jfpj91
New Born Pup
This is my first post here, but I've read things on the site here and there and have seen how supportive and helpful this community can be.
I have 8 pigs in my herd, all female. Today Gaia was diagnosed with gas (or bloat from what I've read online being the correct term). She is 3 years old with no real health problems before now. I've read that bloat can be a recurring issue and I want to reduce the likelihood it'll come back for Gaia and reduce the chances the other 7 pigs wind up with it because of their diet.
Several months ago their diet looked like this:
Pellets
Timothy Hay
4 large leaves of Romaine (or occasionally green leaf) in the morning before I left for work 7-8 AM
1 of (carrots, parsley, cilantro, kale or rarely a fruit like cherries or banana) when I I home between 5-6PM
1/8 bell pepper (usually green, but sometimes yellow/orange/red) around dinner 7-8PM
4 large leaves of Romaine before bed 11PM-12AM
One of the pigs in the herd started smelling awful, or their stool, rather. We think it was Nut, (pronounced Newt). So I took them off of veggies completely. Their smell went back to normal. I slowly reintroduced veggies and wound up with this diet:
Pellets
Timothy Hay
4 leaves or romaine (or sometimes green leaf) morning
1/8 green bell pepper afternoon/evening
4 large leaves of romaine night
Now Gaia has bloat and the vet told me to avoid veggies for her. He gave me Critical Care and Ben-e-bac (sp?). Fortunately, he said Gaia seems very alert and her coat has a great sheen, so he doesn't want to start an antibiotic yet. I was told to call them tomorrow to provide an update and I guess we're gonna go day by day for the time being.
Anyway, my question is what is a good veggie diet for the herd to avoid bloat for the other piggies and is that a good diet for a piggie with bloat history or will she need a separate diet? I thought I had a good amount of Vitamin C and a good calcium:phosphorus ratio, or did prior to reducing their veggies, but I'm not sure what foods cause gas. Some websites list certain foods as good for bloat and other websites list the same foods as bad. Obviously Pellets and Timothy hay are going to remain on the menu, but what's a good veggie menu?
Sorry if some of this is circuitous, but I'm really worried about her. She is a really sweet pig and she usually gets along with everyone in the cage. I hate seeing her in pain, and I really hope I can help her and the others avoid it moving forward.
I have 8 pigs in my herd, all female. Today Gaia was diagnosed with gas (or bloat from what I've read online being the correct term). She is 3 years old with no real health problems before now. I've read that bloat can be a recurring issue and I want to reduce the likelihood it'll come back for Gaia and reduce the chances the other 7 pigs wind up with it because of their diet.
Several months ago their diet looked like this:
Pellets
Timothy Hay
4 large leaves of Romaine (or occasionally green leaf) in the morning before I left for work 7-8 AM
1 of (carrots, parsley, cilantro, kale or rarely a fruit like cherries or banana) when I I home between 5-6PM
1/8 bell pepper (usually green, but sometimes yellow/orange/red) around dinner 7-8PM
4 large leaves of Romaine before bed 11PM-12AM
One of the pigs in the herd started smelling awful, or their stool, rather. We think it was Nut, (pronounced Newt). So I took them off of veggies completely. Their smell went back to normal. I slowly reintroduced veggies and wound up with this diet:
Pellets
Timothy Hay
4 leaves or romaine (or sometimes green leaf) morning
1/8 green bell pepper afternoon/evening
4 large leaves of romaine night
Now Gaia has bloat and the vet told me to avoid veggies for her. He gave me Critical Care and Ben-e-bac (sp?). Fortunately, he said Gaia seems very alert and her coat has a great sheen, so he doesn't want to start an antibiotic yet. I was told to call them tomorrow to provide an update and I guess we're gonna go day by day for the time being.
Anyway, my question is what is a good veggie diet for the herd to avoid bloat for the other piggies and is that a good diet for a piggie with bloat history or will she need a separate diet? I thought I had a good amount of Vitamin C and a good calcium:phosphorus ratio, or did prior to reducing their veggies, but I'm not sure what foods cause gas. Some websites list certain foods as good for bloat and other websites list the same foods as bad. Obviously Pellets and Timothy hay are going to remain on the menu, but what's a good veggie menu?
Sorry if some of this is circuitous, but I'm really worried about her. She is a really sweet pig and she usually gets along with everyone in the cage. I hate seeing her in pain, and I really hope I can help her and the others avoid it moving forward.