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Emma Sue, the runt that grew!
Winter 2010 Emma Sue was born a runt with an umbilical hernia to a mother pig who had 17 piglets and only 13 nipples to feed them. She was half the size of her siblings and could not compete for food. She was starving to death. Emma Sue came to Pigs Peace Sanctuary at two weeks of age weighing only 2.5 lb. She was literally the size of a can of soup. Tiny and fragile. She was rushed to our pig veterinarian for assessment of her umbilical hernia. We were happy to learn that it was not life threatening at this age as Emma Sue was too fragile to survive surgical repair. Emma Sue started life at the sanctuary as many piglets do, in the house with a heating pad (for piglet safety we use a pad made specifically for new born puppies or kittens). Piglets are born unable to regulate their body temperature and can be easily chilled. We bottle fed every one to two hours around the clock. At 3 weeks of age Emma Sue explores outside. She meets large pig Chester and sanctuary dogs. She continues bottle feeding night and day and right before our eyes she grew and grew and grew! You can use your right/left arrow keys to navigate the slideshow below.
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