Are my piggies overweight?

[Cue]

We weighed our pigs for the first time in a while today and they came in at 1.003g (11 mo. F) and 1.000g (6 year. F). I’m glad they’ve gained weight, both were underweight for a while, especially Doof, the six year old. I am worried they may be overweight though and if they are I’d like to try and nip this at the bud before it becomes unmanageable.

 

[Princess Dustmop]

There isn't a specific goal weight for all piggies; each one has its own best weight. One piggy could be a healthy at 800g and another could be healthy over 1500g.
The way to check whether your piggy is the right weight for him/her is to feel around the ribcage (just behind the shoulders. You could be able to feel the ribcage as a whole but individual ribs shouldn't be palpable. If you can feel individual ribs distinctly, the piggy is underweight; if there is too much pudge to feel the ribcage, the piggy could stand to lose some weight.
Weighing your piggies is generally more about trends than the actual numbers. You're looking to see if each piggy is gaining or losing significantly, as that is an indicator for health and more reliable than just picking the piggy up.

 

[Cue]

That’s what I thought, thank you. I’ll weigh them weekly for a while and see if they level out or keep gaining. I also eventually realized that Doof is actually back to her original weight from a year ago before she got a dental abscess and her mother/cagemate died (she loved her Momma a LOT.) She never gained back the weight until she properly bonded with her new cagemate Cheese Stick, so I’m guessing/hoping this is just her getting better and Cheese maturing.

 

[Princess Dustmop]

Condolences for the loss of Doof's momma. I'm glad Doof is doing better now that she has a new buddy.

 

[Free Ranger]

her new cagemate Cheese Stick,

How did you think of that name!

More seriously, I's sorry for your loss and it's good news that Doof is finding pleasure in life again. Two of my pigs are pretty fat and to be honest it's the least of my piggy concerns. When we've experienced weight loss through illness it's been because piggy was eating less hay (which makes up about 80% of their diet) and we never want to discourage any eating of hay so it's kind of hard to 'control' their weight. If you provide a good healthy diet and they have space to move about in their weight settles at a level that's right for them. You've got some great advice above.

 

[Megham]

Cheese Stick is a fabulous name hahaha

For me a little bigger is much better than underweight, at least you know (god forbid) if they got ill you have some chunk to rely on keeping them healthy if their appetites went down as they can lose weight fast. I have two naturally smaller girls around 950g and one big girl who is around 1,100g. There's only about 200g between them but their shape and physique is very different, like us they come in different shapes and sizes!

The vets have never commented her on being too big and at the rescue I volunteer at there have been some girls who are bigger! It's very important to weigh your guineas as much as you can to track the trends, I do it every week when I clean them out. It's great to know what their average weight is but you will also know immediately if something isn't right.

If you are worried I've found kibble is the number one thing that pumps them up followed by veggies. So if you ever want to adjust them a tad try out giving very slightly less of those things. (Not dramatically less because big food changes can put them off.) They sound healthy though! That's great you finally got them out of that underweight stage.

 

[Cue]

That’s wonderful! Cheese Stick is named Cheese Stick because one of her markings looks like a melted string cheese.