Why piglets grind their teeth: causes and treatment

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Why do piglets grind their teeth and how to treat this disease? In fact, diseases in pigs are caused by a number of negative factors: change in habitat, moving, poor diet, injuries, injuries, fractures, infections and helminths. Young animals are particularly susceptible and are usually the first to suffer.

But why do piglets grind their teeth? What exactly could cause such behavior and what to do about it? In fact, if young animals show obvious signs of illness, such as fever, rashes, loose and especially fetid stools, abscesses, no stools for a long time, refusal to eat, and other serious manifestations of a serious condition, then you should immediately contact your veterinarian.

If the pigs are not lethargic, not sickly and eat well, but periodically grind their teeth, then you need to watch them for a while.

Misaligned teeth

Why piglets creakteeth when eating? This may be due to the incorrect position of individual teeth or their too rapid growth. When eating, young animals experience discomfort, often pain, and try to find a more comfortable position for the jaws. Hence the characteristic creak.

Usually, when this problem occurs, one piglet grinds its teeth, while the rest do not stand out in any way. An individual must be caught and its mouth examined: strongly interfering teeth can leave wounds on the internal tissues. If they are not de alt with in time and not treated, then abscesses will occur.

In order for young animals to grind their teeth in time and not suffer from their intensive growth, coal is sprinkled on animals. For the same purpose, chains are hung on adult pigs - they gnaw them and grind off everything that is superfluous.

Boredom

Another reason why piglets grind their teeth is banal boredom. If the young are resting, relaxed, but rarely make a characteristic sound, then most likely there is nothing to worry about. As a rule, this behavior is caused by overcrowding of young animals and a lack of space to play.

Boredom and the lack of a normal living space force young animals to aggression - pigs bite each other's tails, fight and gnaw everything around. You can solve the problem if you seat piglets in different pens. Or place a toy, like hanging an old tire for them to chew on.

Spasms and cramps of chewing muscles

The next reason piglets grind their teeth isthese are spasms and convulsions of the masticatory muscles. A twitch of the cheeks, after which a characteristic sound is heard, is an occasion to invite a veterinarian. Since such a phenomenon can be caused both by the physiological characteristics of a particular individual, and by very serious infectious diseases that can spread to other animals.

Discomfort caused by unbalanced feed

Why do piglets grit their teeth with improper and unbalanced nutrition? This is due to discomfort in the tummy and pain. The young are constantly in a strong irritation and grind their teeth from this. Most often, this phenomenon is observed in all individuals that are on the same food base.

In severe cases, young animals can develop peptic ulcers - mainly due to the abuse of finely ground and dry feed. Peptic ulcer occurs against the background of loss of appetite, general depression, and there are undigested particles and blood in the stool.

Due to the rapid transfer of suckling pigs to an adult diet and a lack of vitamins A and group B, gastroenteritis develops in animals.

Worms

Most often, novice breeders are interested in why piglets grind their teeth and grow poorly. The most obvious answer is the presence of worms. On the one hand, modern luminaries of medicine reject the connection between grinding teeth and helminths in the body. However, if, in addition to the characteristic sound, the young animals have symptoms such as weight loss,wheezing, a diligent desire to scratch the anus, an upset gastrointestinal tract (flatulence, diarrhea), nervousness and a long cough during exertion, then most likely these are worms.

This problem is solved by contacting a veterinarian who will prescribe the right medication and select the right dosage.

How to treat piglets

Worm infestations in piglets can be caused by a variety of parasites that have entered the intestinal tract. Pigs are infected with roundworms, nematodes, cestodes and other helminths that affect the internal organs of the animal and lead to the most serious consequences. Often, the entire livestock of young animals dies if treatment is not started on time.

Most common worming drugs in pigs:

1. "Higrovetin" - antihelminthic feed additive. It can be consumed dry or brewed with food. Used as a therapeutic and prophylactic agent.
2. "Tetramizol" is in the form of powder or granules. Assigned if roundworms and some other specific helminths were detected in pigs.
3. "Levamisole" - injections with a solution help with infection of livestock with nematodes. The recommended dosage must be strictly adhered to.
4. "Alben" - a remedy against worms of a wide spectrum of action. It is produced in the form of tablets that need to be fed to the animal once - put it in the mouth or add it to flour food.
5. "Invermek" - an agent in the form of a solution for injection, used as a medicine and as a prophylactic drug. It is prescribed strictly after examination by a veterinarian! Especiallyif we are talking about young animals, since the dose is calculated according to the weight of the pig.

For more information about the advisability of prescribing a particular drug and the dosage and duration of treatment, please contact your veterinarian.