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Fattening up

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mrs ord

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How can I fatten up one of my girls? She has been to the vets recently and he said he cant see any reason why she is thin. I've watched her with her cagemate and although the other sow is the more dominant their food is spread and she gets her fair share. The hay is at one end the pellets and veg at the other (two joined cages) The dominant sow does not restrict her movement just lies either in the hay box or maybe in front of it. Bella could get past if she wanted and i've seen them nibbling together no probelm. I'm really puzzled why shes so thin. The size difference in them is really quite shocking as they have always been around the same size and weight. Are there any foods that will help build her up?

Thanks in advance
 
Has your vet tried worming, checking for diabetes, back teeth etc?

You won't be able to get her to put up weight until you can find the cause of the weight loss. I am aware that it is very difficult as there are no signs of what could be wrong with her.

Please weigh her daily on your kitchen scales. You should weight your piggies weekly, or at least every second week, daily if you feel changes in the weight or health.

You can try and feed sweetcorn (which is very cheap and available right now), porridge oats or oat bran. Please watch her and see what, how and how much she is eating. Is she gobbling everthing down, just nibbling or taking things into her mouth, but not able to chew them?
 
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She eats well. Shes not greedy but certainly enjoys her food and wheeks when its veggie time. I was windering about her kidneys as she drinks a lot of water. I think i'll need to get her back to the vets and see what they say. Would her recent spey affect her weight?
 
She eats well. Shes not greedy but certainly enjoys her food and wheeks when its veggie time. I was windering about her kidneys as she drinks a lot of water. I think i'll need to get her back to the vets and see what they say. Would her recent spey affect her weight?

A spay - like any bigger operation - can certainly affect the weight massively! Piggies can be very slow in putting weight back.

Have her checked for diabetes, too, with those symptoms, but be aware that glucose readings in healthy guinea pigs are quite high and can easily be mistaken for diabetes.
 
I'll try some baby food. I just read that thread and it seems like that might help untill I find out what the problem is.
 
I am quite interested in this as I have a number of pigs who will be kept in a shed this year and I am thinking of foods that will help maintain and in some cases increase their weight. At the moment they have unlimited pellets and hay *** fresh veg once a day. Just paranoid about them dropping weight when the cold weather comes in.

How do you serve the oats?
 
I am quite interested in this as I have a number of pigs who will be kept in a shed this year and I am thinking of foods that will help maintain and in some cases increase their weight. At the moment they have unlimited pellets and hay *** fresh veg once a day. Just paranoid about them dropping weight when the cold weather comes in.

How do you serve the oats?

I also give oats to my piggys in the winter as a treat and to make sure they keep their weight (even though they live indoors with me!), i just give a tablespoon of oats each per day, i put the oats in their dishes with their dry food and i also give bran that you can get from Holland and Barret's for about 89p for a huge bag (its in the cereal section). They love hoovering it all up! But i have also heard that you can give them both mashed up with a little warm water and serve on a plate.

:)
 
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