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Cough? (sorry a bit long winded)

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Polypea

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Hello

I may just be a little paranoid after reading about URI's and it being the time of year for this infection to start but........

I noticed yesterday that one of my girls, Scruffy, was 'coughing', well to be honest I'm not sure what it was, it sounded a bit like a clucking sound, I don't think it was a sneeze, she did it about 5 times in a row and she hasn't done it again since, not whilst I've been around anyway.
I had heard this noise before but I was unable to tell which piggy it was coming from, also when I have heard it before it has been only one 'cough' not a few in a row like yesterday.

Scruffy appears ok in herself, she is eating and drinking normally and she has put on weight since I weighed her last week. One eye has a tiny amount of crust in the corner, although she has had this since I re-homed her about 2 months ago.
She has also had a scratch to that eye, which caused the eye to go a bluish colour and weep, this has been treated and has cleared up, so I'm not sure if the crust is the last knockings of the scratch!?!

I may just be over-reacting and at this stage my gut instinct isn't to take her to the vet, but as I'm not that experienced I would be so grateful for some advise as I want to do the right thing and catch anything quickly before it takes a hold.

Thanks
 
was she eating and choking? mine quite often cough because they have been too greedy!
 
Wilma is an expert and shes the slowest eater, I can't work out why she always chokes. Does anyone else love there cough? It is cute :))!
 
O you could be right, it did happen whilst she was eating! :{

She is also a much slower eater than the other 2, maybe that has something to do with it?!?

JoanneG111 I agree it is such a cute sound, although it worries me it's so sweet to hear :)p

Thanks guys :)
 
Yup, I use to have a pig that use to eat too quickly and cough allllll the time.

As for the crusty eye, I would look into trying to get that sorted. Does the hair seem to be thinning around it or is it going bald? Maybe try putting some Camomile cream or Aloe Vera cream on it and see if that helps it (being careful not to put any cream in her eye).
 
How old is Scruffy? She's probably just not chewing her food properly despite chewing slowly; it's worth watching how she eats though to ensure she's not dropping bits of food and struggling to chew.

With regards to the eye crust, a small amount is quite normal for some pigs, and it simply could be residual from the weepy eye she recently had. I have one pig whose eyes weep when he sleeps (always with his eyes shut) and he has a chronic problem with the crusties around his eyes!

And just to clarify what you noticed about this being the right time of year for URI to develop - it's the right time of year for respiratory infection symptoms to occur....not necessarily infections though. Allergies (hayfever) tend to start springing up, with very similar symptoms to respiratory infections.
 
my guinea does that. it is like a cough/hiccup sound when he's eating at first i thought he had something stuck in his throat now i now he just cant cram in as much as he'd like in his greedy gob! :))
 
Hi

Scruffy is around 2 years old, she maybe slightly older but probably only by about 6 months.
I've noticed she does chew her food slower than the other 2, she worried me last week as she had lost some weight but she has put that back on plus a few more grams this week.
If she is eating a slice of carrot for example, she chews it half to three quarters through then drops the last bit, but it's more like she has come to the end of it and it's fallen off, if you know what I mean, then she eats the last bit.

I'm sure the crusty eye is to do with the scratch, it's better than it was when I got her, the bluishness has gone now but I will keep an eye on it, excuse the pun:))
Also I haven't noticed any thinning of her fur or baldness around the eye, which is a good sign.

Thank you for clarifying the URI symptoms/infection and hay fever info, there is so much more to piggies than I remember when I kept them as a child.
Back then they lived in a hutch in the garden and came out for cuddles and runs at the weekend when I wasn't at school! rolleyes
 
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