Collection of poo sample for testing

[pelicano]

I had Molly spayed in February. All went well with the spay, but a course of Baytril had the usual nasty effect on her guts, and it has been a battle ever since, with twice daily poop soup (at one point I was giving it 4 times a day). I've tried all the usual probiotics too. The poop soup helps a lot, but can't resolve the problem completely.

My vet told me to collect a sample of at least 10 g spread across 2 - 3 days, to send to a lab for a small animal faecal sample test. This seems a huge amount, unless I were to split the pigs up, which I don't even want to do with a grid (mainly because it totally upsets the bond with the other two, who have a slightly shaky alliance!)

So, I've been getting Molly out twice a day for a while, feeding her veggies and hay, and collecting the poos. What I've got is already becoming covered in a white mould, from the moisture content of them.

Any advice or tips would be appreciated.

 

[Wiebke]

I had Molly spayed in February. All went well with the spay, but a course of Baytril had the usual nasty effect on her guts, and it has been a battle ever since, with twice daily poop soup (at one point I was giving it 4 times a day). I've tried all the usual probiotics too. The poop soup helps a lot, but can't resolve the problem completely.

My vet told me to collect a sample of at least 10 g spread across 2 - 3 days, to send to a lab for a small animal faecal sample test. This seems a huge amount, unless I were to split the pigs up, which I don't even want to do with a grid (mainly because it totally upsets the bond with the other two, who have a slightly shaky alliance!)

So, I've been getting Molly out twice a day for a while, feeding her veggies and hay, and collecting the poos. What I've got is already becoming covered in a white mould, from the moisture content of them.

Any advice or tips would be appreciated.

Hi

I am very sorry for your ongoing problems. Baytril can cause a permanent disturbance in the gut microbiome in some cases.

You are doing the right thing in feeding Molly outside since feeding tends to trigger dropping some poos but you need to keep them in the fridge to slow down mould getting to them (you can place the poo collection container in a small bag while in the fridge), especially in warm weather. It happens very quickly, especially if the poos are a little moist.

 

[pelicano]

Thanks very much for this. Will do!

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks very much for this. Will do!

The mould should not affect the testing for bacteria etc. by the way.