No diarrhoea, but poop still not normal

[Hayley_Bayley_Haybale]

Hello! Looking for some gut-related advice. Around one month ago all of my girls were treated for Giardia infection (poop tested positive during a routine screening prior to boarding while we were travelling). We don't know which girl was ill, but towards the end of the Giardia treatment Hayley started to pee blood. The vet prescribed an antibiotic and the bleeding stopped after around 4 days but then she began to have diarrhoea. I gave her a course of probiotics and the diarrhoea resolved but her poops are still not completely normal. Each time she has vegetables her poops the following day are quite soft. At other times they can be almost crumbly.

Any advice on how to help her gut get back to normal? She's active, eating lots of hay as well as pellets. I've been giving her vitamin C twice a week. She drinks a lot (estimate 250- 300ml per day but we do live in a hot country). Her weight is back to what it was before the health issues.

Thank you I'm advance!

 

[Ramia]

I would continue the probiotic and cut out the veggies until the poop is normal again and then reintroduce veggies very slowly.

That is what I was advised to do with my boy who is on antibiotics right now and has soft stool.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Is she confirmed as clear of the giardia?
These kinds of infections aren’t something we come across on the forum often

It sounds like her gut isn’t at full function, and is sent off balance by the veg.
Have you removed all veg and only reintroduced very slowly?

Is she still on the probiotic?


Is the vit c supplement a new addition since the infection?
(I’m asking as piggies should not routinely be given vit c supplements - it’s better to give a two week course during the illness and then stop)

 

[sport_billy]

def keep up the pro biotic. If you have a healthy piggy you could try making some poop soup, this is a good way of getting gut flora back.
You get a healthy piggy friends poo (fresh) and mash it with a little water and carefully syringe feed it to your girl.

 

[sport_billy]

There is info on poo soup in the guide here Probiotics & Live Gut Microbiome Transfer ('Poo Soup'); Recovery Formula Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links and Transfer Recipe

 

[Hayley_Bayley_Haybale]

Is she confirmed as clear of the giardia?
These kinds of infections aren’t something we come across on the forum often

It sounds like her gut isn’t at full function, and is sent off balance by the veg.
Have you removed all veg and only reintroduced very slowly?

Is she still on the probiotic?


Is the vit c supplement a new addition since the infection?
(I’m asking as piggies should not routinely be given vit c supplements - it’s better to give a two week course during the illness and then stop)

Thank you for replying so quickly! All three were tested for Giardia and were clear. I completely agree that her gut still doesn't seem right as each time she has veg, her poops are soft. I then cut veg out and within a couple of days things are closer to normal, but a bit crumbly.

The vet recommended 5 days of probiotic but I'm happy to start her on them again if there's no harm in her taking them for longer.

They don't routinely have vitamin C as I make sure to give a good mixture of veg every day. But since she's not been having veg every day I wanted to make sure she wasn't becoming deficient.

 

[Hayley_Bayley_Haybale]

def keep up the pro biotic. If you have a healthy piggy you could try making some poop soup, this is a good way of getting gut flora back.
You get a healthy piggy friends poo (fresh) and mash it with a little water and carefully syringe feed it to your girl.

Thank you for replying! I'll restart the probiotic. The vet said to give it for 5 days, but if there's no harm in doing it for longer, I'll carry on.

I have two other piggies who are healthy, so I'll read through the poop soup info and try that too. Thank you!

 

[Piggies&buns]

There is definitely no harm in continuing the probiotic

 

[VickiA]

I agree - I would continue with the probiotic and cut back on the veggies.