"Kung dili mokaon ang baboy, naa gyud problema." (If the pig does not eat, there is definitely a problem.)
A pig off feed for one day loses 0.6 to 0.8 kg of growth, or ₱110 to ₱145 per head at ₱180/kg farmgate. The cause is almost always one of six things: water, heat, rancid feed, mycotoxins, ulcers, or fever. Check them in that order before you call the vet.
Check These First (In This Order)
The order matters. Most farmers jump straight to "what disease is it?" and miss the simple stuff. Work top down.
1. Water supply
This is the single most common cause of reduced appetite that backyard farmers overlook. A pig that cannot drink will not eat. A Philippine longitudinal study (Lee et al., 2005) tracking smallholder herds identified inadequate water supply as one of the top management constraints linked to slow growth and disease. We've seen this play out repeatedly in farms around Bohol and Leyte where a single clogged nipple drinker cost the farmer days of growth before anyone noticed.
Check, in this order:
- Is water available 24 hours, not just at feeding time?
- Is the container clean, not slimy or full of leaves?
- Is the nipple drinker actually flowing? Press it with your finger.
- Is the water hot from sitting in a black pail under the sun? Pigs avoid warm water.
In Philippine heat, a 60-80 kg grower needs 6-9 liters per day, a lactating sow 25-35 liters, and these numbers run 30-50% higher than European guidelines because of our temperatures. See how much water pigs actually need for the full breakdown by pig size.
"Tan-awa ang tubig una." (Check the water first.) If the pig drinks immediately when offered fresh, cool water, you found your problem.
2. Feed quality
Smell the feed. Bring it close to your nose. Rancid copra meal smells sour, almost like vinegar. Mouldy corn smells musty, sometimes sweet. If you can smell something off, your pig smelled it hours ago. Pigs have one of the most sensitive olfactory systems among farm animals and refuse contaminated feed before mold is even visible.
The biggest culprits in the Philippines, by season:
- Wet season (June-November): Aflatoxins in corn, especially Bukidnon and Cotabato corn from flooded fields. Mouldy darak (rice bran) stored more than 2 weeks in humid bodegas.
- Dry season: Rancid copra meal, oxidized fish meal, weevil-infested corn from old stock.
If you suspect mycotoxins, mix in a mycotoxin binder during questionable feed batches. Mycosorb, Toxinil, or NaturBind are commonly stocked at agri-vet stores at ₱15-₱30 per kg, mixed at 1-2 kg per ton of feed. Roughly ₱1-₱3 per day for a 10-pig batch, which is cheap insurance against liver damage and immune suppression. We cover this in more detail in pig farming during rainy season.
"Lain na baho sa feeds." (The feed smells bad.) Trust the smell test before you trust the bag.
3. Heat stress
Philippine daytime temperatures hit 30-37°C from March to October. Feed intake drops about 3% for every degree above 25°C. At 35°C, a finishing pig may eat 500-700 grams less per day than at 25°C, and that is exactly the kind of weight you cannot afford to lose at finishing stage when feed efficiency is already getting worse.
Signs of heat stress (not appetite loss alone):
- Panting, sometimes open-mouth breathing
- Lying flat on cool concrete or in mud
- Refusing feed at noon but eating well at 6 AM and 5 PM
- Drinking heavily
Fix: shift feeding to early morning (5-6 AM) and late afternoon (5-6 PM), skip the midday meal entirely. Add shade cloth (₱40-₱80/m at most agri-supply stores) and a basic mister or wet curtain along the windward wall. A simple drip line over the roof during the hottest hours brings pen temperature down 3-5°C. "Init kaayo, mao dili mokaon." (It is too hot, that is why it will not eat.) That is not laziness — it is physiology.
4. Fever or infection
If water is fine, feed is fine, and it is cool, take a rectal temperature. Every backyard farmer should own a basic digital thermometer; a Mercury Drug or agri-vet unit costs ₱150-₱300 and lasts years.
Normal pig temperature: 38.5-39.5°C. Above 40°C means fever, almost always from infection. A feverish pig will refuse feed completely, often before any other symptom appears.
How to take the temperature without injuring the pig:
- Restrain calmly, ideally with a snare or in a corner.
- Smear a little petroleum jelly or cooking oil on the thermometer tip.
- Insert 2-3 cm into the rectum, hold for 30-60 seconds (or until the digital beeps).
- Record it. If the vet asks, this is the first thing they want to know.
If temperature is above 40°C and the pig is also coughing, scouring, or has skin discoloration, do not self-medicate with broad-spectrum antibiotics. Call your municipal vet or check our signs your pig is sick guide for what to track before the call. With ASF still active in parts of Bicol, Central Visayas, and Caraga as of early 2026, any sudden anorexia plus high fever needs veterinary input, not pasalamat sa Vetracin.
Call the vet immediately, not tomorrow, if you see: anorexia plus fever above 40.5°C, sudden death of any pen-mate, blue/purple ear or belly discoloration, bloody diarrhea, or staggering. These are red flags for ASF, classical swine fever, or salmonellosis. The BAI ASF hotline handles reporting and confirms zone status. Do not move, slaughter, or sell sick pigs.
5. Dental problems
Pigs that bite concrete feeders, metal bars, or chew nipple drinkers can crack a molar. Signs: drooling, chewing only on one side, dropping feed from the mouth mid-meal, head shaking. Often missed because most farmers never look inside a pig's mouth. If you can safely open the jaw with a wooden block, look for broken teeth or food packed into a gap. This usually needs a vet to extract or smooth the broken tooth, and the pig will eat soft mash (rice porridge with feed mixed in) for 4-7 days while it heals.
6. Constipation
A pig on an all-concentrate diet with too little fiber and not enough water can get constipated, especially during heat. Signs: straining to defecate, hard pellet-like droppings, bloated belly, restless behavior. Fix is simple and free: chop kangkong, camote tops, or banana trunk into the feed for 2-3 days. Add a tablespoon of cooking oil to the morning feed for a stuck pig. This usually clears within 24 hours.
Less Obvious Causes
These come up enough to be worth keeping in mind, especially when the basics check out.
| Cause | Clue | Fix | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Post-vaccination dip | Stopped eating 1-2 days after a shot, otherwise normal | Wait it out, offer molasses water | Free, resolves in 24-48 hrs |
| Salt deficiency | Licking walls, drinking urine, then anorexia | Add 0.3-0.5% iodized salt to feed (3-5 g/kg) | Almost nothing |
| Stomach ulcers | Pale skin, dark tarry stool, teeth grinding, picky eating | Switch to coarser-ground feed, regular meal times, avoid 8+ hour gaps | Re-grind cost only |
| Internal parasites | Rough coat, pot belly, gradual decline over weeks | Deworm with Latigo or Wormvet | ₱30-₱60/pig per dose |
| Mycotoxins (rainy season) | Feed refusal plus vomiting or loose stool | Discard suspect feed, add mycotoxin binder (Mycosorb/Toxinil) | ₱15-₱30/kg of binder |
| Mineral or vitamin gap | Slow eating, slow growth, dull coat | Add a vitamin-mineral premix at 2-3 g/kg of feed | ₱150-₱450 per grow-out |
| Recent move or new pen | New arrival eating less for 3-5 days | Stress, give time. Offer molasses or coconut water | Free |
The post-vaccination dip catches a lot of farmers off guard. After Coglapest (CSF), Porcilis ColiClos, or any of the common scheduled vaccines, it is normal for a pig to eat 30-50% less for a day, sometimes two. As long as the pig is drinking, this resolves on its own.
What NOT to Do
A few things make appetite loss worse, fast:
- Do not force-feed a clearly sick pig. Forcing food into a pig with stomach ulcers or impaction can cause aspiration pneumonia.
- Do not blame the feed brand first. Ninety percent of the time the issue is heat, water, contamination, or a simple infection, not the feed itself. Switching brands every two weeks just resets the gut and makes it worse.
- Do not start antibiotics blindly. Wrong antibiotic = wasted money, dead gut bacteria, and resistance later when you actually need it. Vetracin Gold (doxycycline + tiamulin, ₱25-₱38 per 5g sachet) handles many mild respiratory cases, but it is not a vitamin or appetite stimulant.
- Do not let it ride past 48 hours. A pig that has not eaten in 2 days has a fever, an obstruction, an infection, or worse. By day 3 you are looking at significant weight loss and potentially organ stress. Call the vet by end of day 2.
A Quick Diagnostic Checklist
When you walk into the pen and see untouched feed, work through this in order. Most farmers solve it at step 1 or 2.
- Is the water clean, cool, and flowing? If no, fix and recheck in 30 min.
- Does the feed smell normal? If sour, musty, or weevil-eaten, replace.
- Is it the hottest part of the day? Try feeding at 6 AM and 5 PM only.
- Take a rectal temperature. Above 40°C → call the vet, document symptoms.
- Check the stool. Diarrhea → start oral electrolytes (Apralyte ₱24-₱26/sachet or Electrogen D+ ₱250/box). Constipation → add fiber.
- When was the last deworming? Over 3 months → see deworming guide.
- Any vaccination in the last 48 hours? If yes, wait it out.
- Look in the mouth. Drooling or one-sided chewing → broken tooth, vet visit.
If after all 8 the pig still will not eat by morning, that is a vet call. Do not wait the third day.
Rainy-season tip. From June to November, assume any feed batch using corn, copra meal, or rice bran has some mycotoxin risk. Add a binder routinely instead of waiting for symptoms. ₱2-₱3 per pig per day saves you a ₱110-₱145 lost growth day, plus the silent liver damage that shows up later as poor finishing weight. This is the single cheapest insurance in pig farming.
Recovery Monitoring
Once you fix the cause, do not assume the pig is back to normal until it eats two consecutive full meals at expected volume. Track:
- Day 1 of recovery: 30-50% of normal intake. Offer warm wet mash (1 part feed, 1 part water, slightly warm) to encourage eating. Add a tablespoon of molasses or coconut water for palatability.
- Day 2: Should be 70-90% of normal. If not, call the vet.
- Day 3: Full intake or close to it. Add a B-complex injection (Bexan or generic, ₱40-₱80 per shot) if recovery is slow. It stimulates appetite and helps gut microbiota rebound.
Note the pig's behavior, not just the feeder. A pig that is back at the gate when you walk in with the bucket is recovered. A pig that lifts its head, looks at the food, then puts it back down is not.
The hidden cost of a 2-3 day appetite stall is not just the food the pig did not eat — it is the FCR damage. A pig that loses 1.5 kg of expected gain still has to make that kilo back later, and it will eat more than 1.5 kg of feed to do it. Track your batch FCR before and after recovery to see how much margin a single sick pig actually costs.
Free Tool
FCR Calculator
Plug in your batch's feed consumed and weight gained over the recovery week to see exactly how much your FCR drifted, and what that means in pesos against your local feed price.
Bisaya / Cebuano
Para sa mga mag-uuma: Kung dili mokaon ang baboy
Ang baboy nga dili mokaon usa ka adlaw, mawad-an og mga 0.6-0.8 kg sa timbang. Sa presyo karon nga ₱180/kg liveweight, kana ₱110-₱145 ang nahanaw kada baboy, kada adlaw. Duha ka adlaw nga walay kaon sa 10 ka baboy, parehas ra sa usa ka sako sa feeds nga gisunog. Maong kinahanglan dali nga aksiyon, dili pasagdan.
Una, check ang tubig. Kadaghanan sa kaso, kulang ra ang tubig o init kaayo ang sulod sa balde. Ang baboy dili mokaon kung dili makainom og bugnaw nga tubig. Linisi ang sudlanan kada adlaw. Kung naay nipple drinker, sigurohon nga gaagas. Sa init nga panahon (Marso hangtod Oktubre), 6-9 ka litro kada adlaw para sa grower, 25-35 litro para sa anay nga gapasuso.
Ikaduha, simhota ang darak ug copra meal. Kung lain na ang baho (parat, aslom, o agup-op), ilabay. Ang baboy mas sensitibo sa baho kay sa tawo. Sa tag-ulan (Hunyo hangtod Nobyembre), kanunay nga risgo ang aflatoxin sa mais gikan sa Bukidnon ug Cotabato. Pwede dugangan og mycotoxin binder sama sa Mycosorb, Toxinil, o NaturBind, presyo mga ₱15-₱30/kg, isagol 1-2 ka kilo kada toneladang feed. Mga ₱2-₱3 kada baboy kada adlaw, dili mahal kompara sa damage.
Ikatulo, sukda ang temperatura. Palitog rectal thermometer sa Mercury Drug o agri-vet, ₱150-₱300. Normal: 38.5-39.5°C. Kung sobra 40°C, naay impeksiyon. Tawagi ang munisipyo nga beterinaryo, ayaw og iniksiyonan og kaugalingon. Labi na karon nga naa pa ASF sa Bicol, Central Visayas, ug Caraga, ang biglang dili pagkaon kauban ang hilanat angay nga ipa-check.
Ikaupat, init nga panahon? Ilis ang oras sa pagpakaon. Pakan-a alas singko sa buntag ug alas singko sa hapon, ayaw na sa udtong tutok. Dugangi og lilim sa atop ug butangi og misters o basa nga curtain sa kilid sa pen. Mubalik ang appetite kung ang sulod sa pen mubaba og 3-5°C.
Ikalima, kung after sa bakuna (Coglapest, Porcilis, ug uban pa). Normal nga mukaon og 30-50% kada usa o duha ka adlaw, dayon mubalik. Sigurohon ra nga gainom gihapon.
"Ang baboy nga dili mokaon, dili makatabang nimo." (A pig that does not eat cannot help you earn.) Ayaw pasagdi og duha ka adlaw, pangitaa dayon ang rason. Sa ikatulong adlaw, mahal na ang gasto.
Learn More
- Signs your pig is sick, broader symptoms beyond appetite loss, with red flags
- How much water do pigs need per day?, daily liter targets by pig size
- Why is my pig not gaining weight?, slow growth diagnosis
- Pig diseases in the Philippines, disease-specific symptom guide
- Pig vaccination schedule, preventive shots and post-vaccination dips
- Vitamins and supplements, premix, B-complex, and what to skip
- Pig farming in rainy season, mycotoxin and feed storage risks
- Use the feed calculator to confirm your daily ration is on target before assuming an appetite problem.
Sources: Lee et al. 2005 "Growing pigs raised by smallholder farmers in the Philippines" (Preventive Veterinary Medicine); Merck Veterinary Manual on swine appetite loss and rectal temperature; pig333 nutrition library on heat stress and feed intake; PCAARRD Swine Production Technology Guide; BAI swine health hotline and ASF zone updates; FAO Farmer's Handbook on Pig Production. Brand prices verified at agri-vet stores in Cebu, Bohol, and Davao, early 2026.
