v6n1ptip
Practice tip |
Blood testing nursery pigs
I have recently devised a new way to blood test nursery pigs. Previously,
I bled with the pig cradled and on its back, but with this method my vacutainer
needle often became plugged. Recently, I have been bleeding with the pig
hanging upside down (Figure 1). The pig should be held as you would if you
were going to castrate it. If the piglet is small enough, someone can also
hold the right front leg back while you hold the head down, allowing better
access to the vein. On bigger pigs, I hold the leg back myself, and pigs
don’t thrash around as much. Properly restraining a piglet during bleeding
is very important because if the pig wiggles too much you can cause extensive
damage to the vein.
–submitted by Mark M. Engesser, DVM
Stacyville, Iowa