It's been a tough week for poor Chewey, the boar. He has been pretty grumpy for the last few weeks and last Monday we found out why. The poor chap had a tusk that was starting to dig into the side of his mouth so the vet was called to come and sort it out.
Removing a tusk from a pig's mouth is a pretty simple process but it does require the pig to be tranquilised - this is when you put them to sleep with a special medicine that the vet injects into their neck. We moved him into an enclosed spot at the yard where we could make sure he didn't run off. Once he was settled, the vet injected him with the tranquiliser and within twenty minutes he was sound asleep. Removing the tusk literally took a minute, using a sharp piece of wire to saw it off - watch the video clip above.
Unfortunately it turns out the vet used too much tranquiliser and Chewey became poorly. As he couldn't move for five hours he was very cold and dehydrated - this is when your body doesn't have enough water. We wrapped him in horse rugs and piled straw all around him until he was finally able to move back into his sty later that night. Pokey was an amazing nurse and stayed cuddled up close to him to keep him warm.
In the morning he still wasn't looking much better so I called to vet who advised us to try and rehydrate him with a special liquid that we would have to inject into his mouth. She also suggested that we make him some soup although I dug out all the Christmas chocolates and a big packet of marshmallows which seemed to do the trick and as soon as he was presented with them, he was up on his feet in a flash!
It took him five days to recover but I am pleased to say he back on form and fighting for his food once again!
Hope you all had a better week then he did! See you all soon x