Udder infection

Udder infection (A)

Udder infection (B)

Symptoms

- Reddening of the udder.
- Swelling of the udder.
- The infected udder is warmer to touch than healthy udders.
- Wounds on the udder. Fever.
- Absence or reduction of milk in affected udder.

Cause

Udder infections are caused by bacteria, wounds caused by the milk teeth of baby pigs, insect bites and abscesses.

Prevention

- Provide adequate bedding.
- Keep the pig pen clean.
- Clip milk teeth of baby pigs.

Treatment

Before any treatment, wash the udder with soap or potassium permanganate (if possible) and clean lukewarm water. Do not allow the litter to suck milk from an infected sow. Remove and discard milk from the infected teat.

Allowing wounds to heal

- Separate sow from piglets and reduce their access to teats (allow a few piglets to suckle at a time).

- Begin hand-feeding the baby piglets.

- Give piglets to a lactating foster mother.

Wound treatments

Make a poultice from any of the remedies below and apply to the infected udder once a day until the redness disappears or the wound heals. Use either a strip of banana stalk or strips from old clothes to hold the poultice.

- Pound and extract the juice from 5-10 fresh leaves of betel (Piper belle). Mix it with 5-10 chopped fresh Psidium guajava (guava) leaves and 5-10 chopped, fresh tobacco leaves.(Philippines. 1, 2, 3)

- Pound 5-10 fresh leaves of Ficus minahassae. Extract and mix with 3-5 teaspoons of coconut oil.
(Philippines. 1, 2, 3)

- Pound 5-10 fresh Psidium guajava (guava) leaves and mix the extract with 3-5 chopped fresh leaves of Stachyta jamaicencis. (Philippines. 1, 2, 3)

These treatments are widely practiced by farmers in western Leyte, Philippines.

Note: For further treatments, see Wounds.