Foods for piggie weight gain?

S'mores and Pockets

S'mores and Pockets

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Hello, I have a 3 1/2 year old boar who's weight is unstable because of an undefined underlying condition.

Are there any foods to help him gain weight? He was at 878g this morning, I am feeding him Critical Care, but that can get expensive if he eats it everyday for the rest of his life... I've heard plain oats are good? His appetite is really good, he eats plenty of hay and his portion of pellets. He hasn't had veggies for a couple months because of his problems.

Thank you so much!
 
As you’ve mentioned, plain porridge oats and critical care are good for weight gain. Corn on the cob / mini corn and bits of sweet potato are also good for weight gain also plenty of fresh hay although if he’s eating as well as you say he is, may be he’s at his ideal weight already
 
Claire W said:
As you’ve mentioned, plain porridge oats and critical care are good for weight gain. Corn on the cob / mini corn and bits of sweet potato are also good for weight gain also plenty of fresh hay although if he’s eating as well as you say he is, may be he’s at his ideal weight already
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Thanks Claire!
 
Realistically if his weight is unstable then you need to get to grips with the underlying condition to stabilise him. Yes some foods are more fattening but it's not going to encourage him to eat a normal diet and usually these things would be used in the very short term but as an ongoing way of stabilising weight I can't imagine it would work
 
Lady Kelly said:
Realistically if his weight is unstable then you need to get to grips with the underlying condition to stabilise him. Yes some foods are more fattening but it's not going to encourage him to eat a normal diet and usually these things would be used in the very short term but as an ongoing way of stabilising weight I can't imagine it would work
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Yes I see... my vet advises that we keep him as comfortable as we can for as long as we can. They can't really do anything else to help him at this stage. He has had bloodwork and a fecal test. There might be other more serious tests we could do, but they are really risky and don't seem worth it. He is happy (wheeking and popcorning), but his health symptoms are not good.
 
I would get him on a good probiotic, I have swapped over to benebac recently and find it produces far superior results, but any is better than none. Their bodies cannot make use of nutrients being ingested if they cannot effectively pull them from the digestive tract, so probiotics are a must for weight gain.
Critical care will help, there are also pellet versions of recovery feeds such as burgess dual care which can be soaked and are higher calorie. The Supreme (science selective) recovery food usually works out cheaper too if they will eat it or even just soaked bowls of their regular pellets. I find mixing recovery feeds with wheat bran, wheat germ, oat bran and/or a small amount of rolled oats goes down well and will stretch the critical care further.

Incorporating hays that are higher in protein and calories such as rye and oat also helps, very small amounts of alfalfa may also be beneficial but just be mindful of the calcium content in this.

Just remember slow, healthy weight gain by building muscle mass should be prioritised over quick gains on fatty foods :)
 
Eriathwen said:
I would get him on a good probiotic, I have swapped over to benebac recently and find it produces far superior results, but any is better than none. Their bodies cannot make use of nutrients being ingested if they cannot effectively pull them from the digestive tract, so probiotics are a must for weight gain.
Critical care will help, there are also pellet versions of recovery feeds such as burgess dual care which can be soaked and are higher calorie. The Supreme (science selective) recovery food usually works out cheaper too if they will eat it or even just soaked bowls of their regular pellets. I find mixing recovery feeds with wheat bran, wheat germ, oat bran and/or a small amount of rolled oats goes down well and will stretch the critical care further.

Incorporating hays that are higher in protein and calories such as rye and oat also helps, very small amounts of alfalfa may also be beneficial but just be mindful of the calcium content in this.

Just remember slow, healthy weight gain by building muscle mass should be prioritised over quick gains on fatty foods :)
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Thanks for all the ideas. I just started giving him Benebac Plus (pea sized amount) mixed in with his Critical Care, haven't noticed it helping, but it may be too early to determine.
 
S'mores and Pockets said:
Thanks for all the ideas. I just started giving him Benebac Plus (pea sized amount) mixed in with his Critical Care, haven't noticed it helping, but it may be too early to determine.
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I think it took about 10-14 days to notice results with one of my more recent rescues, so it can take a little while for weight to start sticking on them
 
S'mores and Pockets said:
Oh also, how often do you feed Benebac to your rescues?
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I do once a day, until they start gaining and maintaining weight. Sometimes when weight is gained they will drop again at random, thus is usually due to an increase in activity so once those drops stop happening, I stop the probiotics :)
 
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