[Gpdd] HEALTH: Flower's upcoming spay

[Anneli Cochrane]

Hello all,
I am writing to you all to help myself feel better about an upcoming spay I
have scheduled for one of my pigs, Flower, on June 10th. Some of you may
remember Flower from the Undercover Guinea Pigs calendar from last year,
and this year her daughter, Clover, is in for May. For the last few months,
Flower has exhibited all the symptoms of having ovarian cysts. I looked on
guinea lynx, and she has all of the symptoms listed, with the latest one
emerging as hair loss on her sides. Initially, I treated all my pigs with
Ivermectin because it was time for that, and I thought maybe she had mites,
but I am 99.9% sure that is not the case. She is very sexually aggressive
now, has lost weight in her shoulders, fur, and has the crustiness on her
nipples, all signs of ovarian cysts messing up her hormones. I am very
nervous about this surgery, as I have yet to have a successful outcome with
a vet with my pigs, but I hope I am due for one. Flower will be 3 at the
end of July, and I think it will help her feel so much better if I do this.
Plus, she is torturing the other girls in the cage, especially Cinnamon and
Nutmeg, who are the weak ones and are almost 6 years old. I am taking her
to who is supposed to be the best vet in the state for pigs, but I can't
help but think about Tedmund. The last time I was at the vet I left with
him in a box, and he was only a year old. He had to have an unusual stone
surgery, as his stone was lodged in the actual penis, and he did not make
it. I know I should not worry about Flower as she is perfectly healthy
other than this, and there is no reason why she wouldn't make it. However,
I have also been told by a previous vet (not sure how good she is, that's
why I am going to a different one), that Silkie Satin's (Shelties) are more
fragile surgical candidates than other types of pigs, has anyone else heard
that before? If anyone else has been their sows spayed because of ovarian
cysts, I would like to hear about it, good or bad outcomes.
Anneli