I put Kiki and her two friends out in the run at 3pm this afternoon, it was sunny but not too hot (or so I thought). I was cleaning out their run and I checked on them after about 20 minutes and I noticed Kiki was laid out in the sunshine, I thought that she was sunbathing but then I noticed her breathing was really fast.
I scooped her up and took her inside , she sounded a bit ruttly in her nose. I put her in a box with a cool pack wrapped in a towel and fortunately after about 10 minutes her breathing settled and she started to perk up. She is fine now.
I normally put a sunshade on the run but I didn't bother today as I knew they would only be out for about half an hour and I thought it would be good for them to get some sunshine. I was horrified at how quickly she overheated. Her two friends were fine, so I guess Kiki is a bit more vunerable to the heat.
So beware, even on relatively cool days it is easy for pigs to overheat. Always provide some shade even if the pigs are only going to be out for a short while. I have learned my lesson and fortunately Kiki is unharmed.
I scooped her up and took her inside , she sounded a bit ruttly in her nose. I put her in a box with a cool pack wrapped in a towel and fortunately after about 10 minutes her breathing settled and she started to perk up. She is fine now.
I normally put a sunshade on the run but I didn't bother today as I knew they would only be out for about half an hour and I thought it would be good for them to get some sunshine. I was horrified at how quickly she overheated. Her two friends were fine, so I guess Kiki is a bit more vunerable to the heat.
So beware, even on relatively cool days it is easy for pigs to overheat. Always provide some shade even if the pigs are only going to be out for a short while. I have learned my lesson and fortunately Kiki is unharmed.
