gassy/bloated pig

[scarysarah]

Hi ive previously posted as my pigs have bordetella from introduction of new pigs.

they are on zithromax, metacam and added vit c, they all have been reluctant to eat, so have been getting 3 big handfulls of grass a day (as they seem to be eating this well)
but now one is really bloated/gassy and the other 3 are a little bit.

my vet said to cut back on grass and veggies and give more hay.

all 5 also have haematuria!

can anyone suggest what else i could be doing?
the pigs thats really gassy is seperated so i can monitor his faecal output!

thanks in advance sarah

 

[Midge&Panda]

This weekend past I took Maisie to the vets , she just wasn't well. to cut a long story short (its on another post) she was opened up and it was discovered her caecum was distended and full of undigested vegetable matter- we think its the new grass coming through, being very rich. Part of her intestine was cut out and reattached. The advice from the vet was to cut out all grass and limit her green stuff- lettuce etc and increase the fibre content that she eats. She now has Gertie (her usual food), Burgess excel, tescos meusli, oxbow timothy hay, excell timothy and chamomile mix and blueberry mix ( a local preparation pellets and dried forage) as well as regular meadow hay and probiotics. She does have greenstuff but only a very small proportion of what she used to have. I know that veggies such as cabbage/kale as well as brocolli can cause gas so maybe reduce those as well.

 

[scarysarah]

poor maisie- hope shes doing ok!

I think i have overdone the grass! it was the only thing i could get them to eat so they were getting lots of it!

I have now cut them down, they are just getting dandelions, and a few veggies plus lots of fresh hay)

 

[Midge&Panda]

Thanks, she gave us a bit of a scare today but fingers crossed shes out of the woods- so to speak. When I spoke to the vet she said the condition was similar to horses having too much spring grass. Maisie was the same though, she would eat all the grass I gave her and argue with the other girls for theirs. Forgot to mention shes having Fibreplex from the vets its a probiotic plus extra fibre (carrot flavour- she loves it) to restore the balance of her gut. We will keep fingers and paws crossed here for your piggies speedy recovery. xx

 

[Wiebke]

I hope that the gassiness is coming down. Have you tried to gently massage the tummy? If it is real bloat, you will need to see a vet asap.

Too much rich grass is as treacherous as it is tempting! Better give it in small servings at first. I am in the smae boat with my new neutered boar, who is fighting complications and is also on zithromax with a dodgy appetite - grass will always go down well, but he can't live just on it!

 

[scarysarah]

Hi thanks for your advice,
spoke to my vet the pig is now on zantac oral twice a day, I'm unable to massage her belly as shes quite sore!

she seems brighter today tho and eating a bit better. i have cut the grass out and some of the veggies, but they all seem to be eating a bit better.

so fingers crossed she will be ok.-c

 

[Crackle & Pop]

I'm sorry but i just want to ask, whats bordatella?

 

[scarysarah]

hi its a bateria that causes respiration issues

in dogs its called kennel cough

 

[Cyberpig]

Sorry to come onto this thread. With regards to bloat, I would definitely cut down the grass, but sometimes in older boars certain veggies seem to cause it as well (my last guinea pig had some problems with broccoli during his older age).

I just read the post about the bacteria in the respiratory section. I posted a thread last week asking for help regarding the strange respiratory problem of my own guinea pig. It's still quite bad, but irregular. If I do take him to the vet he is probably going to say the same as last time (e.g. that he is healthy - I wonder if you could describe the symptoms of the bacteria). Sorry I'm getting a bit desperate:red