Sneezing Runny nose from dusty hay or possible URI?

[Kfowler5]

Ok so three weeks ago one of our boars was sneezing occasionally and I just wanted to make sure he was alright so took him in to the vet. He said that everything looked normal in the X-ray, lungs sounded clear, he wasn't losing weight anymore (He had lost a cagemate in October and lost a bit of weight before we got him a new companion.) the only thing other than the occasional sneezing was a bit of a pointed end to his poops, so he was prescribed something called Sulcrafate, which was described as a bit of a pepto for pigs and would help if he had some type of ulcer or other digestive problem. His appetite was fine already but after the Sulcrafate he was even hungrier and his poops went right back to normal. The sneezing stopped almost all together until, the day before yesterday. We feed oxbow Timothy and orchard grass which is normally perfectly fine but in the last month or so all of the bags I've found have been very dusty. I've been trying to shake most if it out outside but haven't been terribly successful and they get hay bits all over their faces.
The day before yesterday I noticed him sneeze just a couple times and he had a little bit of a runny nose, but also had hay dust stuck in both of his nostrils. I cleaned off his nose and the inside of his nostrils seem shiny but it doesn't look like its runny anymore. His weight is fine, if anything he's gone up a few grams in the last week. Should I take him back to the vet? I listened to his breathing and there is no raspy ness or crackle, and we were just there a few weeks ago and don't know if I have the money after Christmas to take him back this week. I don't want there to be anything wrong with him but other than the occasional sneeze and a runny looking nose that may or may not have been caused from hay I don't know what to do. We have always gotten oxbow and only recently it has been very dusty, does anyone know of a better place to get hay in the Kansas City area? I've been thinking of trying out KMS but I don't know the best way to store it if I were to buy that large of a bale. Any tips of hay storage are greatly appreciated, it looks like great quality hay and I'm seriously thinking of switching them.

 

[Paula]

Pigs do have allergies. It's not as common as a URI but considering you've already been to the vet for it, I'd just keep an eye on it and monitor his weight closely. If the weight continues to be steady but he continues to have a runny nose and sneezing, consider asking your vet for Benadryl. I had a pig diagnosed with hayfever and Benadryl was occasionally necessary for him.

As for the hay, I try to shake out exceptionally dusty hay and keep it in a storage bin I made with leftover grids, so everything kind of settles to the bottom. Another thing I've recently discovered is hay bags - if you go look on Etsy you'll see a number of sellers selling hay bags (and are called various cutesy things). I have those for all my pigs, rabbits, and chinchillas and I'm always struck at the bottom of the bag with how much dust collects, and the hay I have isn't particularly dusty, so it might be worth looking into.

Good luck with your guy!

 

[Kfowler5]

Thanks so much @Paula! I have been weighing him everyday since we went to the vet and am going to keep it up, just to be sure. I will check out etsy for the bags as well, and am going to try out a small order from KMS to make sure they all like it before I buy the whole bale. And it is incredible how much dust can be in one bag of hay, I swear I'm starting to buy bags that are more tiny broken dusty pieces than strands of hay. Everywhere that I've tried that has oxbow has the same kind of looking hay. I don't know if the drought has effected oxbows hay crop like it has all over the Midwest, but I don't know if I should continue with it if it bothers him so much. He's an expert hay diver you know and I don't want to take that away from him because mom can't find better hay. Is anyone else having problems with your oxbow?

 

[porkchophamster]

I have been having the same problem with Oxbow Hay. The first bag I bought from Petsmart was PERFECT! I was buying Kaytee for a long time but that Oxbow bag was SO GREEN so I bought it. It ended up being soft adn fragrant and my pigs went nuts for it! I've only had 2 more good bags, but none as good as the first one and the last few I have bought have been dusty. I actually ordered from KMS earlier today and am hoping it is as great as everyone says. I did run out of hay today though and the only thing that looked decent was the All Living Things. It's green but rough. Try KMS! It's worth a shot! lol

 

[Kfowler5]

Yah I think I will, it seems like a much better deal as well as looking much greener than what we are currently finding. The 2nd cut Timothy looks like what they would all enjoy the most. They all love the tops to eat all at once and than go for the rest!

 

[porkchophamster]

That's what I ordered. I got 9 lbs of it. The girls aren't picky about their hay but something about that one Oxbow bag was like crack lol I figured 2nd or 3rd cut would be similar. I actually didn't realize how much cheaper it really is but 9 lbs. of Oxbow hay was at least $5 more on every site that sells it. Sweet Meadow is another brand that I looked at but they only have 1st cut which I didn't like.

 

[SqueakyPig]

My guinea pigs used to sneeze and cough when I used to put them on wood shavings, I was really worried they had a URI because one of them was breathing funny. After I changed them to fleece theres no sneezing, coughing, runny noses or eyes at all! I was so glad they were okay. The same thing happens to hay with me too, but now they just have hay which is from a local shop which is fine

 

[Kfowler5]

Yah I've been wanting to buy locally, since I live in the Great Plains! You would think hay would be easy to find but no such luck, all of the bales of Timothy I find are all straw instead of hay!! I'm so frustrated with oxbow at the moment.

 

[SqueakyPig]

Yah I've been wanting to buy locally, since I live in the Great Plains! You would think hay would be easy to find but no such luck, all of the bales of Timothy I find are all straw instead of hay!! I'm so frustrated with oxbow at the moment.

I dont live in the US but I think theres a brand of hay called Kaytee? I know I one brought a bale of "hay" which ended up to be dust and straw! That made my piggies sneeze alot

 

[foggycreekcavy]

When I get dry or dusty hay I don't feed it in feeders, but on the ground, and in small enough amounts that the pigs don't burrow under it. This at least keeps the hay dust from getting in their eyes.

 

[Kfowler5]

Update: we went back to the vet last week because the runny nose and continued sneezing had me worried, and the vet said that other than a little discharge in the nostrils everything was still normal. Lungs sounded fine, no irritable spots as he examined him all over. We even did another X-ray, I don't know if I'm just overreacting to everything or not and my paranoia is starting to get a bit expensive, but my vet is very good at easing my mind. The only thing left to do is blood work, but the vet said that he is hesitant to do that because he would have to knock him out for just a minute to draw the sample, which he said he doesn't want to do quite yet if there isn't more to go on as the anesthesia can be a bit tough on them. Which I completely agree with because a couple of our older pigs who got sick had to get blood tests and never quite woke up fully from the gas and I don't want the same thing to happen to Shamrock if he's not really sick. So my vet ended up prescribing us two weeks of Septra a type of Bactrim he said, to see if that clears up his nose. Which it has seemed to do for the five days that he's been on it now, so I guess my issue is that I don't know if the meds or the new hay is helping. And if the better hay is what helped will it be bad for him to be on the meds for a little over a week, to finish the prescribed dosage?

 

[foggycreekcavy]

Finish out the medication. Septra is another name for Bactrim. It's pretty mild and shouldn't cause any harm, whereas stopping now could cause a resistance to it.

 

[Kfowler5]

Another update: Shamrock had his last dose of his meds and seems to be feeling just fine. I haven't noticed anymore mucus and he's back to his normal random sneeze here and there. He's actually gained about 50g in the last couple of weeks so that makes me feel a lot better, but I'm still watching him very closely. We have had instances of one dose of antibiotics not working and having to go back for a second round, which wouldn't be very fun for either of us because he hates the taste of it and is very happy I'm sure to be done with it. We still are having issues with oxbow, I ordered some KMS which will last us for the rest of the month but it is pretty hard to know exactly when we will run out and I honestly just prefer to go buy it myself than have to rely on ordering it and waiting for it to be shipped. But even tho I haven't bought it in over a week I still check it every time I'm at the store and it still looks pretty brown and full of dust. What is the deal with oxbow?! It doesn't even seem to be just my area I've read about others that are having problems but I dont know what to do about it. We have always been very oxbow loyal and I'm very disappointed with them, even our pellets are looking a tad worse than normal. Hope they work it out soon for the rest of us, or KMS is gonna rake in the cash!