Most pig limping in the Philippines comes from six causes: a slip on a wet floor, a foot abscess, erysipelas, mycoplasma arthritis, Streptococcus suis, or rickets from rice-bran-heavy growing rations. Many of them need drainage, an injection, or a feed fix rather than a vet visit. The hard part is telling them apart in the first ten minutes.
Should I Wait, Treat, Or Call The Vet?
Take the temperature first. Normal is 38.7-39.8°C per the Merck Veterinary Manual; above 40.5°C is serious. A farm digital thermometer (₱187 on Viddavet) saves you a wrong diagnosis. Pair it with the table below and the signs your pig is sick guide.
| Sign | Likely picture | Action |
|---|---|---|
| One leg, no fever, still eating, after a slip or fight | Trauma | Rest 48h, dry bedding, NSAID |
| Hot swollen claw or coronary band, pus visible | Foot abscess | Drain, iodine flush, penicillin IM |
| Diamond or rectangular red skin patches plus fever | Erysipelas | Penicillin IM same day, or vet now |
| Weaner (3-10 wk), limping plus circling, head tilt, paddling | Streptococcus suis | Vet now. Use gloves. |
| 10-30 wk pig, swollen joint, NO fever, eating normally | Mycoplasma arthritis | Tylosin or lincomycin (NOT penicillin) |
| Multiple growers limping, bowed legs, slow growth | Rickets / Ca:P imbalance | Fix feed, AD3E injection |
| Whole batch 4-8 wk old, lame plus breathing fast plus dying | Glässer's disease | Vet now |
Score the limp before you treat it
Score it daily, so "parang mas okay na" becomes something you can compare. I use the scale from the SLU (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) pig welfare scoring sheet:
| Score | What you see | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 0, free movement | Normal walk, equal use of all four legs | Acceptable |
| 1, slightly lame | Slight nodding, uneven weight, trouble rising, or overgrown hooves affecting the walk | Needs attention |
| 2, severely lame | Won't bear weight on a leg, heavy nodding, prefers to lie | Unacceptable |
The EURCAW-Pigs lameness factsheet says to make each pig stand and walk, and to score on a non-slippery floor, so do it on a dry patch, not right after hosing. Then the Merck Veterinary Manual has you check the feet first, then limbs and torso. Still at score 2 by day 3 means vet or salvage.
The Six Causes
1. Trauma: slipped, fell, or got pinned
Wet concrete is the number-one cause of "sudden pilay" in PH backyard pens. The pig slips off the feeder ramp, comes up limping on one leg, no fever, still eating. Rest in dry bedding 48 hours. Meloxicam injectable is the cleanest pain option: the Loxicom 20 mg/mL label gives pigs 0.4 mg/kg IM (2 mL per 100 kg) for non-infectious lameness, once, repeatable once after 24 hours, no more than 2 mL per injection site, with a 6-day meat withdrawal. Viddavet lists a 10 mL meloxicam at ₱407; check its strength before you dose. If still not weight-bearing by day 3, suspect a fracture: vet or salvage.
2. Foot abscess (pigsa sa kuko)
Hot, swollen, painful at one spot, usually the coronary band or between the claws. Usually follows a puncture from rough flooring or a stone. Pare with a clean blade and pus is normally visible. Drain it, flush with povidone-iodine (Woundex 60mL is ₱87 on Viddavet), then run 3 days of penicillin IM. A pen-strep such as Robipenstrep (₱267 sale, ₱500 regular per 100mL on Viddavet) covers almost all cases; its page gives no dose, so use your bottle's label (the Penstrep-400 label gives 1 mL per 10 kg IM for 3 days). Drainage alone fixes about half. The drug is insurance.
3. Erysipelas: the one that kills fast
Sudden fever above 40°C, off feed, raised diamond or rectangular red patches, multiple joints stiff. Mostly growers. The Merck Veterinary Manual puts mortality anywhere from 0% to 100%, with deaths up to 6 days after the first signs, and says the skin patches show within 2-3 days of onset. Early penicillin generally leads to recovery, and a fast response to the shot is itself part of the diagnosis. Home injection is justified here: the alternative is a dead pig before the vet arrives. See how to inject pigs. Vaccination prevents repeats; ask the agrivet about erysipelas bacterin.
4. Streptococcus suis: zoonotic, watch your hands
Lameness in nursery pigs (3-10 weeks) plus neuro signs: paddling, circling, head tilt, seizures. A 2023 study by Castillo et al. across nine Philippine provinces found S. suis on 15.8% of smallhold farms, almost all serotype 31. The same bug causes meningitis in humans through skin cuts or ingestion. Use gloves. Penicillin or amoxicillin IM works if caught in the first 24 hours; after that, survival drops sharply.
5. Mycoplasma arthritis: the trap
10-30 weeks old, one or two soft swollen joints, hind-leg lameness, NO fever, still eating. Often after transport or pen reshuffling. The trap: it looks bacterial, so farmers reach for Robipenstrep. Penicillin does nothing; the Merck Veterinary Manual's grower-finisher page even uses that non-response to tell Mycoplasma hyosynoviae from erysipelas.
Switch class: tylosin (Tylosin Tartrate 20% 100mL, ₱426 on Viddavet), lincomycin, or tetracycline. Many cases self-resolve in 7-10 days; pain control speeds it up. If you have already used penicillin and the pig is no better in 48 hours, mycoplasma is your diagnosis until proven otherwise.
6. Rickets: a feed problem, not a drug problem
Multiple pigs in one batch with bowed legs, reluctant to stand, occasional spontaneous fractures. Classic PH cause: a ration heavy in rice bran (darak) with no mineral premix. Phytate in rice bran binds phosphorus, the calcium-phosphorus ratio collapses. Fix the feed first; add a mineral premix or shift to a complete commercial ration for 30 days. An injectable Vitamin AD3E (Dufavit AD3E 100mL, ₱727 on Viddavet) can help; the store page says to get the dose from your vet, so follow the bottle's label. See pig vitamins and supplements and feed economics.
Also seen: leg weakness in fast-growing crossbreds and sows
Not one of the six, but know it if you raise fast commercial crossbreds. The Merck Veterinary Manual links osteochondrosis to heavily muscled, fast-growing genotypes, with lameness becoming clinically relevant by 4-6 months. A NADIS bulletin by pig vet Mark White lists stilted walking, swaying hindquarters, trouble rising and "dog sitting," and advises culling affected breeding gilts early because the weakness persists. Antibiotics don't fix cartilage. A fattener near market weight that still eats, I sell early (after any drug withdrawal time).
Fix The Floor, Or The Limping Comes Back
The Merck overview blames holes and sharp edges in concrete for foot injuries, and says constant moisture softens claws and cracks the hoof wall. Too smooth and pigs slip; too rough and claws wear unevenly. The typical PH pen manages both.
What I'd do, cheapest first:
- Patch holes and broken edges with mortar this week.
- Give new floors a broom finish, not a smooth trowel. My backyard piggery build guide covers slope and drainage.
- In the rainy season, hose less and let floors dry between washes.
- Don't overcrowd; feeder pushing causes slips. Check with the pen space calculator.
- Want soft footing? The DA's Agricultural Training Institute promotes LaBaboy deep litter: kusot, bunot or ipa with soil and salt, 2 sqm per pig, bedding kept loose and dry.
The Merck grower-finisher page also flags biotin deficiency for cracked, flaky hooves (it recommends 250-400 mcg/kg of complete feed). And for sows on hard floors, the SLU scale counts overgrown hooves that change the walk as "needs attention." Have the vet trim them.
The PH Lameness Kit
Prices are Viddavet online listings checked October 2026 (sale price, regular price in brackets). Agrivet counters will differ.
| Item | What it treats | PHP (Viddavet) |
|---|---|---|
| Robipenstrep 100mL | Erysipelas, abscess, strep, joint-ill | 267 (500) |
| Tylosin Tartrate 20% 100mL | Mycoplasma arthritis | 426 (850) |
| Meloxicam injectable 10mL | Pain, NSAID | 407 (797) |
| Dufavit AD3E injectable 100mL | Rickets, recovery | 727 (1,457) |
| Povidone-iodine Woundex 120mL | Abscess flush | 147 (907) |
| Farm digital thermometer | Fever check | 187 (317) |
Add sterile blade, clean syringes, gloves. The table items total about ₱2,160 at sale prices. Provincial private vet farm calls run ₱500-₱1,500; government vets cheaper but slower. For multi-pig outbreaks, see the outbreak response guide.
The Biggest Mistake Backyard Farmers Make
Reaching for Robipenstrep on every lame pig. A 2020 Barroga et al. study found 30% of Philippine backyard farmers buy antibiotics over-the-counter without veterinary advice, and lameness is one of the top reasons. Penicillin is the wrong drug for mycoplasma, trauma, and rickets: three of the six causes above. The pig does not improve, the farmer assumes "the antibiotic failed," and antimicrobial resistance gets one more push. Temperature first. Skin. Feed. Then drug.
Bisaya / Cebuano
Para sa mga mag-uuma
Ang baboy nga pilay, dili kanunay needed ang vet. Tan-awa una. Init ba ang lawas? Tuslokon ang thermometer; kung sobra sa 40.5°C, kuhaa ang Robipenstrep dayon, labi na kung naa pula nga marka sa panit. Kung ang baboy mokaon pa ug walay hilanat, pero pilay sa usa ka tiil tungod sa pag-slip, pahuwaya 48 oras, hatagi ug pain killer (meloxicam), ayaw dayon og injekt og antibiotic.
Ang pinakaduro nga sayop sa daghang mag-uuma: ihatag sa tanang pilay ang penicillin. Dili na mo-trabaho sa mycoplasma, sa nabali, ug sa hina nga buto gikan sa daghan kaayong darak. Tan-awa una unsa ang tinood nga problema, ayha mopalit og tambal.
Sources
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Swine Erysipelas (0-100% mortality, deaths up to 6 days after first signs, early penicillin generally leads to recovery)
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Overview of Lameness in Pigs
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Lameness in Pigs in Grower-Finisher Areas
- SLU: Animal welfare scoring sheet for pigs (lameness graduation)
- EURCAW-Pigs thematic factsheet: Lameness
- NADIS / Mark White: Physical Lameness in Breeding Stock
- DA-ATI Region IV-B: LaBaboy deep-litter system
- Castillo et al. 2023: Streptococcus suis epidemiology in Philippine smallhold farms
- Barroga et al. 2020: Antimicrobials in Philippine Backyard and Commercial Farms
- BAI Memorandum Circular No. 22 (2023): Vet service fee schedule
- UNAHCO / Univet Swinevet brand page
- Norbrook: Loxicom 20 mg/mL Injection for Cattle and Pigs (0.4 mg/kg IM pig dose, 6-day meat withdrawal)
- Interchemie Penstrep-400 label (1 mL/10 kg IM for 3 days)
- Viddavet PH online store (kit prices, October 2026)
