Pig experts --- Need help with sick, newly purchased show pig

[SlickTxMaine]

I bought a new barrow and gilt for my daughter to show from a fairly well known pig breeder in Texas. The barrow had a cough when we brought him home. He seemed a little sluggish from the start. About 18 hours after getting him home he couldn't put weight on his right rear leg. Within a couple of hours he was in severe pain, squealed when touched, didn't want to move and spiked a 106 temp. The vet came out and at that point he was dragging both rear legs and sounded like he was coughing his lungs up. Both hocks were extremely swollen and hot to the touch. The vet said mycoplasma pneumonia and arthritis. Gave him injections but didn't expect him to make the night. The next morning he is up walking and ate his breakfast! Still a slight cough but 100% better. I really did not expect this pig to pull through and had prepared my daughter for the worse.
Assuming he continues to improve and gets over this - is he likely to have any issues with his joints as he gets to show weight? I hate to feed all the way through and have him go lame at the end.
I contacted the breeder with my concerns and he insists the pig injured himself at my place.  Very possible, it happens with animals, but how do you explain the cough and high temp.? Why was he not at least limping the next morning.  He is way more energetic and has a better appetite now than the day we brought him home.  Looking at symptoms of mycoplasma - it fits him to a T!

 

[showsteerdlux]

1st question would be, how long did the pig have that temp of 106? What did the vet give? Anytime we have pneumonia, we run Pulmotil through the water according to label for 3 days.

Some of these pigs will come out of it, some just end up looking like pot bellied things and never get over the hump. If you do get him to keep on coming, need to be very careful exercising him. Any of these "lunger" pigs need a lot of short stints exercising daily, or they will literally fall over in the show ring gasping for air.

 

[SlickTxMaine]

Regarding the temp.  - it came down fairly quickly.  We misted him with water and put a fan on him. 
The vet gave him Banamine, Lincomycin and something else - another antibiotic  - pretty stout dose according to him.  We gave him another dose of banamine and Linco the next day and will continue the Linco for a total of 7 days. 

He now has really bad diarrhea - not sure if that's a side effect of the meds or something else going on?

 

[jconner2088]

linco will do that to em. you can add some oats to their feed and it will usually help with it pretty quick.

 

[vc]

The show box for the hogs always had, Quaker Oats, probios, Vick's Vapor rub and Refresh in it.
Oats for the runs, probios for their guts, Vick's for when the gilts start coming in heat and they all seem to at fair time, and the refresh to keep them hydrated on show day.

 

[SlickTxMaine]

Thanks to all for the help. 

Surprisingly the breeder is not much help.  I thought if I dealt with a well known and respected breeder that I would be safe.  From the start he told me it sounded like the pig hurt himself at my place.  Really? Coughing his lungs up, which he was doing at your place and running a 106 temp.  Not sure what kind of injury would bring that on..... 

Thanks again!!

 

[CAB]

VC what do you use the Vicks for when the gilts come into heat?

 

[Steve123]

You may want to take a look at Strep Suis as the cause. 

http://www.thepigsite.com/articles/4385/streptococcus-suis-disease-in-pigs/

Also, go ahead and vaccinate both of them with a booster dose.

 

[vc]

CAB, once the gilts started coming into heat, the fights really started, we would put a dab of vick's on the nose of mostly the gilts, if it were real bad all the pigs in our club got it prior to going to the ring. It cut the fights way down once they could not smell all the pheromones in the air.

We had a barrow strait jump out of the ring because the gilts in heat were after him.

 

[CAB]

Thanks VC. I had never heard of that and we did used to pull pigs around some. Mature gilts will come into heat approximately 3 days after moving them around like a haul to a show will usually do it. We used to sync. some gilts by moving them. Now they use drugs / hormones.