Bella’s Story & What We Learned

Written by AKKPS Member Robin Farrar of FlyinF Farm

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Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD) in Kune Kune Sows 

Yesterday was an extremely hard day at Flying Farm. We made the heartbreaking decision to put our sow, Bella, down. She was just shy of three years old and suffering from advanced metabolic bone disease (MBD). Her legs, vertebrae, and multiple other bones had sustained severe damage and fractures, leaving her unable to bear her own weight.

We are sharing this not for sympathy, but in the hope that Bella’s story can help prevent this from happening to another sow, on another farm.

Bella’s Background

We purchased Bella in April of 2025. Prior to coming to us, she had a healthy litter of piglets in November of 2024. Due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control, appropriate standards of care were not consistently maintained during that lactation period.

While nursing, her nutritional intake was not increased to match the prolonged demands of milk production. In the wild, a sow can nurse for up to four months and will self-regulate her nutrient intake. In captivity, however, that regulation must be managed by the owner. If feed is not adjusted, piglets can literally drain the sow of essential minerals, especially calcium and phosphorus.

Unfortunately, the consequences of that depletion often do not present until months after weaning.

What Is Metabolic Bone Disease?

Metabolic bone disease in sows often manifests months after pregnancy and lactation, when the body has already been depleted and never fully recovered.

The most commonly observed conditions include:

• Osteoporosis 
• Osteomalacia 
• Osteochondrosis 

These conditions weaken the skeleton and can lead to:

• Lameness (often starting in the hind legs) 
• Sudden fractures of long bones or the spine 
• Difficulty standing or walking 
• A “dog-sitting” posture with spinal fractures 
• Severe pain and eventual recumbency 

These fractures are not caused by trauma. Bones can break simply from normal movement because they were never properly sustained or formed.

By the time symptoms appear, the damage is often already extensive and irreversible.

Why This Happens

The primary driver of MBD is the intense mineral demand of lactation combined with insufficient recovery time.

Major risk factors include:

• Inadequate calcium, phosphorus, or vitamin D intake 
• Lack of dietary increase during nursing 
• Minimal recovery time between farrowing and rebreeding 
• Multiple litters over time 
• Genetics and body condition, including obesity during late pregnancy 

Prevention and Management

This condition is preventable, but it requires attention from the start of the breeding cycle through weaning.

Key prevention points:

• Ensure sows are in excellent condition before breeding 
• Maintain condition throughout pregnancy 
• Increase nutritional intake during lactation 
• Reassess and adjust feed as nursing demands increase 
• Allow adequate recovery time between litters 
• Work with a veterinarian if any lameness or weakness appears 

In the wild, the sow manages this herself. In captivity, we must do it for her.

Our Responsibility

With all our livestock, we assess health and work diligently to maintain proper condition. In Bella’s case, we were unaware she was suffering from underlying MBD when she arrived. We did not have the opportunity to correct the deficiencies before the damage revealed itself.

We monitored her closely, treated her, and fought for her for weeks. When she could no longer stand without causing further skeletal breakdown, we made the hardest decision a caretaker can make.

They cannot tell us what they need. As good stewards of these animals, it is our responsibility to watch closely, learn continuously, and do better when we know better.

This applies to all livestock, not just Kune Kune pigs.

If sharing Bella’s story saves even one sow, her life mattered.