help feeding critical care

[piggiemummy03x]

just managed another 6ml but we feel della is getting more and more frustrated with us getting her out and the feedings, we have probably spent at least a good 4.5 hours on feeding today and thats only 33ml, we are all stressed, della isn’t eating on her own today, we don’t know what to do is this quite common with pigs on antibiotics? shes had baytril before and never lost her appetite, will it stop as soon as the course is up? she goes around to the multiple places we have hay in her cage and she pulls strands out and chews on bits but just doesn’t eat them, we try to hand feed but she just grabs it and spits it out into smaller strands

 

[piggiemummy03x]

i’m really starting to question her loss of appetite.. if you saw the way she hoovered down grass, you wouldn’t believe its the same guinea pig not eating, i just don’t know what it could be?

 

[Free Ranger]

It's a really tricky one. First - in case I haven't said before - my pigs vote for CC fine-grind (brown packet, papaya flavour). We tried Emeraid - but nobody went for it. It's smooth and high calorie. But it does small a bit like baby-sick. I think the problem is more that if one pig eats it the others will have a go but no-one here wants to be first out of the trenches. Is Della prepared to eat anything on her own? And how fast is she losing weight? And how are her poops? Is she giving you any clues as to what's going on for her?

Syringed pigs fall into different camps which is worth remembering - it doesn't necessarily mean you've got bad technique or an uncooperative patient.

Some might have tooth or mouth trouble which stops them grinding hay but they have all their appetite and are hungry for food - they'll try hard to eat any sloppy food you give them so the process can actually be quite quick, if messy, as long as you don't catch the tender areas. Some might struggle after anaesthetic - the nurses quickly got 10ml into a stoned George because he wasn't resisting but there is more of a risk of choking. Poor Rainbow Zara had moments of lucidity where she wanted to take her slurry but then she 'phased-out' and some just drooled out again. Sometimes the problem is transient - when fat Louise got bloat and refused food (for the first time in her life probably) she complained bitterly about little-and-often from a 1 ml syringe for a day or two - just a few ml here and there with her painkiller and emeprid and massages, but once that gas started to move through she fell on the big syringe with gusto and walloped back 15 ml in about 3 minutes flat (hubs called her 'Foie Gras' - bit offensive!) George's problem was also transient in that we knew it was the antibiotic Septrin that was killing his appetite and we were pretty certain that in 3 weeks time he'd be fine, but we also knew that he had to be supplemented or he'd give up. He was eating some things, but he got 20-30ml CC each day and it took a long time. His main feed was in the afternoon and we had to use a dish of salad-y bits and bobs as a bribe. He quickly learned that if he had a ml of slop he'd get a sliver of lettuce... he couldn't just live on veg as he'd started to bloat. That antibiotic saved him from a horrible infection, but he dropped from 1.4kilo to 950g. He could barely face grass - he must have felt as sick as a dog.

But my beloved Ivy was very difficult. One day (at 3 1/2) she just stopped eating - she maintained her 'poorly' weight of 950g (down from 1.1 kilo) for 6 weeks on nothing but syringed mush food. She took roughly 35-40ml a day (sometimes a little more, sometimes less). But she could only take a tiny part of a ml at a time and she chewed for an absolute age. It was pretty stressful for both of us but we tried to make it a relaxing time. She got 4 feeds: roughly 7-8.30 am, 11.30-1pm (the outdoor feed), 4-5.30 (the old movie feed) and 8.30-9.30 pm (not many ml here as we were both tired). Painkiller made no difference to her - antibiotics no difference - we just couldn't find anything wrong. Apart from not eating she was as right as ninepence and looked in completely good health wandering round the garden. We think - and we'll never know for sure - that her problem may have been some sort of increasing obstruction to swallowing. She suddenly went downhill one weekend and I took her in for pts.

So they're all different in why they might need supplementing and by how much. But generally speaking a healthy hungry piggy - even if they're chock full of lovely hay or grass - will still lick up a splodge of CC. If only we could get to the bottom of her woes. Thinking of you all x

 

[piggiemummy03x]

It's a really tricky one. First - in case I haven't said before - my pigs vote for CC fine-grind (brown packet, papaya flavour). We tried Emeraid - but nobody went for it. It's smooth and high calorie. But it does small a bit like baby-sick. I think the problem is more that if one pig eats it the others will have a go but no-one here wants to be first out of the trenches. Is Della prepared to eat anything on her own? And how fast is she losing weight? And how are her poops? Is she giving you any clues as to what's going on for her?

Syringed pigs fall into different camps which is worth remembering - it doesn't necessarily mean you've got bad technique or an uncooperative patient.

Some might have tooth or mouth trouble which stops them grinding hay but they have all their appetite and are hungry for food - they'll try hard to eat any sloppy food you give them so the process can actually be quite quick, if messy, as long as you don't catch the tender areas. Some might struggle after anaesthetic - the nurses quickly got 10ml into a stoned George because he wasn't resisting but there is more of a risk of choking. Poor Rainbow Zara had moments of lucidity where she wanted to take her slurry but then she 'phased-out' and some just drooled out again. Sometimes the problem is transient - when fat Louise got bloat and refused food (for the first time in her life probably) she complained bitterly about little-and-often from a 1 ml syringe for a day or two - just a few ml here and there with her painkiller and emeprid and massages, but once that gas started to move through she fell on the big syringe with gusto and walloped back 15 ml in about 3 minutes flat (hubs called her 'Foie Gras' - bit offensive!) George's problem was also transient in that we knew it was the antibiotic Septrin that was killing his appetite and we were pretty certain that in 3 weeks time he'd be fine, but we also knew that he had to be supplemented or he'd give up. He was eating some things, but he got 20-30ml CC each day and it took a long time. His main feed was in the afternoon and we had to use a dish of salad-y bits and bobs as a bribe. He quickly learned that if he had a ml of slop he'd get a sliver of lettuce... he couldn't just live on veg as he'd started to bloat. That antibiotic saved him from a horrible infection, but he dropped from 1.4kilo to 950g. He could barely face grass - he must have felt as sick as a dog.

But my beloved Ivy was very difficult. One day (at 3 1/2) she just stopped eating - she maintained her 'poorly' weight of 950g (down from 1.1 kilo) for 6 weeks on nothing but syringed mush food. She took roughly 35-40ml a day (sometimes a little more, sometimes less). But she could only take a tiny part of a ml at a time and she chewed for an absolute age. It was pretty stressful for both of us but we tried to make it a relaxing time. She got 4 feeds: roughly 7-8.30 am, 11.30-1pm (the outdoor feed), 4-5.30 (the old movie feed) and 8.30-9.30 pm (not many ml here as we were both tired). Painkiller made no difference to her - antibiotics no difference - we just couldn't find anything wrong. Apart from not eating she was as right as ninepence and looked in completely good health wandering round the garden. We think - and we'll never know for sure - that her problem may have been some sort of increasing obstruction to swallowing. She suddenly went downhill one weekend and I took her in for pts.

So they're all different in why they might need supplementing and by how much. But generally speaking a healthy hungry piggy - even if they're chock full of lovely hay or grass - will still lick up a splodge of CC. If only we could get to the bottom of her woes. Thinking of you all x

thanks for your response, della is more than happy to eat grass but no interest in nuggets and hay she’s really not eating any.. she picks but drops it afterwards. she dropped 68g i think over a week, yesterday (6th march) was the first time her weight increased (by about 20g) her poos at first where very small or oddly shaped, some really long worm like ones and some clumpy ones, it was at this point we stopped fresh veg. in the last day or two poos have been a lot more normal, back to just a little but smaller than the average, healthy poo. della is being treated for suspected UTI currently, hence the antibiotics, she did have some drugs at the vets last thursday to have a scan and xray done checking to make sure she didn’t have stones.. thank goodness she didn’t!

we think della is slightly smaller than the average pig, everything about her compared to her sister is smaller, you can really see this from side on view so i feel its harder to syringe her already, let alone when she hates it.

wow bless them it sounds like your pigs have had a nightmare too! how are they all doing now?

i’m sorry to hear you had to have your girl pts other than her not eating della is no different.. running around, squeaking in the morning for nuggets etc, it’s literally just the not eating thats the problem.

thankyou so much, i hope we do too, i don’t know how much longer any of us can go on like this, i just feel so bad for della

 

[piggiemummy03x]

i have been doing a bit if research and have found on the guinea lynx website this.. Guinea Lynx :: Antibiotic Intolerance

guinea pigs being intolerant to some / all antibiotics.. after reading a couple of stories i am extremely concerned, the loss of appetite after 3 days on ABs but being able to eat grass just rings too true for my della and i’m absolutely petrified she may be intolerant to baytril.. i have phoned the vets who have said once our vet is in this afternoon they can ask her what the best course of action is. i do not feel comfortable giving della any more baytril, today would have been day 7 of the extended 14 day course, i know its not advised to just stop a medication but i just don’t want to risk it. she has been on the antibiotics for treating a UTI, within a day dellas symptoms had gone, the vet just wanted a 14 day course to ensure she was fully over it and because it was so close to her last UTI. i am hoping if the vet still feels she needs something we can swap over the antibiotic to something else.

has anyone heard / experienced this before? i hope i’m doing the right thing, i just have a really bad gut feeling about giving her anymore baytril and my thinking was, id rather have to treat her again with another antibiotic IF her UTI comes back (obviously this isn’t what i want ideally, i don’t want to put her through any pain) than to loose her to potential baytril intolerance.

please please let me know what you all think, i will keep you updated once i have heard from the vet!

 

[piggiemummy03x]

della has weighed in at 915g this morning!

 

[Bertie & Jelly]

Sorry if it’s been mentioned before but have you tried feeding a little critical care off a teaspoon? When Jelly lost his appetite I went through all the different critical care options as well as mushed pellets - like you i’d get 5-10ml per feed if I was lucky and it felt like it was constant feeding for a while. I did however get him to eat a little more when it was on the tip of a spoon, followed by a little oats or grass. He was on ABs for a URI - it wasn’t Baytril which I have no experience of - but he got diarrhoea on day 6 of a 7 day course even with probiotics. After consulting the vet, I did then stop the ABs but we were nearly through the course and only with their guidance first. Your vet knows Della’s condition best and I hope they will be able to provide you with reassurance this afternoon.

 

[piggiemummy03x]

Sorry if it’s been mentioned before but have you tried feeding a little critical care off a teaspoon? When Jelly lost his appetite I went through all the different critical care options as well as mushed pellets - like you i’d get 5-10ml per feed if I was lucky and it felt like it was constant feeding for a while. I did however get him to eat a little more when it was on the tip of a spoon, followed by a little oats or grass. He was on ABs for a URI - it wasn’t Baytril which I have no experience of - but he got diarrhoea on day 6 of a 7 day course even with probiotics. After consulting the vet, I did then stop the ABs but we were nearly through the course and only with their guidance first. Your vet knows Della’s condition best and I hope they will be able to provide you with reassurance this afternoon.

hiya, yes i have unfortunately shes not interested, oh bless him, how is he doing now?

 

[piggiemummy03x]

hi everyone just wanted to give you an update on della! so after finding the link to some guinea pigs being intolerant to to ABs, i decided monday would be the last day i gave della her ABs, tuesday morning we woke up to to della eating and drinking - around 12 hours after the last dose of baytril.

i had a call back from the vet who said it could possibly be down to the drugs she was given when she had her xrays, but the fact she was eating after not having the baytril could mean it was that causing the problem. we agreed to stop the 14 day course 6/7 days in and if della started showing signs of UTI again that we could try her on a different AB which i am happy about, hopefully this doesn’t happen but id rather this than potentially making her more poorly from an antibiotic that doesn’t agree with her.

dellas poos seem to be back to normal now, she is definitely drinking and eating more than she was but we still feel its not enough, for this reason we are carrying on with the critical care feeds, della weighs the same as she did yesterday (915g) we have agreed that if she still isn’t eating more by tomorrow we will be going in to see the vet to just check her over and insure things are okay.

we have noticed since feeding the critical care that sometimes della will just be chilling out, not eating hay or anything then will act like she is chewing / trying to get something out of her mouth, we are hoping it is just maybe bits of the critical care getting stuck in her mouth she is trying to get rid of and not anything to do with her teeth? she had had them checked not too long ago and was told everything seems fine, is there anything we can do to tell? i will obviously be mentioning this to the vet again when we go, just wondered if there was any signs of teeth problems in piggies?

della had also eaten two nuggets this morning, we normally feed 10 nuggets each, friday and saturday she ate 1, come sunday she completely stopped, although some days she got excited like normal when she heard the box shake, she would smell them but not take them to eat.

we where thinking about reducing the critical care today and see how she weighs in tomorrow, just to see how much she really is eating by herself. she only took 5ml of critical care her first feed as she got pretty fed up quite quickly (but she did also need a wee!)

any thoughts are welcome!

 

[Wheekallweek]

Good to hear she's feeling a little bit better! Antibiotics can play havoc with a piggy's digestive system. Perhaps cut back on the feeds a little if she is eating a bit better and see if she can maintain her weight on say two feeds a day for a day or two? Hopefully she'll be feeling a bit more chill then and start eating more by herself.
It's such a toss up between stressing them out with syringe feeding and not letting them starve

 

[Free Ranger]

This is exactly what happened to George although for him the problem antibiotic was Septrin (something my other pigs had taken - one for 2 x 3 weeks - with no ill effect at all!) and it's a hard choice. He was in his snuggle bag peeing blood-tinted pee every 20 or 30 minutes and crying so loud you could hear him all over the house. I started the AB in the evening, by the next morning he was much better, by the morning after he'd pretty much stopped eating hay - he just nibbled enough to keep his teeth in check - he was like that for 2 or 3 weeks and it was awful. He'd get excited for the grass pile but he didn't stay in it very long... and like I said earlier he was supplemented with CC every day. But we knew that a short course hadn't been enough to clear it and Baytril hadn't touched it so this was his only shot. I was on tenterhooks when we stopped the Septrin but thank the Lord his infection didn't come back. About 24 hours later he started eating again and by the third day he was as hungry as he'd ever been - but he'd dropped from nearly 1.4 kg to 950g and he's never regained it. It's much harder to get them to regain weight. I really hope it's been enough to clear her UTI - sometimes 5 days is enough for Baytril. Keep an eye out for symptoms for the next week - but if she's still perky by day 3 you can breathe a little easier. If she has a residue of the bug still in there it'll take a couple of days to get up into high enough numbers to cause problems again.

(NB: We've kept piggies for over 10 years so we've seen some things... but it's not been as traumatic as that last post sounded. You just got the edited highlights!)

 

[piggiemummy03x]

Good to hear she's feeling a little bit better! Antibiotics can play havoc with a piggy's digestive system. Perhaps cut back on the feeds a little if she is eating a bit better and see if she can maintain her weight on say two feeds a day for a day or two? Hopefully she'll be feeling a bit more chill then and start eating more by herself.
It's such a toss up between stressing them out with syringe feeding and not letting them starve

thanks so much! yes we have only managed 15ml split into 3 feeds today, after 5ml she starts trying to climb up us trying to tell us she wants to go back home, shes very good at communicating! we are hoping the reason for this is because she’s eating enough on her own now, but obviously won’t completely cut out critical care just yet, will keep up with the daily weigh ins and go from there! shes eaten more nuggets which is brilliant too.. we are so proud of her and just hoping she’ll improve from here. i know its so hard isn’t it!

 

[piggiemummy03x]

This is exactly what happened to George although for him the problem antibiotic was Septrin (something my other pigs had taken - one for 2 x 3 weeks - with no ill effect at all!) and it's a hard choice. He was in his snuggle bag peeing blood-tinted pee every 20 or 30 minutes and crying so loud you could hear him all over the house. I started the AB in the evening, by the next morning he was much better, by the morning after he'd pretty much stopped eating hay - he just nibbled enough to keep his teeth in check - he was like that for 2 or 3 weeks and it was awful. He'd get excited for the grass pile but he didn't stay in it very long... and like I said earlier he was supplemented with CC every day. But we knew that a short course hadn't been enough to clear it and Baytril hadn't touched it so this was his only shot. I was on tenterhooks when we stopped the Septrin but thank the Lord his infection didn't come back. About 24 hours later he started eating again and by the third day he was as hungry as he'd ever been - but he'd dropped from nearly 1.4 kg to 950g and he's never regained it. It's much harder to get them to regain weight. I really hope it's been enough to clear her UTI - sometimes 5 days is enough for Baytril. Keep an eye out for symptoms for the next week - but if she's still perky by day 3 you can breathe a little easier. If she has a residue of the bug still in there it'll take a couple of days to get up into high enough numbers to cause problems again.

(NB: We've kept piggies for over 10 years so we've seen some things... but it's not been as traumatic as that last post sounded. You just got the edited highlights!)

thankyou so much for your response, bless his heart! its so horrible when they are suffering isn’t it, i just wish i could take it away from her! that sounds like what della was like when she had an actual stone, her cries where absolutely horrendous to listen too, it broke my heart. it was 3 days into baytril she stopped eating, however this was also the day after her scans and xray so that could of also played a factor in it (the drugs she was given to take them). della luckily was scoffing grass down each day we put it in their cage, but like you say she was also just picking bits of hay, nibbling and spitting back out. wow thats a huge weight loss! della thank god hasn’t dropped that much, that must have been so scary too see. yes i really hope it has too! we will definitely be keeping a close eye on her like we always do so don’t worry about that!

haha thankyou for clearing that up!

 

[Wheekallweek]

Sounds like a good plan! Hopefully she's refusing the critical care because she's jus not hungry now she's eating more on her own

 

[piggiemummy03x]

hi all! just thought id update you again!

so della is doing really well bless her, back to eating hay and drinking as normal (if not more drinking wise, i think probably down to the fact weve cut out veggies!)

wednesday was the first day she began eating her nuggets and we had cut her critical care down to 20ml, she weighed in at 915g.

thursday she weighed in at 911g, even after dropping her critical care by half! we decided to drop it once more to only 10g of CC, we spoke to the vet who said we can stop the fibreflex and keep for another time if needed.

della had been eating really well, come friday della weighed in at 900g, so we decided to keep the critical care the same as previous day (10ml) due to dropping 11g. she and luna also had a bit of pepper so we could slowly start to introduce their veggies once more.

weighed her today and shes weighing in at 895g.. should i be worried? i know this is in the bladder fluctuation bracket (which i think is 30g) however i’m just concerned that each day since wednesday shes been slightly dropping?

shes definitely now eating as normal again so i don’t know why she would be dropping, did we reduce the critical care too soon? we where going to keep it at 10ml a day until her weight went up but i’m now wondering if we should up this?

della actually seems to like the critical care now, putting the syringe in her mouth herself and asking for more once shes finished

i just don’t know what we are doing wrong apart from possibly reducing critical care too much, but shes eating as normal again so i don’t see why this would be a problem?

any advice appreciated please, do you think i need to worry? should i increase critical care daily? we also wanted to start introducing veggies again but now i’m not sure if we should wait? please help!

 

[piggiemummy03x]

dellas weight fluctuations since last saturday when we first started critical care.. i was weighing her between 8-8.30am the last week however these last two days i’ve woken up a bit later (been taking advantage of the fact we no longer have morning meds lol) and weighed her late so i’m hoping i’m just catching her after she’s emptied her bladder? i will be up and weighing her tomorrow at 8am ish just to make sure!

7th she had 36ml CC
8th she had 20ml CC
9th & 10th she had 10ml CC

 

[Piggies&buns]

hi all! just thought id update you again!
so della is doing really well bless her, back to eating hay and drinking as normal (if not more drinking wise, i think probably down to the fact weve cut out veggies!) wednesday was the first day she began eating her nuggets and we had cut her critical care down to 20ml, she weighed in at 915g. thursday she weighed in at 911g, even after dropping her critical care by half! we decided to drop it once more to only 10g of CC, we spoke to the vet who said we can stop the fibreflex and keep for another time if needed. della had been eating really well, come friday della weighed in at 900g, so we decided to keep the critical care the same as previous day (10ml) due to dropping 11g. she and luna also had a bit of pepper so we could slowly start to introduce their veggies once more. weighed her today and shes weighing in at 895g.. should i be worried? i know this is in the bladder fluctuation bracket (which i think is 30g) however i’m just concerned that each day since wednesday shes been slightly dropping? shes definitely now eating as normal again so i don’t know why she would be dropping, did we reduce the critical care too soon? we where going to keep it at 10ml a day until her weight went up but i’m now wondering if we should up this? della actually seems to like the critical care now, putting the syringe in her mouth herself and asking for more once shes finished i just don’t know what we are doing wrong apart from possibly reducing critical care too much, but shes eating as normal again so i don’t see why this would be a problem? any advice appreciated please, do you think i need to worry? should i increase critical care daily? we also wanted to start introducing veggies again but now i’m not sure if we should wait? please help!

If she is no longer having any digestive issues then I would reintroduce veg slowly.

dellas weight fluctuations since last saturday when we first started critical care.. i was weighing her between 8-8.30am the last week however these last two days i’ve woken up a bit later (been taking advantage of the fact we no longer have morning meds lol) and weighed her late so i’m hoping i’m just catching her after she’s emptied her bladder? i will be up and weighing her tomorrow at 8am ish just to make sure!

7th she had 36ml CC
8th she had 20ml CC
9th & 10th she had 10ml CC

The weight chart you have added would not concern me at this point. Do keep a check and watch for any trend downwards but as yet the 20g from 915 to 895 on its own is not worrying.

 

[piggiemummy03x]

If she is no longer having any digestive issues then I would reintroduce veg slowly.




The weight chart you have added would not concern me at this point. Do keep a check and watch for any trend downwards but as yet the 20g from 915 to 895 on its own is not worrying.

thanks so much!

 

[piggiemummy03x]

we have also noticed smaller poos? is this an indication of anything? should we increase critical care to 15ml today?

 

[Wiebke]

i have just read that its actually best to give cisapride (which i think is the probotic?) 2 hours after her antibiotics! so we will start doing this from tonight! hopefully it’ll start to work!

Cisapride is not probiotic, it is a gut medication.

 

[piggiemummy03x]

Cisapride is not probiotic, it is a gut medication.

thankyou, someone had mentioned this after i posted and then i realised haha! head was a bit all over the place!

 

[piggiemummy03x]

smaller poos today.. last few days they have been normal sized

 

[piggiemummy03x]

should i give her some fibreplex again? last time was thursday and only 1ml, after speaking to vet she said if poos and della was back to normal it was okay to stop.

 

[Wiebke]

smaller poos today.. last few days they have been normal sized

Please keep in mind that it takes a full day for any food to pass from one end of the body to the other, and then another day for any redigested poos to be processed. The poo output tells you what has happened yesterday and the day before.
If you persist and if possible feed every 2 hours during the day with any piggy that takes only 5-10 ml in one go, then you will see the poo size go up again 1-2 days later. That is why weighing daily on the kitchen scales first thing in the morning is so important so you can monitor the overall food intake from day to day and adjust your feed regime that bit sooner. Make sure that you also offer water in each feeding session, as much as he will take willingly from the syringe. It is tough, tiring and very frustrating.

 

[piggiemummy03x]

Please keep in mind that it takes a full day for any food to pass from one end of the body to the other, and then another day for any redigested poos to be processed. The poo output tells you what has happened yesterday and the day before.
If you persist and if possible feed every 2 hours during the day with any piggy that takes only 5-10 ml in one go, then you will see the poo size go up again 1-2 days later. That is why weighing daily on the kitchen scales first thing in the morning is so important so you can monitor the overall food intake from day to day and adjust your feed regime that bit sooner. Make sure that you also offer water in each feeding session, as much as he will take willingly from the syringe. It is tough, tiring and very frustrating.

okay! so start CC every 2 hours again, 5-10ml each sitting, should i be aiming for 60ml again or less now because she’s basically eating as normal? i think i made a mistake reducing the CC too quickly, i just thought because her eating was back to normal i didn’t want to fill her up with it so she wouldn’t want to eat as much hay!

 

[piggiemummy03x]

Please keep in mind that it takes a full day for any food to pass from one end of the body to the other, and then another day for any redigested poos to be processed. The poo output tells you what has happened yesterday and the day before.
If you persist and if possible feed every 2 hours during the day with any piggy that takes only 5-10 ml in one go, then you will see the poo size go up again 1-2 days later. That is why weighing daily on the kitchen scales first thing in the morning is so important so you can monitor the overall food intake from day to day and adjust your feed regime that bit sooner. Make sure that you also offer water in each feeding session, as much as he will take willingly from the syringe. It is tough, tiring and very frustrating.

also, should i wait to re-introduce veggies now?

 

[Wiebke]

also, should i wait to re-introduce veggies now?

I would see how he is with some herbs first and then take it from there and mainly see how the bloating is. Getting more fibrous bulk into him has priority. You could try and see how he is with a little mushed pellets in a bowl; that will also give you an idea about whether he has no appetite at all or at least a little.

 

[piggiemummy03x]

I would see how he is with some herbs first and then take it from there and mainly see how the bloating is. Getting more fibrous bulk into him has priority. You could try and see how he is with a little mushed pellets in a bowl; that will also give you an idea about whether he has no appetite at all or at least a little.

okay will try her on some coriander! shes definitely got her appetite back, shes eating all her nuggets (10 a day) and lots of hay, both timothy and meadow. thats why i wasn’t sure on how much CC we should be giving her a day, what would you recommend for a pig that is eating normally?

 

[Wiebke]

okay will try her on some coriander! shes definitely got her appetite back, shes eating all her nuggets (10 a day) and lots of hay, both timothy and meadow. thats why i wasn’t sure on how much CC we should be giving her a day, what would you recommend for a pig that is eating normally?

I usually make up some feed (either syringe feed, mushed nuggets or a mix) and offer it in a bowl outside the cage once or twice a day (depending on the weight stability or any weight gain/lack of) by this stage to help bolster the transition to a normal diet.

This means that she is free to tuck in or leave it as she wants. If she is fine with the coriander, then you can add 1 more variety of veg with every meal to give the gut microbiome time to adjust again; start with a small quantity to allow the gut microbiome to adapt again. Stop if there is bloating again.

 

[piggiemummy03x]

I usually make up some feed (either syringe feed, mushed nuggets or a mix) and offer it in a bowl outside the cage once or twice a day (depending on the weight stability or any weight gain/lack of) by this stage to help bolster the transition to a normal diet.

This means that she is free to tuck in or leave it as she wants. If she is fine with the coriander, then you can add 1 more variety of veg with every meal to give the gut microbiome time to adjust again; start with a small quantity to allow the gut microbiome to adapt again. Stop if there is bloating again.

thank you so much for your response!

we will try to offer her feed in a bowl to see what she willingly wants to eat.

would you suggest starting the fibreplex up again because of her small poos? or should we just follow this plan and see how she goes?