Hibernation Warning

[5sandown]

It’s a sad fact that not all hogs survive hibernation and this is not always related to weight. I’ve got a number of rescue hogs overwintering in hutches, some outside when they reached a good weight. Recently I found that one of my hogs, over 750g, had died in the hutch. I do check on those hibernating regularly and, as far as I can work out, he died almost as soon as he went into hibernation. In checking with other carers this sometimes happens with first year hogs who can go so deeply into hibernation that there hearts just stop. It’s devastating when you have looked after a hog for weeks, returning it to good health, when this happens. Short of keeping all the hogs indoors, difficult with limitations on space, I’m not sure what I could have done differently. You shouldn’t need to disturb hogs every day but it’s important to check on them, which could just mean putting your hand on their spines which usually causes some reaction. Any other experiences or comments on this?

[stef]

Unfortunately hogs do die, both during hibernation or during overwintering for no apparent reason. It can be very frustrating when you’ve had them for months and the end is in sight!!
We have to remember that they came to us in the first place because something was wrong with them, even if it’s just that they were too small and struggling. While we can deal with the issues they come in with we don’t always know what long term damage has been done as a result.
We also have to remember that although the hog may be outside in a hutch and relatively undisturbed, in hog world they are still in captivity and under stress. They don’t know there is a release date in sight for them.

[5sandown]

Thanks Stef, that’s helpful. It’s always worth reviewing your practice when you have incidents to see whether you could have done anything differently. I think this incident is just one of those things that couldn’t have been foreseen.

[Author]

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