Damp tear shaped poo

[GusandPeanut]

Hi all,

One of my pigs, Peanut, approx 4.5 years old, has been producing fewer poos over the past 12 hours. He has eaten all of his food otherwise, has normal hay eating habits, and is drinking (though he has never drunk much in his life). He otherwise seems fine, sniffing and foraging with his brother pig, Chester, who is not having the dam e issues, and Peanut doesn't seem to be in pain, unsettled etc. His birth brother, Gus, now sadly deceased, once had bloat like symptoms (he passed away from a different incident) and this is different - Peanut is eating, moving around.

The poos he does produce are tear shaped and slightly wetter than a finished poo.

Any recommendations? I've seen a few people saying this could be a dehydration problem and suggesting syringe water with a probiotic and also cutting down veggies, or providing high water ones like cucumber.

Thanks ahead of time.

 

[GusandPeanut]

If antibiotic IS a good idea, any recommendations?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi all,

One of my pigs, Peanut, approx 4.5 years old, has been producing fewer poos over the past 12 hours. He has eaten all of his food otherwise, has normal hay eating habits, and is drinking (though he has never drunk much in his life). He otherwise seems fine, sniffing and foraging with his brother pig, Chester, who is not having the dam e issues, and Peanut doesn't seem to be in pain, unsettled etc. His birth brother, Gus, now sadly deceased, once had bloat like symptoms (he passed away from a different incident) and this is different - Peanut is eating, moving around.

The poos he does produce are tear shaped and slightly wetter than a finished poo.

Any recommendations? I've seen a few people saying this could be a dehydration problem and suggesting syringe water with a probiotic and also cutting down veggies, or providing high water ones like cucumber.

Thanks ahead of time.

Hi!

It sounds like Peanut is eating less hay than he should. Poos like that are often a sign of a mild tummy upset but they can also indicate that something has started to be not quite right and that your boy is no longer eating quite as much hay as he should.

Since you cannot control hay intake (which makes around 80% of the daily food intake by eye, please switch from weighing the usual once weekly to weighing daily at the same time; unlike poos, weighing gives you a current insight in what is going on.
Weight - Monitoring and Management

Also take him off any fresh food until 24-48 hours after they have normalised again. See a vet if things have not normalised within 24-48 hours or if there is an ongoing deterioration due to developing health problem.
Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating

This is extremely mild though but it is worth keeping a closer eye on and see which way it is going and contact a vet whenever necessary for a proper hands-on examination if things get noticeably worse.

 

[GusandPeanut]

Hi!

It sounds like Peanut is eating less hay than he should. Poos like that are often a sign of a mild tummy upset but they can also indicate that something has started to be not quite right and that your boy is no longer eating quite as much hay as he should.

Since you cannot control hay intake (which makes around 80% of the daily food intake by eye, please switch from weighing the usual once weekly to weighing daily at the same time; unlike poos, weighing gives you a current insight in what is going on.
Weight - Monitoring and Management

Also take him off any fresh food until 24-48 hours after they have normalised again. See a vet if things have not normalised within 24-48 hours or if there is an ongoing deterioration due to developing health problem.
Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating

This is extremely mild though but it is worth keeping a closer eye on and see which way it is going and contact a vet whenever necessary for a proper hands-on examination if things get noticeably worse.

Thanks very much. I will continue to ply him with fresh hay throughout and separate him from his brother when he has his veggies for tea.

 

[GusandPeanut]

Me again. He is eating hay as we provide it - he has always been a bit picky and wants a fresh pile, right out of the bag, but will always relent eventually and eat whatever is there. So we're providing lots of fresh piles and he likes it.

In terms of logic, what is restricting the veg going to do? Don't worry - I'm going to do it! But will Peanut eventually cave and eat as much hay as he requires when he realises he won't be getting fresh veg this eve?

 

[Siikibam]

You can’t judge how much hay they’re eating by eyeballing it. You need to be weighing weekly at the same time to monitor their weight and carry out a health check.

Withdrawing the veg helps their guts balance again. also try not to separate him from his cage mate. Hand feed the other piggy, or even take them both off the veg.

 

[GusandPeanut]

You can’t judge how much hay they’re eating by eyeballing it. You need to be weighing weekly at the same time to monitor their weight and carry out a health check.

Withdrawing the veg helps their guts balance again. also try not to separate him from his cage mate. Hand feed the other piggy, or even take them both off the veg.

Thank you. We just separated them for the 30 odd seconds it takes our other piggie to devour his meal, nothing lost though Peanut was a bit lost over not getting his bit of veg at the usual time.

I assume he'll fill any hunger he has with hay when he realises he isn't going to get any veg?

 

[VickiA]

As veggies should only be about 10%of the diet and hay about 80% of the diet his guts should return to normal if you withhold the veggies for 24-48 hours and only reintroduce them about 24 hours after you see normal poo again. He just needs to eat more hay. And please weigh daily so you can monitor his intake.

 

[GusandPeanut]

As veggies should only be about 10%of the diet and hay about 80% of the diet his guts should return to normal if you withhold the veggies for 24-48 hours and only reintroduce them about 24 hours after you see normal poo again. He just needs to eat more hay. And please weigh daily so you can monitor his intake.

Thank you so much for the reassurance and knowledge (you and all). I have set up another log to do his weight daily, and I will keep an eye on his poo's and speak to the vet tomorrow if it's the same or he has excess weight loss in line with the advice provided above.

 

[GusandPeanut]

Checked this morning and there's a lot more of them, better shape, just still a little smaller than normal. Normal length though.

 

[VickiA]

Checked this morning and there's a lot more of them, better shape, just still a little smaller than normal. Normal length though.

Sounds like things are moving in the right direction then.

 

[GusandPeanut]

Another update for anyone who's interested - lots more pooping, better shape, more firm, slightly larger than before and getting bigger. Another day of assessment today (thank God for WFH). Weight is consistent every day, gaining or losing 5g at same time weigh ins. As an aside I feel like he may have been slightly lethargic and perhaps did have an upset gut - he's been absolutely mad today, racing around the living room like a pig half his age and investigating everything in sight. Very pleased that we appear to have given him a refreshed sense of youth...touch wood!

Thanks so much for the help all.