quarantine anyone new they have taken on in the last few days. No point in panicking before a source or cause is ascertained.
 
Just a thought...

Has anyone who DOESN'T breed/show been affected? Rescues? People with large numbers of pet piggies?


Could it be sabotage?

It's not been unheard of in other species showing circles.
 
Someone reported on the facebook site / or other forum (I can't remember on which I read it today - lots of reading) of every pig in one rescue dying overnight and the rescue closing down.
 
It might be unrelated, but on the German guinea pig forum I go to, a girl has just had 12 pigs die in January. They are kept inside, the vets are at a loss, and she is currently having a post mortem done on one of the pigs to figure out what on earth is going on. They were indoor pigs.

In that case however the piggies were showing "cold like symptoms" i.e funny breathing and weepy eyes, but they were put on meds and it looked like some were clearing up - and then suddendly died anyway.

There is a question of whether or not it is Coccidia. They were treated with Baycox but does not seem to have an effect?

Just wondering if this is unrelated, or if high numbers of piggy deaths are going to start appearing in other corners of the world too now...

http://www.meerschwein.de/wbb/thread.php?threadid=23451
 
Lisajazz said:
Someone reported on the facebook site / or other forum (I can't remember on which I read it today - lots of reading) of every pig in one rescue dying overnight and the rescue closing down.
Click to expand...

There was a rescue used to be on here from Sweden I think they closed after there animals died wonder if that's who they mean?
 
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