Barley Water

[DM030819]

Hello all.

I wonder if anyone had any thoughts on what piggies like adding in to barley water to make them drink it?

My piggy Anselmo doesn't drink water. And he has bladder sludge problems so it's quite a problem. We have found a solution and he has very dilute 100% fresh orange juice and water mixed, as agreed with his vet.

We change the bottle twice a day, and at the moment it's okay. But, the warm weather is here and so I can't leave a bottle of it on his cage as it'll go off before I get home from work. And the weirdo will still drink it when it's gone off.

I had a brainwave and remembered people mentioning barley water, and how their pigs loved. Well, we tried it, and for a pig with severe arthritis he can still reverse really quickly!

Any ideas of what I can add to it, or am I cooking it wrong? I just boiled it for 20 mins like it said on the packet.

 

[Wiebke]

Hello all.

I wonder if anyone had any thoughts on what piggies like adding in to barley water to make them drink it?

My piggy Anselmo doesn't drink water. And he has bladder sludge problems so it's quite a problem. We have found a solution and he has very dilute 100% fresh orange juice and water mixed, as agreed with his vet.

We change the bottle twice a day, and at the moment it's okay. But, the warm weather is here and so I can't leave a bottle of it on his cage as it'll go off before I get home from work. And the weirdo will still drink it when it's gone off.

I had a brainwave and remembered people mentioning barley water, and how their pigs loved. Well, we tried it, and for a pig with severe arthritis he can still reverse really quickly!

Any ideas of what I can add to it, or am I cooking it wrong? I just boiled it for 20 mins like it said on the packet.

Your boy just seems very picky when it comes to drinking. If it is such a problem, I would rather either consider feeding more veg - veg is mostly water when it comes down to it. Many bladder piggies are not good drinkers, which means that bacteria, calcium and minerals are not flushed out well from the bladder, which can contribute to stones, sludges and infections. Alternatively, I would consider just syringing water once daily, as much as he will take in one go (don't force it down, and never give more than half a syringe, i.2. 0.5 ml, in one go) to get him to make one big pee. if a piggy is not keen on drinking by himself, there is very little you can do to encourage him.

Some people swear by barley water helping the bladder, so giving it to him is certainly not hurting.

Have you tried to tell your boy that he is misbehaving when you are syringing? It can help sometimes if you assert your dominance.
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[DM030819]

He can drink upto 50ml a day of his orange from a bottle left on his cage, and I also soak his veg in water at each meal to make sure it's really wet when he eats it. I give him a little bit more cucumber a day than is recommended by Guinea Lynx, but it's never seen to have any ill effect.

I think I will have to resort to syringing him water and his orange. He's been taking a few different med's and supplements by syringe each day for a few years now, and he's very good at taking it (Baytril is the only one he fights and that's my fault for letting him, it makes me laugh when he takes the syringe from me and tosses it aside. But he does take it without any real issues). So I don't think it will be a problem.

Or, at least whilst the warm weather is here he can have a bottle of orange when I'm around to change it, and I'll supplement with water too.

We've only started him on his orange again over the past few months and the vet was really impressed by the change in his urine at his last appointment. It was much less concentrated.

Thanks for your help Wiebke!

 

[Wiebke]

He can drink upto 50ml a day of his orange from a bottle left on his cage, and I also soak his veg in water at each meal to make sure it's really wet when he eats it. I give him a little bit more cucumber a day than is recommended by Guinea Lynx, but it's never seen to have any ill effect.

I think I will have to resort to syringing him water and his orange. He's been taking a few different med's and supplements by syringe each day for a few years now, and he's very good at taking it (Baytril is the only one he fights and that's my fault for letting him, it makes me laugh when he takes the syringe from me and tosses it aside. But he does take it without any real issues). So I don't think it will be a problem.

Or, at least whilst the warm weather is here he can have a bottle of orange when I'm around to change it, and I'll supplement with water too.

We've only started him on his orange again over the past few months and the vet was really impressed by the change in his urine at his last appointment. It was much less concentrated.

Thanks for your help Wiebke!

If he is drinking on his own (50ml is an acceptable amount), then I would not try to force him to drink more than he wants.

 

[DM030819]

Yep, I was just looking for an alternative to his orange juice for the summer months, as I can't leave a bottle of it on his cage all day as it goes bad quickly in the heat. Pesky sunshine!

 

[Wiebke]

Yep, I was just looking for an alternative to his orange juice for the summer months, as I can't leave a bottle of it on his cage all day as it goes bad quickly in the heat. Pesky sunshine!

If he is really thirsty, he'll drink water. if you use sippy bottles, you can cool the water with ice cubes. Please make sure that you filter any water for bladder issue piggies. It is not only the calcium, but also minerals in the water that can go into making sludge.