Bonding stress and weight loss: but should I supplement my big fat girl?

[Free Ranger]

We're still getting over the shock of the tragic loss of my poor Zara following GA but we put Louise in with George and Flora two days ago as she was looking bereft through the bars and starting to hide away. I was a bit worried as Flora had once invaded the girls garden run and by the time I got to them had already plucked a hefty tuft out of each backside. Louise is the most passive pig you can meet so she didn't put up any sort of resistance and after some brief chasing just dealt with any advance by collapsing to the floor in a floofy heap with her head right down. I'm not sure the others knew what to make of it! There's not been any hair pulling or ear biting - George has stepped up and was dominant during the first encounter, rumbling between the girls if it got tense. Louise seems to trust George more than Flora. There are places for everyone to sleep separately now, which they do. I think Flora would quite like to be more friendly but Louise goes to pieces if anyone comes too near her.

Louise is enjoying finally being able to come into the kitchen herself, and it has only been a couple of days, but she's lost some weight. Now the thing is that when Zara was being syringed and there were lots of tasty treats around she hoovered it all up and tipped the scales at 1.35 kg. This morning, a week later, she's 1.25 kg. So should I worry about my bigger bride losing weight? She's still a whopper and she's been through a lot - she shared a good bond with ferocious Zara (probably because she was so passive) and seeing Zara poorly and then passing was bound to be an upset, I mean it broke me and I've only known her since December. It was obvious Louise wasn't going to do well alone, and she and George have always been unrequited. There's no evidence of hair pulling or bullying by Flora, and I've been watching like a hawk as she was bullied herself by a pig called Cocoa Pop and was a little underweight when she came to us. Louise isn't being prevented from eating and joins the others at the grass pile / hay pile but is the first to turn away. The others don't do anything! I've put this tunnel there to make her feel a bit more protected but she still looks tense. When she turns away the others look but don't stick their noses into the tunnel or anything.



So I'm tempted to offer her a little syringe food (she really liked the CC fine grind) to cheer her up and try and get her back in the game but I feel a bit nuts because she's not exactly wasting away and I don't want to compromise her health. Any opinions?

 

[PigglePuggle]

I think the disruption of bereavement and bonding may well account for the weight loss, also some bonding chasing and meeting a new husboar may have generated extra exercise!
Do make sure there are multiple hay piles, water bottles, and you hand feed some of the veggie ration to make sure she gets a fair share- but at over 1.2kg with only 100g loss and some good explanations for that, I personally would be tempted to see if the downward weight trend continues over the next month or so before trying to fatten her up with syringe feed. I'd also have a vet check if the weight loss continues, but I think bereavement then new more active companions can account for this level of weight loss in a rather big girl x

 

[Wiebke]

Hi!

It is not surprising that your girl has lost weight. With piggies that are a bit on the overweight side, the quick weight loss will be larger.

Before you step in with support measures, please first check whether your girl is actually still a good weight for her size (BMI/heft). Follow the guidance in chapter III of our weight guide, which will take you in detail as to where to check and what to look for. It is well worth it, for your own peace of mind as well as the welfare of your girl to see whether there is actually a problem or not!
Weight - Monitoring and Management

Make sure that access to hay and water cannot be blocked and is ideally provided in more than one place. Sprinkle feed nuggets (1 tablespoon per piggy day) and peferably green veg all over the cage. This minimises food bullying but also acts as enrichement as it stimulates natural behaviour.
Lower ranked piggies in a group tend to be a bit lighter than top piggies. That is normal and has no effect on their overall health or life-span in my own experience. Overweight, especially massive overweight can however be life-shortening.

Things should like normalise on their own once the dust has settled.

 

[Free Ranger]

Update:
1 week in and things seem to be settling. Timid Louise still spends most of her time hiding in her 'safe space' under the towel on the LHS of that cage but she's back up to 1.3 kilo unassisted. If she ventures out too far she gets chased around by Flora but she stands her ground under the towel. We've seen the more unpleasant side of Flora who has nose-bumped her and chattered teeth a lot despite no resistance at all, but George goes in there more now and he seems to diffuse the situation - Louise doesn't object to him being under the towel too... she freezes when Flora goes in and not so much for George. George just wants to be friends, Flora just wants to be pushy, but luckily Flora still defers to George. It's hard for a fluffy girl when your Knight in Shining Armour is nearly as timid as you! They're all in there at night together now but tend to give Louise her space. Louise stopped coming out for grass but now we put the grass pile in the cage and the other two go in. She pops her head out like a turtle when the fridge goes or if the others squeak. Here's a photo of her being brave as George guards the door. He's eyeballing Flora who has just changed her mind about trying to barge her way in!


So hopefully things will pick up a bit for Louise and she'll get some exercise. She gets chased around the lawn a bit too - but if she shoots into a hidey Flora doesn't follow her in and have a go and there's been no hair pulling or ear biting. She's bravely venturing out and about on the grass because there's not really anywhere to get cornered. I'm putting off her haircut until things calm down so she's a bit woolly. Wish us luck for next week!

 

[Free Ranger]

Update:
2 weeks in and little has changed - Louise still mainly under the shelf although she appears when veggies are about. George likes to rumble her in the garden and she doesn't mind (although she plays hard to get) but she's scared of doing something wrong with Flora who will charge her given the slightest excuse. Still no biting, hair pulling etc - just the odd nose bump and she crumples. Today I blitzed the cage and when Louise came in she was worried about going in 'her' bit and came and sat near me in the kitchen for ages while I was cleaning the water bottles and I felt dead sorry for her. Eventually I took her home and stayed while she found her feet: she had to wait for Flora to go at the pellets first and then the hay first and neither girl relaxes. Louise (who is actually fatter than she's ever been) is always waiting for Flora to have a pop and Flora is just looking for an excuse. When Flora finally bogged off into the other cage George rumbled up and settled in for the night. They're not miserable - they're just not settled - only George is content and he's actually pretty delighted.
I'm going to give it another week and see if they can come to some arrangement where both girls aren't so tense. Life is never simple is it?!

 

[Free Ranger]

Update:
3 weeks in and things are pretty similar. Everyone had been claiming the back cage at night and hanging out there most of the day so I was having to do a 50% clean every evening for all the pee. Louise has actually started to come out more when she forgets she's supposed to be hiding: into the kitchen in the morning for veggies and out for the grass drop off - sometimes Flora follows and lets her be and sometimes it's a sort of half-hearted chase back at trotting pace. But we deserve better don't we Louise...

Soooo this morning I took a big breath and changed up the cages. The popular cage is now at the front (where George and Flora were before) and the abandoned cage is now at the back with only one covered area. So Louise is where she was but I'm hoping that Flora will now give her more room to pootle round - either that or she'll cram under the single shelf with her! Still no biting or hair pulling and the only trouble I saw was when Flora gave a mean look and chattered teeth (Louise immediately collapsed in a heap) and when I came over Flora fled so she knows what I think of her!

But every time I think 'that's enough...' I see all 3 eating round the hay pile together or George and Louise sharing the pellet bowl. Or Flora sitting on the shelf over Louise who pops her head out and they sniff each others faces. It's not perfect but it's better than separate living and Louise is still 1.35 kilo, the big fat heifer. Fingers crossed for this week!

 

[Free Ranger]

Update:
Well it's taken a whole month but Louise has finally started to venture out of the cage on occasion for no reason at all and generally Flora lets her waddle about without interfering. So she's getting exercise and getting to explore more - going in the other cage and in the snuggle tunnel. It's peaceable at the grass pile in the morning and she comes right out to eat. Life is starting to look a lot like how you want it to look when 3 piggies are living together so we did the right thing to persevere. Thanks for all the advice!

 

[VickiA]

It’s really nerve wracking stuff, but well done for persisting. Sounds like there’s a new and settled order in the herd.

 

[Free Ranger]

Final update: Louise is out and about all over and sometimes Flora is tempted to give a little chase but it seems more like a game now. I think we've definitely decided three's not a crowd