diet for piggies who tend to bloat

[redd1800]

Hi

Iggy has developed a bad case of bloating, which I'm treating with a mix of Peter Gurney's and Guinea Linx advice (will also post in Health section).

I've never needed to give much thought to bloat before, as so far all my piggies have been healthy enough with my regular fresh food routine - 2 fresh veg / fruit per feed, 2 feeds a day, and never the same 2 items two feeds in a row. But I think its time the diet got a bit more complicated! I don't want poor Iggy to become this ill again.

So what fresh stuff is known to cause a lot of gas, and should not be fed on a regular basis?

And what fresh foods are ok to be fed a few times a week?

Danni

 

[Wiebke]

I am sorry about your problems; be aware that bloat can come back.

Cabbages are known to be gassy and should never be fed in large quantities.

However, if you want to find out to which foods exactly your piggy is not reacting well to, I recommend keeping a steady diet of stuff your piggy is safe on and then changing only one element at a time, so you will know straight away what doesn't agree with Iggy. Ideally, you want to give him small amounts of several different veg and fruit. Be very careful when reintroducing fresh food.

Sadly, I do not know of a specific "bloat" diet.

This is Laura's thread about a balanced diet on the basis of the guinea lynx recommendations: http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=37030

This is a low calcium diet as recommended by Vedra:
http://www.store2go.net/shop/planetguinea/ratewatchersrainbowdiet.pdf

 

[Laura-CCC4]

Hi Danni, sorry to hear Iggy has struggled with bloat. I've been through the mill with Dexter and discovered that...

- Brassica veg tend to trigger bloat - cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts. Avoid altogether if bloat is something your pig is susceptible to.

- Sugary foods - fruits, peppers - should be limited as these can affect pigs with very sensitive digestion.

- Dry food should be a high quality pellet only (ingredients in mixes may increase digestive sensitivity) more limited than usual to encourage higher hay consumption, which will in turn inprove digestive health, obviously important for pigs with sensitive tums.

The diet my pigs are on adheres to Dexter's specific needs with his bloat, the Cah ratio and a more natural diet in general.

 

[redd1800]

All my piggies are on the burgess excel pellets - the local pet shop orders the 10kg bags in specially for us. I have cut these back recently, as all my piggies (except Iggy now are a bit on the chubby side. I only top up at night, but i suppose they are still really have access 18 hours a day. Won't do any of them any harm to have that reduced again.

And i have been feeding a lot of those bad foods. Iggy always comes up to the top of the hutch and gets extra treats, (he's so cute when he does this, and I bribe him to encourage the cuteness) he's has a lot of extra bits of spring greens and brocoli recently :red

right, gonna check out those links now. Keep posting folk, the more info the better!

danni

 

[Laura-CCC4]

Dexter's always been the soppy sort as well, the one who appeals to my soft side and tries hard to get more food out of me!

Grass and dried grasses (e.g. Readigrass / Just Grass) can also lead to bloat and other digestive upsets (diarrhoea) in pigs prone to bloating. However, if they are introduced slowly and steadily, most will get used to the richness of it. I always make sure I don't put excessive amounts in, it's always mixed in with a lot more of the regular hay.

I should say that this stands for all pigs, not just those with sensitive tums; when first putting the pigs out on the lawn or feeding grass/dried grass, it has to be introduced in a controlled manner....because let's face it, the pigs won't control how much they eat of it. rolleyes