funny little pig

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millymolly

i was in my local p@h today to get some food and drifted over to look at the pigs. they had quite a lot in each pen, more than normal but i was drawn towards one that was particularly small and sort of pastely colours. its eyes were nearly shut they only opened like little slits. one didn't look like it was opening at all when you could see the eye it was pinkish in colour.
i have two questions? 98)
firsly does anyone know what might be wrong with it? 98)
what do you think p@h will do with it as i cant see them seeling it unless someone feels sorry for it? :'(
i cant get this poor pig out of my mind but as i just re homed two of my unexpected babies (pregnant rescue pig) i kind of feel guilty taking on another pig and always said i would not take animals from a pet shop! :-\
 
Could be a lethal which has been bred from breeding roans or dalmations. They have small eyes and are mostly blind. It's a genetic problem and they aren't supposed to live long. :(

Without a pic its hard to say but this doesn't sound right. :(

I went ot P@H St Helens today as I had to get some Hay for Harvey bun and Tika Rabbit as my local supplier was closed on a Sunday they had some gorgeous pigs. All smoothes it's hard walking away poor things didn't ask to be there.
 
If it was "sort of pastely colours" it cannot be a lethal bred from a Roan or Dal. They are always white.
My guess is that it is just a sick weakly pig bred by wherever P@H get their mass-produced pigs from.
 
You only have to look at the latest patch of pigs that our lovely Ron took in to know that not all pigs with genetic problems are white. :(
 
SunshineAndTwinkle said:
You only have to look at the latest patch of pigs that our lovely Ron took in to know that not all pigs with genetic problems are white. :(

Of course not all pigs with genetic problems are white.

BUT ....ALL pigs that are Dal or Roan bred 'lethals' (i.e. homozygous for the white spotting / micropthalmia gene) are white.
 
SunshineAndTwinkle said:
What about hidden roans?

The description ‘hidden Roan’ or ‘hidden Dal’ (and it’s quite a sensible way of describing it) is a pig that has one copy of the Roan or Dal gene and has no specific health problems other than those suffered by any other pig.

The problem with these pigs is that they are not obviously recognisable as Roans or Dals (and so they may get mated together and could produce ‘lethals’). They are not recognisable for several reasons –

1) They have been crossbred with pets for several generations and don’t look much like the ‘text-book’ Roan or Dal. They may have very little white on them but they are still genetically Dals or Roans.
2) They may have so much white that the Dal or Roan pattern is obscured. Some of the other (healthy) white genes – for example the ones that give normal Pink Eyed Whites or Himalayan would ‘hide’ the Dal or Roan pattern.
3) In long-haired pigs any spotting or roaning is harder to see because of the nature of the coat. A lot of the curly breeds (Texel, Alpaca etc) are Dals or Roans. Some of the longhaireds are pure white or Himalayan – again, this could be hiding Dal/Roan.
4) Dals and Roans may be any of the normal pig colours - so someone might not realise that a pale beige or lilac pig is actually a Dal or Roan because the marking may be very indistinct because of the lack of contrasting colours.

There is absolutely no problem with a pig being a Dal or Roan (or a ‘hidden’ Dal or Roan) if it is not bred from.
 
are lethals white all over?
 
You could always point out that the pigs eyes don't look right to one of the staff members, and if they show no interest you could demand to see a manager, and if they're still not interested you could threaten to call the RSPCA unless they get it treatment.

Or you could always offer to take it off their hands, free of charge with the knowledge that they won't have to pay for vet bills.

Sadly though we sometimes do have to take a stand against the pet trade. Even liberating sick furries from places like P@H only opens up more space for them to put younger, cuter stock into. :(
 
i had a similar prob couple months back with p@h

saw little piggy who looked in a bad way spoke to an assistant who fobbed me off so i asked to see a manager , the piggy did die as he had phnemonia but i did recieve a letter from the headquaterS AT P@H to let me know what had happened and thank me for being so observant !

i would ask to speak to the manager yiu could be surprised
 
I went to a pet store last week and saw a poor little roan pig with some rabbits in the cage.I wanted so badly to buy him but as I run a small self funded rescue I like to only take ones that are in immediate need but I still feel like going back right now
 
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