Fussy pig with soft poops

[piggydobz]

Hi guys, we’ve recently changed our hay to another brand because our original one is no longer selling it to the same standard. I think there has been a change in the hay supplier. Problem is, we have one fussy pig who seems to be unhappy with this change.

We have tried 4 different Timothy hays over the last few weeks (some of the highest rated too!) but he doesn’t want to eat much of any of them. We initially mixed them together so they would gradually change over, but we’re all out of the original hay now.

He is still hungry for forage treats, nuggets and veggies, and gets excited for his hay. But when we put it in the cage, he will root about for ages trying to find pieces that he likes. He does eat some of it throughout the day, but not as much as our other pig.

I’m starting to get a bit worried that he isn’t eating enough because his poops are slightly soft and have been a little pointy on the ends. He’s also lost weight since the hay change, 25g in 2 1/2 weeks (he’s still a portly 1275g, and could also be due to less veggies?)

We’ve given him daily probiotics and reduced his veggie intake to try and get his tummy back to normal. We’ve also given him a tiny bit of critical care to up his fibre intake. We’ve checked for impaction etc and monitored his daily activity.. but other than dodgy poops, he seems normal.

The only change has been the hay, so we can’t see anything else it could be. Unless this could be something unrelated and require a vet visit?


Help!

 

[Siikibam]

If he’s losing weight hen he’s not eating enough. Having said that, 25g in 2.5 weeks isn’t a large amount. What would be worrying is if he was continuously losing each week. I would switch to weighing him daily at the same time and see what he’s up to.

With regards to poop with this, I’d take him off all veg until at least 48 hours after they’re back to normal. Adjust the syringe feeding according to his weight loss/gain/maintenance. If he is still losing weight continuously then I’d get him looked over by the vet.

Is there any other hay you can try? Or buy the hay elsewhere?

 

[rp1993]

In terms of hay have you tried him on meadow hay? Our boys were always only eating certain bits of their hay box Timothy but we have swapped them to meadow hay and they eat every last scrap!

 

[piggydobz]

In terms of hay have you tried him on meadow hay? Our boys were always only eating certain bits of their hay box Timothy but we have swapped them to meadow hay and they eat every last scrap!

Yes, he’s had different brands of both Timothy and meadow hay, but he just doesn’t like any of them more than his favourite. Very annoying and a lot of wasted hay! We’ve managed to donate some to local piggie rescues though so not all gone to waste.

 

[piggydobz]

If he’s losing weight hen he’s not eating enough. Having said that, 25g in 2.5 weeks isn’t a large amount. What would be worrying is if he was continuously losing each week. I would switch to weighing him daily at the same time and see what he’s up to.

With regards to poop with this, I’d take him off all veg until at least 48 hours after they’re back to normal. Adjust the syringe feeding according to his weight loss/gain/maintenance. If he is still losing weight continuously then I’d get him looked over by the vet.

Is there any other hay you can try? Or buy the hay elsewhere?

Yes I think we’ll have to weigh him every day. And reduce veggies. He won’t be happy about that lol, our pigs get a little veggie snack in the morning and evening. Spoilt pigs don’t know how lucky they are! Just eat the hay!

 

[David Piggie Lover]

Weight loss is not a massive amount . . . Some say a meal is about 35/40 . . . Ok his habbit has changed with the loss of his fav hay. . I'm interested to know what it was. You seem well clued up with things. . I think in time he will eat the new mixed hay. . I'd be very worried if showing no intrest or not eating so signs are good. . .
Weight is good . . Hope he settles. .

 

[Piggies&buns]

I agree with @Siikibam.

While his weight loss isn’t a huge amount, if it becomes part of a continual downward trend then it is more concerning.
If his poops are soft, then stop veg altogether to give his gut chance to settle, don’t just reduce it. If he now isn’t eating enough hay but still gets veg then it could be that it is causing an imbalance.
Hopefully he will get hungry enough and start to eat the hay independently. You will need to syringe him though while he isn’t eating hay - he needs the fibre for gut function.
Being a natural product, sometimes it isn’t as nice as others - maybe it’ll improve as new batches come through. Could you perhaps try buying the normal brand to get him eating it again?

My elderly rabbit has always been difficult with hay - he’d pick at it for a while and then go off of it, and then I’d try something different which he‘d pick at and go off of. That is until I switched to Haybox and now all of my bunnies and piggies can’t get enough of it, even the fussy bunny eats more now than he ever has done and I’ve not had trouble with him eating hay in over a year.

 

[piggydobz]

I agree with @Siikibam.

While his weight loss isn’t a huge amount, if it becomes part of a continual downward trend then it is more concerning.
If his poops are soft, then stop veg altogether to give his gut chance to settle, don’t just reduce it. If he now isn’t eating enough hay but still gets veg then it could be that it is causing an imbalance.
Hopefully he will get hungry enough and start to eat the hay independently. You will need to syringe him though while he isn’t eating hay - he needs the fibre for gut function.
Being a natural product, sometimes it isn’t as nice as others - maybe it’ll improve as new batches come through. Could you perhaps try buying the normal brand to get him eating it again?

My elderly rabbit has always been difficult with hay - he’d pick at it for a while and then go off of it, and then I’d try something different which he‘d pick at and go off of. That is until I switched to Haybox and now all of my bunnies and piggies can’t get enough of it, even the fussy bunny eats more now than he ever has done and I’ve not had trouble with him eating hay in over a year.

Yes we’ve got him some more of the original hay but recent batches are lot thicker, more like 1st cut. The hay he likes is a bit softer and shorter strands. We got softer ones to try, but they obviously don’t have the same flavour!

Ooh I’ll have a look at Haybox thanks, I think they have some taster boxes we can try him with

 

[piggydobz]

Thanks everyone, I’m a bit more reassured that it’s not an immediate trip to vets. He’s still a chonky boy, so we’ll keep an eye on him a bit longer and adjust the diet as you have suggested.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Yes they do do taster boxes. They were selling second Cut timothy recently but seem to have stopped for now. Their timothy is very stalky first cut but their meadow is just lovely, so I’d definitely try him with that.