05/05/2026
Some of you may have seen in my stories a couple weeks ago that one of the piglets from this litter was born without a tail. I thought it was strange, but I never, ever could have imagined what I would soon be learning.
When I discovered at about 2 weeks old that she didn't have a tail, I did some googling. All I found was stuff about tail docking. So I figured, pigs can live without tails, no big deal.
Boy, was I wrong.
Piglets born with no tail, which has odds of 1% or less chance of happening, will almost always end up with a congenital defect called atresia ani. In other words, they have no a**s and cannot property pass stool.
It took almost six weeks for that to show up in my sweet little tail-less piglet. Once the babies started eating mom's grain and pasture grasses, she started to show symptoms of diarrhea and then constipation.
Sunday she was really struggling, straining to p**p. She had no interest in food or water at all. I tried several different remedies. For hours. Syringe feeding her mash with apple juice, spoon feeding canned pumpkin. She would barely take anything. She was really straining to p**p. One of my pig mentors gave me a recipe for an herbal remedy, so I made that and was able to dose her 10 cc. It almost immediately took effect. I was washing the poo off her backside and that's when I noticed that she was passing stool through her va**na. My heart sank. 😥
It was already after 10 pm Sunday night, so no vet was gonna come out. A friend suggested putting honey in her re**um to help any swelling. I tried, but was unable to get my pinky in there. Now I know why.
I put the piglet back with Bea for the night and continued to chat with my pig mentors. I came to realize that she probably had atresia ani.
I couldn't shut my brain off at all Sunday night, worrying about her and what I was gonna find Monday morning.
I called the vet first thing, and as expected, the conversation wasn't encouraging, but he came out and took at look at her before we made a decision.
After examining her, he verified that she most definitely had no a**s and there was nothing normal about anything he was seeing. He couldn't believe she lived almost 6 weeks with this condition.
We did the only thing we could. Euthanize.
This one hurt. Why didn't I question her not having a tail? How could I not have known about this disorder? Did I miss symptoms earlier on?
And what about continuing to breed Boone and Bea?! Most of what I have read, and even my vet, said not to be discouraged. If it happens again, then yes, but there could be other factors that triggered something.
I do feel that winter was hard on Bea for various reasons that I may post about later, but things like stress and nutrition can cause developmental issues. Boone and Bea were bred twice before I got them. The people I got them from don't respond or share any information about those litters when I reach out. It's like they have something to hide. I will never understand how that is helping the breed.
Nobody talks about this stuff. When I researched before getting chickens, there was knowledge being shared EVERYWHERE!! I don't see the same thing happening with pigs at all. So when I share things like this, it's because no one else does, and I think newer breeders can benefit from knowing that these things can happen and what to watch for.
This loss hit differently. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn and to share the experience with others, but it hurts when the lesson costs a life. And that is so often the case on a farm. 😢💔
