Gas Drops

[Dilly's Piggies]

I have a couple of pigs that get a mild gas/rumbly tummy issue after they eat veggies, it's nothing serious but I hear some people swear by infant gas drops for this, what brand do you guys use and what dosage?

 

[helen105281]

I use Woodwards gripe water, the dose usually mentioned on here is 0.3ml 3 times a day but I have dosed higher when needed which my vet was happy with when I told them.

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

I use Woodwards gripe water, the dose usually mentioned on here is 0.3ml 3 times a day but I have dosed higher when needed which my vet was happy with when I told them.

Thank you! Do you find this effective and also is it safe to use daily to prevent gas in those prone to it or is it an as needed thing?

 

[rome_italy]

is it not possible for you to find out which veg is causing that problem? also piggies can have some intolerance and you could delete from their diet only that veg. For example, broccoli, cabbage and other vegs can cause this trouble and of course they can be easily deleted. Be careful also about certain pellets composed by alfa-alfa and also some fresh grass (clover). And cereals+sugar cause gas into the tummy, also in us humans (I had a lot of issues with bloated abdomen and this was the main rule suggested by a doctor here: never start the day with flour/bread+sugar). Of course pigs don't have bread and jam, but they can have pellets with flour and a fruit or a yellow pepper quite rich in sugar; eaten together these foods can ferment and cause gas. Give it a try before using medications.

 

[CarnivalPiggy]

Spring greens are also usually not very good for sensitive stomachs. My boy Ginny gets gassy quite often and if he takes spring greens it will take a while for his poos and stomach to calm down (which I learned a few days ago and currently back to slowly introducing him to veg). Also fed on JR Farm Grainless pellets which are good. Quite curious about the gripe water myself, I used it once or twice ages ago on a girl Minja, rip, as she was prone to gas but haven't used it since

 

[helen105281]

Thank you! Do you find this effective and also is it safe to use daily to prevent gas in those prone to it or is it an as needed thing?

I do find it effective. Plus if need be I put them on the massage pad I have too. I use it more as treatment when the gas hits rather than a preventative. It would be better to try to identify which veg are causing the gas so hopefully you would not need to give the Gripe water that often.

 

[VickiA]

I keep Woodwards Gripe Water as part of my first aid kit for piggies and it works very well (and they enjoy the taste, too). Some of my piggies can't tolerate brassica (broccoli, cauliflower etc) as that gives them gas. I agree that it would be a good idea to try to find the veg (or combination of veg) that may be causing the gas build up.
If you do decide to give infant medications please don't be tempted to try infacol as it works by encouraging the gas to form a big bubble for passing. That may be fine in humans who can burp but in piggies it can cause significant pain and bloaty symptons.

 

[CarnivalPiggy]

Sorry to hijack but is there any notable risks to gripe water?

 

[VickiA]

Sorry to hijack but is there any notable risks to gripe water?

Not so far as I am aware.

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

I have a couple of pigs with interstitial cystitis so therefore I feed a low calcium diet to everybody, have done for a year now, they get 1/4 cup oxbow adult pellets, oxbow timothy hay and for veggies they get red or green leaf lettuce, cucumber, celery, cherry tomatoes, green beans, bell peppers and a small amount of carrot daily, roughly 1 cup per pig, they don't get anything dark leafy green as it causes calcium deposits and triggers flare ups for my IC girls, I'm very strict with their diet. The only thing I think could be the problem is they are savages at veggie time, they compete with each other to see who can eat the most the quickest. I don't think what I'm feeding is causing this but I am going to try splitting their veggies to half in the morning and half at night so they don't get such a large portion in one go. I have a herd of 5 and a herd of 4 so they are quite competitive for the veggies, they act like they haven't been fed in a year!

 

[CarnivalPiggy]

Could you separate them at feeding time? I used to put grids in between if you have a c&c cage. Maybe one eats much more at one time which encourages it? Ginny is currently separated at feeding time since he's prone to gas and will most likely eat more than wanted

 

[DM030819]

I have a boar that's very similar @CavyConnoisseur and tomato causes this stomach to go insane. I've definitely try an elimination diet to work out the worst offenders and remove those from the diet.

My vet said probiotics can be used daily as a bit of assistance. It might not help, or cure the issue but it won't harm.

He's going to the vet tomorrow as his stomach has been excessively noisy lately so I'll feed back on what was discussed in case anything might help your piggy.

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

I have a boar that's very similar @CavyConnoisseur and tomato causes this stomach to go insane. I've definitely try an elimination diet to work out the worst offenders and remove those from the diet.

My vet said probiotics can be used daily as a bit of assistance. It might not help, or cure the issue but it won't harm.

He's going to the vet tomorrow as his stomach has been excessively noisy lately so I'll feed back on what was discussed in case anything might help your piggy.

Oooh, tomato is interesting as both of the two pigs that suffer the gas do love their tomatoes... I will try removing those next! I have also tried fibreplex with one of the two pigs and it did work very well for her, 3 1ml doses a day and her symptoms were gone completely, I always keep this in incase Delilah has a problem, the other girl Paisley is relatively new though for this problem but another thing is both of these pigs are my most anxious ones, I wonder if anxiety, tomatoes and eating too fast are what's causing this. Would love to hear your results tomorrow, please post them!

 

[rome_italy]

I have a couple of pigs with interstitial cystitis so therefore I feed a low calcium diet to everybody, have done for a year now, they get 1/4 cup oxbow adult pellets, oxbow timothy hay and for veggies they get red or green leaf lettuce, cucumber, celery, cherry tomatoes, green beans, bell peppers and a small amount of carrot daily, roughly 1 cup per pig, they don't get anything dark leafy green as it causes calcium deposits and triggers flare ups for my IC girls, I'm very strict with their diet. The only thing I think could be the problem is they are savages at veggie time, they compete with each other to see who can eat the most the quickest. I don't think what I'm feeding is causing this but I am going to try splitting their veggies to half in the morning and half at night so they don't get such a large portion in one go. I have a herd of 5 and a herd of 4 so they are quite competitive for the veggies, they act like they haven't been fed in a year!

Oxbow pellets contain wheat and cane molasse. Tomato and carrot is a food with sugar. Are you sure that the mix pellets+these vegs are not the cause of the trouble? Why do wild animals have no bloat even eating the "dangerous" spring grass? 1/4 cup pellet is considered excessive nowadays; the new researches recommend not more than one TEA spoon...
Anyway the chemistry work just the same into us and into them: and when you need an abdomen ultrasound you are never allowed (at least here we have these rules) to eat wheat and sugar. But you can eat (alone) all the vegs you like... If I were you I would get rid of pellets and about calcium I would follow Guinea Lynx food list and calculator.
I adopted a piggie (months ago) who came home with some bladder issue and an alert for her being prone to calcium deposit. Her urine now is better than mine... no deposit, she does not drink at all (because maybe the vegs and fresh grass keep her body well hydrated), 3-4 pieces of pellets a day as a treat only, a lot of clear wee and a satisfied vet...
(a thing I don't like of industrial food: their labels never report the percentage of carbohydrates and harmful sugars...so strange... but you can get an idea when you sum 14% proteins+26% cellulose+ 8,5% cendres+ something else=? no good! definitely far from a natural diet for piggies... and I am reading on the label by Oxbow that they suggest 20g only a day, not more).
Sorry for this "sermon" but if most piggies (and humans!) have all the same issues, maybe some habit considered right is actually wrong... it can be a tomato, it can be a pellet, or maybe tomato+pellet!
I deleted pellets and my piggies have no gas, no deposit, nothing wrong, differently from another poor piggie I owned many years ago, who surely died thanks to the wrong diet approved by his savvy (and expensive) vets.

 

[Skittypigs]

I have a couple of pigs that get a mild gas/rumbly tummy issue after they eat veggies, it's nothing serious but I hear some people swear by infant gas drops for this, what brand do you guys use and what dosage?

I've heard that people use a baby treatment before.

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

Oxbow pellets contain wheat and cane molasse. Tomato and carrot is a food with sugar. Are you sure that the mix pellets+these vegs are not the cause of the trouble? Why do wild animals have no bloat even eating the "dangerous" spring grass? 1/4 cup pellet is considered excessive nowadays; the new researches recommend not more than one TEA spoon...
Anyway the chemistry work just the same into us and into them: and when you need an abdomen ultrasound you are never allowed (at least here we have these rules) to eat wheat and sugar. But you can eat (alone) all the vegs you like... If I were you I would get rid of pellets and about calcium I would follow Guinea Lynx food list and calculator.
I adopted a piggie (months ago) who came home with some bladder issue and an alert for her being prone to calcium deposit. Her urine now is better than mine... no deposit, she does not drink at all (because maybe the vegs and fresh grass keep her body well hydrated), 3-4 pieces of pellets a day as a treat only, a lot of clear wee and a satisfied vet...
(a thing I don't like of industrial food: their labels never report the percentage of carbohydrates and harmful sugars...so strange... but you can get an idea when you sum 14% proteins+26% cellulose+ 8,5% cendres+ something else=? no good! definitely far from a natural diet for piggies... and I am reading on the label by Oxbow that they suggest 20g only a day, not more).
Sorry for this "sermon" but if most piggies (and humans!) have all the same issues, maybe some habit considered right is actually wrong... it can be a tomato, it can be a pellet, or maybe tomato+pellet!
I deleted pellets and my piggies have no gas, no deposit, nothing wrong, differently from another poor piggie I owned many years ago, who surely died thanks to the wrong diet approved by his savvy (and expensive) vets.

I was supposed to say 1/8 of a cup not 1/4, I was thinking of the amount for a pair of pigs, sorry for that. I know KMS Hayloft pellets are the best and contain the least calcium but as I'm in the UK the best brand I can get here is Oxbow so we have to make do with that. I could remove pellets completely but I wouldn't want to compromise their vitamins and minerals they get from them since my piggies don't go outside much with our UK weather, I'll have to look more into feeding less than 1/8 cup pellets.

 

[rome_italy]

well, necessary vitamins and minerals are into the grass, maybe more than in vegs considering that we all go to supermarkets to buy vegs which are stored into fridges (you can read online nutrition charts of common grass). Vit C goes down after few hours from the harvest and after some days into the fridge maybe also the best pepper is very lacking with vitamins. I use a supplement, the one in drops for children (Cebion) although my vet says it is not necessary if they eat a lot of fresh grass (but the excess would go away with the wee, therefore 2 drops a day are okay, maybe only a waste of money for me). Vit D is another matter as our piggies live indoor and although the latest researches have discovered that vit D3 is also into grass, there is a debate about it.
Anyway nobody would give any crumb of bread/biscuits to piggies, but a dose of Oxbow and other dried food contains more cereals/sugar than a crumb... Therefore it is not a matter about calcium only, in fact I was considering more the problem with the gas: both piggies have this issue, therefore some mix in their diet is working bad... I hope you will find out the real cause of that.
Keep in mind the only rule accepted by chemists, medical doctors and vets (at least the ones who studied chemistry!): cereals+sugars=gas. Cereals+legumes=gas. Sugars are also into tomatoes, peppers, fruits. Cereals are into dried food. Legumes are alfa-alfa, clover, soy (Oxbow has soy). You could feed your piggies with their pellets ONLY, waiting for some hours before feeding them with vegs. Maybe it works. You could give them only fresh grass and hay (you will see the difference... my piggie screamt everytime I used to touch her belly, but eating huge amount of fresh grass+hay made her recover) and only in the evening the dose of pellets. If you "waste" some time making some experiments, I am sure you will solve all their problems.
Guinea Lynx charts are excellent because as your vet had told you for sure, the problem is not only the amount of calcium in a certain food, but the balance with Phosphorus. The ratio must be about 1.5/1.8 : 1. A bit more calcium than phosphorus. If there is too much phosphorus (peppers is 0.5 :1 ; tomato is 0.2 :1; carrots and cucumber are 0.7 : 1 ) calcium will not be assimilated and will go directly to the bladder. It is difficult for me to explain better in english, go to that website, the subject is explained very well. And there is a free calculator online, too, for checking the ratio Calcium/Phosphorus of your piggies' diet. It might be imbalanced...
Grass has the best ratio. In UK you have wonderful clean and green lawns... take advantage of that treasure you have for free and your piggies' bellies will recover for sure!
These are my piggies eating their daily amount of fresh grass

 

[Lily & Rose]

I was supposed to say 1/8 of a cup not 1/4, I was thinking of the amount for a pair of pigs, sorry for that. I know KMS Hayloft pellets are the best and contain the least calcium but as I'm in the UK the best brand I can get here is Oxbow so we have to make do with that. I could remove pellets completely but I wouldn't want to compromise their vitamins and minerals they get from them since my piggies don't go outside much with our UK weather, I'll have to look more into feeding less than 1/8 cup pellets.

You can buy grain-free pellets in the UK which are good for piggies with digestive issues. Versele Laga is very good which can be bought on zooplus. They are much healthier than KMS hayloft and oxbow.

 

[DM030819]

Yeah, my two have Versele Laga amd surprisingly they eat them! They're not fully swapped over to them yet as Jon has weight issues (not caused by the food) but I plan to eventually.

JR Grainless is hit and miss. I find they work better as treats.

Bunny was a no for my two, but I passed them on to a forum member and her pigs ate them.