Bottle feeding a piglet! Runtley is still with us!

[@herb-n-buckethomestead5874]

He is just the sweetest.

[@DBurgg]

I can’t figure out how you do all if this! Amazing. I hope your lil piglet makes it💜

[@struykfamilyfarm9587]

Remember that a pig nurses it's babies lying down and the babies lie with their heads down level or even lower then their backs if their heads are raised above their backs then the milk can get in their lungs to easily. Every one I know who has raised orphan pigs and runts has told me this. Many tried bottle first and lost many piglets before being told to use a shallow dish to feed them. Also pigs are like cats and will almost litter train themselves if you watch where they poop and pee in their box/cage you can put a box with low sides and shredded newspaper or straw and put a tiny bit of poop and wet pee bedding in it and they will naturally start going there to pee and poo

[@suenorton873]

Heather you are so good with runtlee. I remember bottle feeding puppies n kittens and 4 baby squirrels. I so hope he makes it.

[@janetgilmore8006]

God bless..? Keep up the good work......?

[@IrisStellaGrace09]

I wouldn’t be able to eat him, he’s way too freaking cute.

[@kellytansy6850]

Maybe your sympathy will extend to the ones that aren’t cute as well. Unfortunately, a knife to throat results in some relief if it’s done well due to the horrible lives most farmed animals endure. It’s why meat is relatively cheap. But factory farming is sickening people and destroying our planet. Small scale or no animal farming is the best hope for survival.

[@mariobigbuck3132]

I think your doing an awesome job, pig is alive and growing. What else matters?

[@OzarkMountainGoats]

This is so funny. Little Runtley will make it. Good job!

[@HomesteadOdyssey]

We use my husband's old wool socks for baby goat sweaters!

[@havenheritagefarm4525]

This was a fuzzy sock. But yes that's where I got the idea.

[@hannahbishop3490]

What kind of milk do you recommend for if you don’t have fresh pig milk or anything

[@Suraj.meitei115]

Today my sow past away due to uterus prolapse n she give 11 piglet,I'm feeding them with bottle it's my first but I don't wil it work out

[@hollygray3685]

I'm getting a potbelly .. sadly shes a 2 hour drive away so the breeder said I could take her at 3 weeks instead of 4 weeks (she has to be under 10lbs to be fixed my vet said why I'm taking him early) would this be a okay idea or will he be unhealthy??? Please help!!!

[@civilwildman]

How is Runtley now?

[@alngm_alaa]

Sorry for this translation by Google I want to travel to America and live with you. I love farm life and animal husbandry. If this is possible, I ..................... hope to write to me. Thank you.

[@eco35758]

I’m glad you want to save him but can’t you not let him shiver? Put a heating pad or use a light, poor thing. No wonder he’s not growing, all his energy is being used to stay warm. You’ve had a bunch of babies yourself, surely you know this. Good luck.

[@havenheritagefarm4525]

He has a heater. He only shivers after I feed him. He is kept in the house, and treated better than any pig around.

[@havenheritagefarm4525]

Obviously I am being proactive, putting a sweater on him, and bottle feeding warm fresh milk every 4 hours around the clock. He is not growing well because he is not getting his mother's milk.

[@eco35758]

Haven Heritage Farm like I said I’m glad you are going to the effort to save him. I’m watching your channel because I’m homesteading and never had pigs. I’m a retired nurse and twice you stated he was shivering which I find alarming. I guess I needed more information, like that he has a heater. I wonder if his milk is warm enough? Surely shivering after nursing isn’t a normal, healthy response, even if he has it better than any other pig in your zip code. I watch your channel in hopes of learning and the way you presented it was confusing. Maybe warm his milk a little longer? Thanks for posting, he is precious.

[@havenheritagefarm4525]

From a nurses perspective think of a malnourished baby, that has a negative energy balance. One with digestive distress that cannot absorb nutrients properly. There simply is not a "good" formula for piglets that they do well on. They are not an animal most people try to save, sadly. From my experience a modified raw cows or goats milk formula is always superior to any formula you can buy. This includes, lambs, baby goats, puppies, and hundreds of calves that I have raised. The little guy is struggling because the milk he is receiving is not an exact match for his mother's milk. If that makes sense. He is having intestinal discomfort, which is leading to nutrients not being absorbed as well as they should. Despite my keeping him at a steady 90 degrees, when I feed him the calories it takes to maintain body temp and digest milk, puts him in a negative energy balance. Bottle feeding piglets is hit or miss on weather they will survive. A lot of the time they react to their formula and scour (diarrhea) and die quickly. Despite the best of efforts. There is so much more to raising bottle babies than just warmth and food. Hope this explains things a little and why I am so cautious about him and weather he will survive. Simply most bottle fed piglets who don't get mothers colostrum don't make it.