Health Check ‘Check-in’ – Pigs and Rabbits
/Health Checks…CHECK √
We take the health of each of our residents very seriously, so regular health checks are an essential part of life at HEEFS.
Formal health checks for residents are on done on a schedule which varies from resident group to resident group, however, informally every resident is seen daily by caregivers and volunteers who are always on the lookout for anything “off” about a resident. Volunteers are trained to question anything they think is odd and to bring it to a caregiver’s attention immediately. They are an amazing group of dedicated individuals and we couldn’t do any of this without them!
Comprehensive health checks are done for our pigs every 4 weeks and for our rabbit residents every 6 weeks.
Health Check ‘Check-in’: pigs
Each month, every pigl gets a once over. This is done visually and by touch where our caregivers feel around their entire body for any lumps, injuries, signs of infection, or for anything that may have changed from the last check.
At this time, if needed, ears are cleaned and hooves are trimmed. The pigs are weighed at every second health check, unless there are specific individual concerns.
Once a year our pigs are vaccinated for rabies and tetanus, and we also record their temperature, heart rate, and respiration annually. Fecal samples are taken and tested for internal parasites in the spring, and at any other time that symptoms indicate a need.
Health Check ‘Check-in’: rabbits
Every 6 weeks each of rabbits gets a full body check where we feel for lumps and bumps. They also get a nail trim and a check of their teeth.
During a recent health check, we discovered that the back teeth of our largest rabbit, Terry, were overgrown, so he was taken for a molar trim to help make eating more comfortable for him.
Cadabra, our oldest rabbit, receives the same 6-week heath checks as the other rabbits, along with additional monitoring of his mobility due to a broken front leg from a year ago.
In addition, and as part of our ongoing health monitoring process for our rabbits, is their twice daily feeding. They all get greens in the morning, and greens plus pellets in the evening. It is important that we observe our rabbits eating every 12 hours as going longer than 12 hours without food can be very dangerous for rabbits.
And last…all of our rabbits get flea and tick medication from May until October.
Next month…we’ll check out health checks for our birds and cows (also BJ and Escalade!)
