Herd politics soap opera... and poor eyesight?

PigglePuggle

PigglePuggle

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I'm a bit worried about Blodwen pig, our lovely lilac crested breeder's reject piggy. We've always wondered if she can't see too well... anyway for 8 months now she's been second-top piggy by buddying up with top pig Clover, and she's been fine. Nobody ever challenged her for food or hay or her favourite hidey. But the last couple of weeks it seems like Blodwen and Clover have been less close and their herd rank has gone down a bit. Big old Jezzy floof who was very shy with other piggies seems to have jumped into the idea of calmly taking whatever she likes. I think she might be boss pig Clover's mum or at least her big sister and Clover just won't challenge her. And little Puggle who was the smallest pig but very feisty and husboar Theo's favourite wife has gained a lot of size and heft and is asserting herself too.
Anyway short cut to... I don't think Blodwen can see too well? She always did fine with her dinner or hay parked right by her favourite hidey, or shared with big Clover, but now she's sometimes being chased off her food and hay and it seems like she can't find another food bowl or hay pile too well, even though we always have 6 food bowls and 5 big piles of hay in various floor places plus a hayloft!
She's dropped a bit of weight, not a huge amount to worry about, but when she's chased off her regular feeding and sleeping spots she looks to be really confused where to go... her eyes look fine, no injury or wetness or dryness or anything new, I've always wondered if she can't see well since we first got her and she was in quarantine and blundered around then, but she does a catatonic fear potato thing at the vets and goes unresponsive so its hard to tell! She doesn't react to shining a light in her eye even if she carries on munching a coriander snack while that happens. And she's got really easy to pick up too, like she either can't see us looming or is grateful for the hand fed veggies by her nose. But her eyes look totally clear externally. Could she be blind or partially sighted and we never really noticed when she had a more prominent herd ranking and no-one stole her stuff? She is inbred as any breeder's reject pig and has very small pale pink eyes... poor Blodwen pig! Bossy Lady Puggly pants was really challenging her for every pellet at dinner time, despite their being a full bowl no pig was eating nearby...
 
PigglePuggle said:
I'm a bit worried about Blodwen pig, our lovely lilac crested breeder's reject piggy. We've always wondered if she can't see too well... anyway for 8 months now she's been second-top piggy by buddying up with top pig Clover, and she's been fine. Nobody ever challenged her for food or hay or her favourite hidey. But the last couple of weeks it seems like Blodwen and Clover have been less close and their herd rank has gone down a bit. Big old Jezzy floof who was very shy with other piggies seems to have jumped into the idea of calmly taking whatever she likes. I think she might be boss pig Clover's mum or at least her big sister and Clover just won't challenge her. And little Puggle who was the smallest pig but very feisty and husboar Theo's favourite wife has gained a lot of size and heft and is asserting herself too.
Anyway short cut to... I don't think Blodwen can see too well? She always did fine with her dinner or hay parked right by her favourite hidey, or shared with big Clover, but now she's sometimes being chased off her food and hay and it seems like she can't find another food bowl or hay pile too well, even though we always have 6 food bowls and 5 big piles of hay in various floor places plus a hayloft!
She's dropped a bit of weight, not a huge amount to worry about, but when she's chased off her regular feeding and sleeping spots she looks to be really confused where to go... her eyes look fine, no injury or wetness or dryness or anything new, I've always wondered if she can't see well since we first got her and she was in quarantine and blundered around then, but she does a catatonic fear potato thing at the vets and goes unresponsive so its hard to tell! She doesn't react to shining a light in her eye even if she carries on munching a coriander snack while that happens. And she's got really easy to pick up too, like she either can't see us looming or is grateful for the hand fed veggies by her nose. But her eyes look totally clear externally. Could she be blind or partially sighted and we never really noticed when she had a more prominent herd ranking and no-one stole her stuff? She is inbred as any breeder's reject pig and has very small pale pink eyes... poor Blodwen pig! Bossy Lady Puggly pants was really challenging her for every pellet at dinner time, despite their being a full bowl no pig was eating nearby...
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Hi! Yes, she could be blind or partially blind without any visible signs.

However, when there is a change in a hierarchy and there is some weight loss, it is important to consider that any weight loss many not necessarily be the result but a sign of an underlying issue that has triggered the change. Things can work both ways. As I know from my own experiences, it can be very difficult to untangle cause and effect!

You might see whether feeding Blodwen the same away from the competition will help her.
 
Oh dear - poor beautiful Blodwen.
Can you take her out the cage to feed her separately to make sure she gets her share?
Maybe a vet visit to make sure there’s no underlying issue?
It may be a change in herd politics - @Betsy faced this with her lit a while ago
 
We plan to get her to the vet in the next couple of weeks, all the piggies are getting a vet check before we go back to work in September, but as she was raised by a crazy evil breeder who bred Rottweiler puppies and lilac sheltie and peruvian piggies in the same room (!) Blod doesnt do too well at the vets, if there's a sniff of doggy or a woof in the waiting room she just goes floppy and plays dead until she gets home :( she's stopped doing that with us at home now thank goodness and it does make for a very easy back teeth examination at the vets but not much good for testing her reflexes or eyesight, she just doesnt have any normal respinses going on if she doesnt feel safe- she's like a Tennessee fainting goat piggy but no-one knows if its behavioural or physiological or both!
We'll try getting her out for feeds, it used to be tricky but lately she seems to appreciate coming out for extra cuddles and snacks :)
 
Alisa3114 said:
Poor Blodwen, hope she will be ok
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I think Blod will be fine, she's overcome bigger hurdles in her life like arriving from a crazy breeder with ringworm and 6 overgrown back teeth, but because of that I want her to be super-happy-ok! I do rather think she's at least as blind as her piggy daddy who needs super strong minus 8 prescription glasses not to walk into things and get confused. Piggy daddy will do some special Blod feeding times and sing her the "Blodwen Pig-wig-wig" song he made up that she recognises since she used to come out of quarantine for syringe feeds when she couldnt eat because of her bad back teeth, she still runs about waiting for a snack if she hears her special song :)
I just think we need to adjust a bit if she is actually mostly blind, and the others arent helping her as much and are actually (yes I'm talking to you Puggle!) taking advantage of that to gain herd status!
 
Poor Blod Spod. Betsy was diagnosed with cataracts a couple of years ago. You can't see anything though as her eyes are still clear and not white. She bimbles around happily and sometimes has a problem finding food. On the plus side she has taught Dennis not to be so skittish cos she can't see me approaching so doesn't run off so neither does Dennis too much now.
 
Betsy said:
Poor Blod Spod. Betsy was diagnosed with cataracts a couple of years ago. You can't see anything though as her eyes are still clear and not white. She bimbles around happily and sometimes has a problem finding food. On the plus side she has taught Dennis not to be so skittish cos she can't see me approaching so doesn't run off so neither does Dennis too much now.
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Thanks @Betsy ! Yes she cant seem to find her hay or her dinner or a piece of veg waved in front of her unless its in exactly the expected place or smells very strong like herbs. Lettuce and hay seem completely invisible even if offered right by her nose. Maybe she needs more dill and coriander in her life, and cuddles and lap time hand feeding if she cant see us coming!
 
PigglePuggle said:
I think Blod will be fine, she's overcome bigger hurdles in her life like arriving from a crazy breeder with ringworm and 6 overgrown back teeth, but because of that I want her to be super-happy-ok! I do rather think she's at least as blind as her piggy daddy who needs super strong minus 8 prescription glasses not to walk into things and get confused. Piggy daddy will do some special Blod feeding times and sing her the "Blodwen Pig-wig-wig" song he made up that she recognises since she used to come out of quarantine for syringe feeds when she couldnt eat because of her bad back teeth, she still runs about waiting for a snack if she hears her special song :)
I just think we need to adjust a bit if she is actually mostly blind, and the others arent helping her as much and are actually (yes I'm talking to you Puggle!) taking advantage of that to gain herd status!
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Aww she sounds like she's has had some major hurdles she's overcome, she sounds like an amazing little piggie with amazing piggy parents 😘
 
I can attest to amazing piggy parents.
My herd were wonderfully looked after when they stayed.

Merab was blind for the last few years of her life but she coped well - I just stuck food right under her nose
 
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