Hogs will generally take medicine in their feed or drinking water, unless they are very sick, or the medicine is extremely disagreeable to the taste.
BAG INFLAMMATION.
Cause.—Injuries, obstructed teats, accumulation of milk in the sow’s bag after the loss of part or all of her litter. Difficult birth, slight wounds in the bag permit invasion of germs, which is frequently the common cause of bag inflammation.
Symptoms.—Heat, pain and swelling in one or more teats. The general body temperature is elevated one or two degrees above normal. The sow perhaps refuses her feed, although she will drink water in large quantities.
Treatment.—Feed soft, sloppy food and vegetables. Give Epsom Salts, two to four ounces, in milk or feed. It is also well to milk the sow by hand, relieving her of the milk three or four times a day. This is very necessary. Camphorated Oil is very soothing, and I would recommend its use freely over affected teats.
BLACK TOOTH.
Cause.—Black Tooth, so called in swine, is principally due to injuries to the teeth received by chewing hard matter, such as bone, etc., which causes them to decay.
Symptoms.—Toothache. Toothache in swine is similar to that exhibited by man, in showing loss of appetite, salivation, or slobbering, hanging the head mostly to the side which is affected, loss of fear of man, and offensive breath. If the hogs are fed on strongly acid food for any length of time, their teeth may become dark colored. As the teeth are not materially injured, so long as decayed tooth substance cannot be noticed, and while the appetite and chewing facilities of the hog do not appear to be diminished, no interference will be necessary.
It is customary with some people to examine the teeth of hogs, and if one tooth is found darker colored than the others, it is supposed to be the cause of the hog not doing well, if he is in poor condition, and the tooth is hammered off flush with the jaw, leaving the broken roots, lacerated gums and nerves to increase the hog’s suffering. If the hog recovers, it is often concluded that this was a case of Black Tooth.
My advice is, if you are determined to have the tooth out, extract it properly. Do not break it off. When your hogs are not thriving, give them the regulator and tonic prescribed on the first page of this chapter.