Help Babe the Pig and his sanctuary

Last Thursday morning, we found two of our (big) piglets, Babe and Blossom, in a really bad way. They were lying on their side, unable to get up, in pain, fitting and spasming at every noise or sensation. We immediately called the vet out and tried to comfort them until they arrived. 

Initial examination showed something neurological going on that was preventing them from using their bodies normally, high temperatures and signs of sepsis or other infection. 

We treated them with antibiotics, painkillers and anti-inflammatories, and manually rehydrated them. We spent every second with them.. warming them with a thick straw bed and duvets if they were cold, cooling them if they were sweaty, coaxing them to drink and eat, soothing them when they had seizures. During one of these really horrid seizures, we lost Blossom. 

Later that day, Chloe, the piglets’ mum, came into a stable for bedtime, and began showing signs of illness. A slight shivering soon turned into violent shaking, she was sweaty and feverish, and despite medical treatment, she quickly declined. We lost her that evening. 

Our hearts are shattered with the loss of Chloe and her daughter Blossom. Chloe arrived with us almost two years ago, when we heard that she was going to be killed, and gave birth to her babies shortly after. She showed nothing but trust and a calm gentleness, and her beautiful, genuine soul has left a huge, irreplaceable hole here. Blossom was just a baby. Playful, loving, innocent and kind. She deserved a long life of freedom and happiness.  We are heartbroken. 

A post-mortem and repeat medical examinations have given no conclusive diagnosis or reason for their deaths. There are a few suspected causes, but none certain. We spent many days worrying about the other pigs here, checking them to make sure they were ok. Thankfully, everyone else seems to be well. 

Babe has been an absolute fighter. He has stayed with us throughout this nightmare. He could not get up from lying down for over 4 days. We turned him over regularly, spoon-fed him, syringed water into his mouth, slept in his stable with him, watched him 24/7, injected him daily, snuggled him with duvets and talked to him constantly. His seizures continued for days. He would do these big deep breaths to calm himself down and slow his breathing… he fought so hard to stay alive. Born the runt of the litter, he is the biggest fighter. 

Finally, we managed to get him to stand. His back legs buckled as the muscles were so weak, so he needed lots of help and support. Gradually he has been gaining in strength, and he’s managing to walk and get himself up and down really well. 

He is still separate from the others, but goes to talk to them through the fence on his daily wanders in the yard. He is getting lots of love and treats, and we’re hoping he’ll be strong enough to snuggle with his siblings Bertie, Buttercup, Brooke and Coral before too long. 

On top of the mental, physical and emotional toll this past week has taken on us all here, we are also now faced with the vets bills. We have the cost of the vet call-outs, the medication, Blossom’s post-mortem, the removal of Chloe’s body, plus a huge amount of straw as we kept everyone extra clean and comfortable. 

This fundraiser is here to help us with these costs. Absolutely anything you could contribute to these costs would be hugely appreciated, as always. 

Thank you for reading, thank you for feeling their loss and honouring them with us, and thank you for supporting what we do 

PTF 

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