Coughing: How often is coughing normal?

[Gemma375]

4 days ago I took mama pig and her two babies (now 3 and a half weeks!!) to the vet (a new vet who I am very happy with!!) and he gave them all a proper check up - something my old vet never did! And checked their eyes, ears, and chest with a stethoscope (sp?!), their weight and said they seemed very active and happy piggies. However, I have noticed coughing coming from the cage. I'm not sure which one it is, as they are either in the cage, or its at night when I'm in bed, but I'm pretty sure it's one of the babies. It's fairly loud, but only one short, sharp cough, not a series on top of each other. I've heard this about twice a day. It sounds to me like a baby does if they choke while drinking milk. Could this be the same? I'm guessing the chance of anything being wrong is pretty slim, as they only had a check up a couple of days ago?

Sorry, I know I've posted a couple of little "false alarm" messages in the past week or so but I'm still learning what is and isn't normal behaviour and could never forgive myself if one of my piggies suffer due to my ignorance!

They all still eat normally and all run about, pop corning everywhere - even the mummy pig popcorns now, which she never used to do when I first got her! So cute! I check their breathing and noses for any discharge whenever I hold them (usually once or twice a day, but I haven't today as I've come down with a heavy, chesty cold :(...)

How often do healthy piggies cough, and when should I become concerned?

[akstrohm]

They sound like they're okay since they just had a check up. They could be coughing due to dust. It might help to switch to fleece if you're not already using it, and use the least dusty hay you can find (Kleenmamas is great).

Are you weighing them all weekly? If not, you should start. Weight loss is often the first (and sometimes only sign of illness).

I assume you separated any male babies already?

[Gemma375]

Luckily she only had 2 girls, so I had no need to separate - I even got a second opinion :) So I was happy about that.
I'm currently looking for some suitable scales to be able to weigh them, but they're definitely putting on weight day by day, they've got so big already! And the vet said they're both over the minimum weight that he'd be happy with :) I've got a few days off now, though, so I'll be able to put a little more time into shopping for the scales. I'm guessing food scales would be best as they'd be more sensitive to little weights?

Thanks for your advice, I'll definitely try switching, as the woodchip does seem rather dusty at times if it whips up in my face. Where is the best place to get suitable fleece?

[akstrohm]

Any scale for weighing things 5lb or less is good--so kitchen ones work fine. Digital ones are most accurate, but not necessary.

Fleece can be found at Walmart, fabric stores, online, etc. You can buy fleece blankets if you want. Read the Fleece Project sticky in the bedding section for information on how to use it.