If One Of My Boars Should Die At The Vet, Should I Let The Other See His Body?

Maddykins

Maddykins

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One of my boars is very sick and just in case the worst should happen my partner and I have thought about what we would do if he were to pass away, God forbid. My parents have agreed that we could bury him in their garden - it's a special place for my boys too as they've spent lots of time there munching on the grass in the summers, as we've always lived in flats with no gardens and often spent periods of time there.

I've just read the sticky thread about bereavement, and I was wondering, if my boy should die at the vet, we would be bringing the body back to prepare it for burial and bury it, should I put it in the cage with my other boy for him to see the dead body and know that his brother is dead rather than just 'disappeared'? Will that help him? Obviously I don't want to unnecessarily upset him but I feel that animals are smarter than we realise and it might be more unsettling if his brother just disappears whereas maybe he could process his death better if he saw the body?

I am really hoping it does not come to this but feel that it's better to be prepared for the worst. :(
 
I would consider bringing him home for your other boar to see, but I wouldn't put him directly in their cage.
Is it possible to have a floor time pen set up and do it there?

And as hard as it is, you are doing he right thing by thinking ahead.
When the worst does happen it is hard to make good decisions as you are usually so upset.

Sending healing vibes to your poorly boar and lots of strength to you. :hug:
 
I agree with the above unless whatever illness your boar has is contagious and transmittable to his friend.

I'm crossing my fingers firmly for you and your boys- it's horrible going to the vets and waiting for their diagnosis. I hope your boy recovers. X
 
Thanks both. He is eating a tiny bit of veg now and the odd pellet or two when offered but is still very poorly and underweight :(

The vet thinks he has some kind of infection so he is on antibiotics for that, and an x-ray showed he had lots of wind, the vet thought that was probably as a result of the infection. I don't think he can give it to his brother or at least the vet didn't express any concern about him living with his brother while he is sick.

I can set up a pen somewhere else in the room or even in a different room where they don't normally go if that would be better and do it that way if it comes to that, thanks for that suggestion.

Thanks for all your well wishes, we are syringe feeding him and luckily I'm off work sick at the moment as I'm so ill myself so it's a very stressful time here but at least I can be at home to keep an eye on him all the time. We have all our fingers crossed tightly that he will pull through.
 
When Toast passed away at the vets, I brought her home and placed her in the cage for Beans to see. Before this Beans had been wandering around the cage looking for her. Once I put Toast in, Beans had a sniff and a lick then just left her. She went back then seemed to get quite scared/upset because she ran and hid, with her eyes wide open and breathing really fast, so I took Toast out. I definitely believe it made her realise that she wouldn't be coming back, I'd have hated for Beans to be wondering where she went and if she'd be coming back. Beans was quite quiet for a while after this which is understandable. Like you say they're more intelligent than we give them credit for.

I do hope your boy pulls though x
 
We have done this a few times now (unfortunately) and reactions vary. Two of ours just sniffed and walked away but one little girl wheeked when she saw the body of her friend.It was upsetting but worthwhile as I think it helped them all move on.

I hope your boy pulls through - lots of healing thoughts,
 
katew said:
We have done this a few times now (unfortunately) and reactions vary. Two of ours just sniffed and walked away but one little girl wheeked when she saw the body of her friend.It was upsetting but worthwhile as I think it helped them all move on.

I hope your boy pulls through - lots of healing thoughts,
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That's heartbreaking.
 
He seems much brighter today and is eating more hay. We are continuing with the syringe feeds and monitoring him closely especially as he is so underweight, but he's been moving about a lot more today and showing interest in what we've been doing at home etc instead of just hunched up somewhere looking poorly all day. I'm so hopeful we've turned a corner now.
 
Sending your boy loads of healing vibes, I hope he gets better very soon.
When Willow was PTS at the vets Bracken had gone with him and stayed overnight to keep him company whilst he had tests. The vet nurse told me they had put Willows body in the cage with Bracken so vets must think it's beneficial to the bereaved piggie. I was too upset at th time to ask what Bracken's reaction was.
 
Tiamolly123 said:
Maddykins can't you take the whole week off, certainly doing your piggy good
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Sorry, I think here's been some confusion, I am off work at the moment anyway as I am on long-term sickness absence. Which is horrible but at least I am at home to keep an eye on him luckily.
 
Thus far all of my pigs have passed away at home, though two were not in the cage with their cagemates when the death occurred. I did let the bereaved pig see the body. I do think that it helped them to realize that their friend was not coming back. Reactions have varied from a cursory sniff/grooming of the body followed by moving away relatively quickly to sitting cuddled up to the body for a long time and looking very alarmed/agitated. I do think it helped, though (at the very least, pigs who were obviously anxious at the absence of their companion stopped looking for them constantly.) Hopefully it won't be necessary though, wishing your piggie a good recovery. Sometimes they surprise us!
 
He is pretty much back to his normal self now and finally starting to put back weight on, I am so, so happy and relieved. It is soo nice seeming him wheeking loads and scampering about being cheeky! The only thing is he has injured one of his eyes over the weekend, poor thing has really been through the wars! He went to the vet today and now he has eye drops that we have to give twice a day and he has an appt to get it checked up again next week. He doesn't appear to be in any pain but it must be uncomfortable as the only reason we noticed was because we noticed he wasn't opening it fully most of the time, poor little thing. The vet scared us and mentioned the possibility of him losing his eye which feels unbearable as he only just hurt it and there is no visible injury and no ulceration (vet used a dye to see some injury). But crossing our fingers he will overcome this too.
 
I was told that Christian may lose an eye when he had hay poke at 5 days old. He was given eyedrops twice a day too and they were difficult to get in as the drops were bigger than his eye! With the help of my son Tom I managed. Christian was fine and his eye cleared up nicely. He still squints with it sometimes though. I have had it checked out by a vet and the vet is happy with it and Christian isn't bothered by it.
 
So pleased to hear your boy is getting back to his old self. It's such a shame about his eye but hopefully it will clear up quickly.
 
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