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How to syringe fed a very reluctant naughty piggy. Help please

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klee

klee

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I have so far managed to get 15ml of pellet mash into Esme today, which isn't much.
I need to get some more into her but she is being very difficult and I can hardly get the syringe in, she is lively and being naughty- she has escaped her towel she was swaddled in and has climbed on to my shoulder and is buried in my hair.
I have tried with some fruity baby food but she just isn't interested.
How can I get some food into her? I am at my wits end xx
 
Sorry to hear this, this is the worst part of syringe feeding by far. As she ate anything at all yet? Don't suppose you have any CC in? They tend to like the taste of it..

Have just caught up on your other thread, How is her poo output?
 
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Mashed banana with pellet mush or CC I find helps syringe fed piggies, also have mixed fruit juice in as well to make it a more pleasant taste...
Little and often is my motto and 15mls is a good starter.
120ml over 24 hours is the recommended amount so aim for 15-20ml per feed every couple of hours, give a little water in between too.
Hope she behaves, I've had piggies fight the syringe to the stage where I've sat crying but have persisted with what tiny amounts I could get into them and they're here to tell the tale :) :)
 
I managed to get a small amount into her, she has had some cucumber, celery and a couple of dandelions willingly and has been munching hay just. Still a little low on the poo output but I don't think the stress of being indoors on her own helps.
 
At that stage, it can be a very messy and disheartening fight. Little but often is the best way - and that throughout the night as well. mallethead

Try to get into her whatever works in whichever way and keep at it. Does she nibble on grass, too? Give her a lot of praise for every little bit she takes. I find that offering some solid food first and then topping up with recovery food encourages her to eat normally as she is not completely off all food, even if it is no more than a nibble.

If a piggy has had full or partial gut stasis (i.e. the guts have stopped working), it can take some time to get them up and running again and the digestion can be a bit on the iffy side for a while afterwards.
 
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As Wiebke has said digestion is a bit iffy but in the half an hour she has been in she has done about six solid but mishapen poos so she has obviously been eating some hay etc. She isn't really that interested in grass but will eat dandelions- shame for us as they are very sparse at the moment, she is eating lettuce so going to cut it into some small pieces and give it as a peace offering.
I have managed to get some more syringe food in this morning- about 3ml so far and although she is biting halfway down the syringe she is enjoying the food when it gets in her mouth. Uphill struggle but I think we're making progress.
 
A piggie here knows that mom is boss, period. I had pets since I was 4 and learned something from my dad. I wrap wrigglers, but they know they will be fed if they have to and usually give up the fight fast.

My dad was a farmer's son and he taught me that our compassion for animals is misplaced when it boils down to treating them: we feel sorry for them and that keeps us from acting firm, stress free and correct, yet you have to use that compassion to focus on the job. He was right. It's a different mindset, but it surely helps.

This applies to bathing or nail clipping as well. I never have had a pet yet, including piggies, who had issues being bathed or having nails clipped. It happens so swift, they don't even know what hit them.
 
I had similar problems when Madam was ill in February. After she was pts I thought I'd search something out to help with any future syringe feeding/meds etc & came up with this medication pouch :- http://www.chucklebunnies.net/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2_76

Sarah is a member of this forum & the pouch has been great when I had to syringe feed Minky recently. There's only the head sticking out & it makes syringe feeding much better for you & your piggy. Also it might be better to use a smaller syringe & refill it as required. I found a lot of food was coming back out of her mouth. This is because there is too much pressure in the large 15m or 20ml syringes for the piggies to take so someone else on here recommended small ones no bigger than 1ml or 2ml & keep filling it to get the right quantity. Also I found that giving a syringe of water after about 10ml of food helped too. I suppose it's like us having a drink with a meal.
 
Oh gosh it's so hard isn't it. Can someone help hold your piggie while you syringe?
 
Something is definitely starting to work in her guts, lots of poo if a littlle soft and unformed. She is just eating hay on my knee so touchwood this starts to firm her up. She hasn't had much of a syringe feed this evening yet, but going to see if she wants some banana as that is quite good for soft poops isn't it?
Going to limit veg right down to maybe a tiny piece of lettuce as encouragement to take the syringe feed.I don't know how much she ate with the others so don't want to overload her, particularly as she seems to be doing pretty well with eating-well better than yesterday so I'm happier.
 
When one of my boys was neutered and i noticed he wasn't eating his evening veg i instantly panicked and grabbed the CC. I was getting about 15ml's in to him every couple of hours, however what i didn't realise was that i was filling him up so much on critical care he had no need/desire to eat solid food - this was only found out after 5 days of constant syringe feeding and when my vets had him in for observation for 24hrs (with the intention of performing and ultrasound and xray).

They decided to offer him as many nice treats as possible (they cut fresh grass for him) and just watched him - true to form he ate everything they gave to him - so he came home and was eating perfectly normal. 5 full days of my syringe feeding him - he spends 24hrs with the vets and he was back to normal...

I would offer as many solid foods as possible first as they last thing you want to do is fill her up so much with CC that she doesn't need/want to eat solid foods.

Good luck :)
 
Sodapops said:
When one of my boys was neutered and i noticed he wasn't eating his evening veg i instantly panicked and grabbed the CC. I was getting about 15ml's in to him every couple of hours, however what i didn't realise was that i was filling him up so much on critical care he had no need/desire to eat solid food - this was only found out after 5 days of constant syringe feeding and when my vets had him in for observation for 24hrs (with the intention of performing and ultrasound and xray).

They decided to offer him as many nice treats as possible (they cut fresh grass for him) and just watched him - true to form he ate everything they gave to him - so he came home and was eating perfectly normal. 5 full days of my syringe feeding him - he spends 24hrs with the vets and he was back to normal...

I would offer as many solid foods as possible first as they last thing you want to do is fill her up so much with CC that she doesn't need/want to eat solid foods.

Good luck :)
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To be honest she is still pretty reluctant to take it- I'm lucky if I can get about 3ml per time, but she is eating hay and dandelions etc- not sure about solid pellets as it is too dark to see the bowls . I'm just going to give her a small amount in the morning before work as I'm out all day and make sure she has everything else there. Now that she is willing to eat by herself and her guts are moving I am not so worried.
 
Mix in a little baby food, always works with mine :) You have to shop for the ones that are just fruit and veg mind, but mine love it then. :)
 
klee said:
To be honest she is still pretty reluctant to take it- I'm lucky if I can get about 3ml per time, but she is eating hay and dandelions etc- not sure about solid pellets as it is too dark to see the bowls . I'm just going to give her a small amount in the morning before work as I'm out all day and make sure she has everything else there. Now that she is willing to eat by herself and her guts are moving I am not so worried.
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If she's eating some things for herself then this could be why she is reluctant to take more than 3mls per sitting

Sending healing vibes your way - it's so draining dealing with a poorly piggie - ive had to do it 3 times this year, thankfully there was a happy ending for at least one of them :)
 
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