In January of this year (2011) I adopted Cinnamon and Lily from a local animal shelter. After having Lily a short time I noticed she didn't walk like Cinnamon did so I took her to the vet and found out she had scurvy. I gave her liquid vitamin C orally every week and she improved very quickly. But she could never make the loud wheek sound that other pigs make. She would try but only a rasp would come out.
At the end of MarchI decided to add a new pig to the family and I adopted one off craigslist. I was told it was a girl and at the time I didn't have experience with males. Well, he was a boy. I found this out within a day, seperated him from the girls and got him neutered. But it was already too late, little did I know at the time but Lily was already pregnant.
In April I noticed she was a little slower than usual, then one morning I found her gasping on the floor. I rushed her to the vet and they did a chest xray. She had a bad respiratory infection and was only able to use 10% of her lungs. I was shocked because none of my other pigs were sick, and their living conditions were ideal. Puppy pads under fleece kept it from being moist, no dust, plenty of ventilation. The doctor said she may just have a lower immune system than the other pigs. They put her on a nebulizer for a few hours and then sent her home with some antibiotics, pain medication, and oxbow critical care. I nursed her back to health and she was my perfect Lily again.
Lily had her babies June 10th, Tulip, Chocolaty, and Oreo. She was a good mother to her babies, always nursing and cleaning them. I made sure she got her extra Vitamin C while she was nursing and extra fresh veggies.
Sadly my little Lily died July 1st. The babies were almost fully weened from nursing. They woke me with their loud cries, louder than I'd ever heard them. I had them in their own room, seperated from the other pigs so Lily and the babies could have some freedom. Lily was laying on the floor and the babies were running around her trying to wake her up. It was far too late, she was already gone. I'm not sure why but she had been sickly from the beginning. I'm sure it was just too much for her frail body to sustain three babies. She was my favorite and I'll miss her forever.