Recovering Piggy Won’t Eat Normally

[KatieK]

Hi Everyone! My precious little Toto (4.5 years) has been having a few health problems lately - one after another it seems. It started with a runny/gunky eye, and then a dental abscess and on-off tummy pain/stopping pooping. He seems to be prone to any pain related issues affecting his guts and 2 x previous has had slow guts and injections of metoclopromide in the past. At the moment his abscess appears to be cleared up (he was on an antibiotic which badly affected his appetite). Since finishing the antibiotic he is very choosy about what he’ll eat - mainly grass (which he is obsessed with) red lettuce (has to be Waitrose ), cucumber on and off and he’s happy to eat unlimited hay, albeit I have no control over how much. However, he will not touch his previous favourite carrot or other veggies, and he will not under any circumstances have any pellets of any flavour (I have tried 6 different types). He is currently on loxicom 0.6ml twice a day (dog suspension), 0.4ml metoclopramide twice a day and 0.1ml cisapride twice a day. Pain meds are to keep any tummy pain under control and gut meds to keep things moving as we’ve had multiple issues with him stopping pooping. His teeth have been checked post abscess several times and all appears fine.

We are also giving recovery feed three times a day (Oxbow fine grind).

He is such a sweetheart, seems happy enough in himself but he was Mr Greedy before all of this and has lost quite a bit of weight although now maintaining at around 1.13kgs. He was previously typically around 1.3kgs and was pellet obsessed!

Has any one any similar experience and if so, did your Piggie’s appetites return to normal? Does anyone have any practical advice regarding reinvigorating his appetite for different foods?

He is being looked after by the wonderful Ellie at Derwent Valley Vets.

 

[KatieK]

Here he is!

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry to hear he is unwell.

To be honest, he doesn’t sound to be too bad in the sense that not eating pellets or carrot is not a problem at all. Neither need to be in the diet so not having them won’t cause any issues.

He will hopefully get his taste for things like herbs and peppers back but as long as he is eating lots of hay and some veg, albeit less variety than normal, then he will be ok

 

[Pound Shilling & Pig]

It is not unusual for poorly/recovering pigs to not want to eat things they used to love until they are properly better. It is fantastic that the main thing he wants to eat is grass, this is by far the best thing for him (and pigs in general) to be eating. That combined with the lettuce, cucumber and hay is all he really needs.

Over the many years I have had pigs I have found that carrot is nearly always the first veg they lose interest in when unwell, often before they are even showing signs of illness, and the last veg they return to eating once better. As an example when my piggy Twiglet Piglet was castrated a few years he had some complications and reactions to drugs and had to have a second operation. He completely stopped eating for himself for several days, so just had syringe feeds. He was on metacam and metoclopramide for six weeks, over which time he gradually ate more for himself in terms of quantity and variety, it took him that whole six weeks before he was interested in his former favourite treats; carrot and peaflakes.

Pigs will usually lose weight when unwell, so long as Toto is maintaining his new weight and your vet is happy he is not underweight that is the main thing. Regaining lost weight can take a very long time and may never be put back on, especially in older piggies or those that were a little overweight beforehand.

Regarding reinvigorating his appetite this will come with time, just keep offering him different things each day and don't worry if he turns them down. Fresh herbs and forage such as dandelions and plantain would be the best choices.

 

[KatieK]

I’m sorry to hear he is unwell.

To be honest, he doesn’t sound to be too bad in the sense that not eating pellets or carrot is not a problem at all. Neither need to be in the diet so not having them won’t cause any issues.

He will hopefully get his taste for things like herbs and peppers back but as long as he is eating lots of hay and some veg, albeit less variety than normal, then he will be ok

Many thanks for your very comment, your advice is very helpful

 

[KatieK]

It is not unusual for poorly/recovering pigs to not want to eat things they used to love until they are properly better. It is fantastic that the main thing he wants to eat is grass, this is by far the best thing for him (and pigs in general) to be eating. That combined with the lettuce, cucumber and hay is all he really needs.

Over the many years I have had pigs I have found that carrot is nearly always the first veg they lose interest in when unwell, often before they are even showing signs of illness, and the last veg they return to eating once better. As an example when my piggy Twiglet Piglet was castrated a few years he had some complications and reactions to drugs and had to have a second operation. He completely stopped eating for himself for several days, so just had syringe feeds. He was on metacam and metoclopramide for six weeks, over which time he gradually ate more for himself in terms of quantity and variety, it took him that whole six weeks before he was interested in his former favourite treats; carrot and peaflakes.

Pigs will usually lose weight when unwell, so long as Toto is maintaining his new weight and your vet is happy he is not underweight that is the main thing. Regaining lost weight can take a very long time and may never be put back on, especially in older piggies or those that were a little overweight beforehand.

Regarding reinvigorating his appetite this will come with time, just keep offering him different things each day and don't worry if he turns them down. Fresh herbs and forage such as dandelions and plantain would be the best choices.

Many thanks for your comment and for sharing your experience. It is reassuring to know that (hopefully) we are on the right path. He was such a greedy boy before his illness - never turned a snack down ever - so it’s just panic stations for me when he doesn’t want to eat his previous favourites! Thanks again