A senior pig rarely announces a problem all at once. He changes in small increments, a slower rise here, a shorter walk there, and the owner's job is wider, steadier observation that catches the pattern while any single day still looks unremarkable.
Mobility: Slower Rising and Shorter Walks
Watch how he rises. A senior pig that rocks, pauses, or needs several attempts to get his feet under him is showing a mobility change worth recording with a date, not a quirk to smile at. Note how long the effort takes and whether mornings are harder than afternoons, because that detail helps a vet more than a general report of stiffness.
Watch his walks too: shorter walks, reluctance on slopes or steps he once managed, and lying down sooner after feeding all belong in the same mobility picture. Keep routes he enjoys within his current reach rather than retiring him from outings altogether, because movement he chooses supports joints, weight, and mood together.
Appetite, Teeth, Feet, and Joints
Record appetite change in plain terms: meals finished, meals left, enthusiasm at the trough compared with his own usual. A pig that eats but slowly may be telling you about teeth, so note teeth alongside appetite, including dropped food, chewing on one side, or a new messiness at feeding.
Feet and joints are noted at the same checks. Look at how he stands and bears weight, feel for heat or swelling at joints during grooming, and watch for a foot he favors on hard ground. Hoof trims are kept up on schedule, because an overgrown hoof changes how the whole leg loads and can mimic or worsen a joint problem. A trim that reveals soreness is a finding to record, not a session to push through.
Skin, Weight Trend, and Social Withdrawal
Check skin deliberately, because a pig's skin shows age and health plainly once you look: dryness, thickening, sores where he lies, and any patch he rubs or scratches at repeatedly. Run a hand over him during grooming rather than relying on a glance, since his coloring and hair can hide what touch finds.
Read weight as a trend by eye and hand, ribs and spine felt regularly so gain or loss is caught as a direction rather than a surprise. Note social withdrawal from the group as carefully as any physical sign: a senior pig that stops joining the others, sleeps apart, or gives up a favored spot is offering information that belongs in the same record. Treat each new change as a possibility for a veterinarian to investigate, with your dated observations giving that inquiry its starting point.
Bedding, Warmth, and Things to Root At
His surroundings shape what observation finds. Deep, dry bedding protects joints and skin where he lies and makes rising easier than a thin, damp bed, so bedding depth and dryness belong on the same check round as the pig himself. Older pigs feel cold sooner, so watch whether he seeks the warmest corner, shivers, or piles bedding around himself, and adjust shelter and bedding before appetite dips in response. Keep his mind occupied with rooting material and safe objects to investigate, refreshed regularly, because a senior pig that still explores his pen is showing engagement that a withdrawal check can measure against, while bare surroundings make dullness hard to judge fairly.
Note drinking on the same round, since a senior pig drinking notably more or less than his own usual pattern adds a dated data point beside appetite and weight.
Read as a whole, his observation trend sits in the Pet Passport journal on KinsLe, ready for the veterinarian to read alongside earlier entries.