Salt Poisoning of Pigs

Abstract

LOSSES from salt poisoning of pigs seem to have occurred during many generations of stockmen. In letters or other reports of swine feeders, discarded meat brine and salty whey from cheese factories, constituting perhaps the last drippings into an empty whey tank, have been held responsible for such cases of poisoning. A craving for salt may have played a part in causing an excessive intake of salt, especially when present in a palatable liquid. Management of affllicted pigs, the steps leading up to the occurrences of poisoning or therefore the conditions necessary for poisoning pigs, usually have not been specifically indicated and have been difficult to establish. A question may be whether the term “poisoning” as applied to salt is appropriate, or whether it is merely a heavy concentration of salt in the digestive tract of pigs that may cause fatal dehydration of vital tissues. This is an academic question, however, for in the end, whatever the specific effect of large amounts of salt, a pig is dead.