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Handfeeding newborn

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CiaraPatricia

CiaraPatricia

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I'm handfeeding a 2 day old piggie right now :( It's very weak but still fighting. She wasn't strong enough to suckle from her mother anymore, but happily drank goat's milk from a syringe, so that's something . . .

I don't know how much I should be feeding her, so just letting her have as much as she wants. I've handreared other baby animals before, and I know how to syringe feed, I'm just letting her lap it up from the syringe, not forcing it into her mouth. I think I'll try her with drinking from a spoon soon, and if she gets stronger I'll soak some brown bread in the milk and see if she can eat.

Please keep your fingers crossed for the little baby, she's very weak but hopefully can get stronger now she's somewhere warm and getting milk
 
Aw poor little thing, i have my fingers crossed for you both, Just give her as much as she will take, try giving her some every couple of hours, possibly ring your vet and ask if there is anything else medical you can give her to keep her strength up?

Best of luck xx
 
Fingers crossed that the youngster grows stronger and makes it through, just keep doing what you're doing as you're doing the absolute best you can.
 
Toffeewoffee said:
Would kitten milk be better to use?
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Not sure about kitten milk, but goats milk is the nearest thing to guinea pigs mothers milk, so probably the better option. I know people have used evap milk in an emergency, so maybe kitten milk would be ok in an emergency too? xx
 
Thanks guys :)

I'm feeding her every two hours. Tomorrow I have to go to work for a few hours so not sure if she'll be ok . . . maybe I'll ask my dad to feed her. She's lapping the milk from a teaspoon now which is great, and my dad would be able to safely feed her from the teaspoon I'm sure. I'm going to be home then all day Sunday, and Monday I think I have work experience at the vet but I could bring her with me I guess.

I'm going to try the bread and try her on a tiny bit of fresh grass possibly at her next feed at 6pm.

I thought goat's milk was best from what I had read before, so I quickly went to the shop to get some. It cost €2.75 for a litre, and I only had €2.65! :)) so had to go out of the shop and ask my dad for 10 cent.

I'll read over guinea lynx now and see what that says (I've read it before but good to refresh it), I don't know any vets that know anything about guinea pigs, so guinea lynx is probably the best thing :)

I'll update in the morning with how she is, or during the night on one of my need feeds
 
Guinea lynx says not to feed milk or milk replacer, but instead pellet mash or CC . . . I don't even have any pellets right now, I ran out and just have mix (cos I have to wait for pellets delivered from zooplus, I just bought mix in Tesco).

I guess I could try to get to a pet shop for pellets but there's none near me . . . would the bread be as good?

I've heard of loads of people on here using goat's milk, so I'm guessing it is ok.

I really wish I had pellets now, I always run out at the worst times :red I guess I could soak the pellet parts of the mixed food, and maybe some of the biscuity parts and mix them up and see if the baby will nibble it? I guess that would be fine right?
 
So many people use goats milk, I really wouldn't worry, I have raised a good few on it. Good idea about picking the pellety bits out of your food and soaking in water. Little one could well lap this up off the spoon too if it is mushy enough. xx
 
Hope little one goes on ok. Sounds like you doing a great job and giving it the best chance possible :)
 
The baby lapped a little pellety mush too. She was not impressed by the bread and you could see her thinking "what's this stuff in my milk?!" and she just tried to get the milk instead of it. She hasn't taken much of the mush, mostly milk, but that's something.

Also after she drinks the milk, she cleans her face which I think is a good sign, she's not so sick that she can't clean her face :)

I tried wiping her bum with damp tissue but she didn't wee or anything.
 
It's 3.22am now, just after feeding her, and she is getting stronger, but I'm not getting my hopes up yet. She decided she didn't want to drink out of the spoon anymore but prefers the syringe (or to spill milk in my hand and lick it off!). When she's drinking from the syringe she acts exactly like a baby pig suckling from its mother so she's getting the hang of it :)

I just hold the syringe to the side of her mouth and very slowly push out some milk and she drinks it, I don't actually put the syringe in her mouth. She pushes her mouth into it like if it was a nipple, and she wants to get the milk faster, but I make her drink it slowly!

She lapped at a bit of GP-food-mush and does seem to like it but hasn't had much yet. Hopefully she starts eating that properly tomorrow. I might try blending it and syringing it slowly.

She doesn't seem very hungry after two hours but I'm feeding her a tiny bit every two hours, I'm pretty confidant she'll be ok if I have to leave her for four hours. I don't know yet how long I have work for tomorrow . . . have to ask my brother (we work together). Hopefully I'll only be gone for four hours . . .

She has started to move around a bit, and she washes her face and she even squeaked a few times very quietly, hopefully those are all good signs.

I know she could take a turn for the worse anytime, but at least she's a tiny bit stronger right now.

Well I'm really tired so off for a sleep til 5am.
 
The baby is still fighting, drinking milk well but doesn't want solids. She's interested in GP-food-mash/grass, but not eating them. My dad thought she looks bigger than yesterday and she's definitely more active. :)
 
nutmeg said:
Everything crossed for this little one. How is her weight doing? xx
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Would you believe my kitchen scales have disappeared :( :red but she is visibly growing. And I have work experience at the vet's Monday so will try to weigh her on the dog scales :)) I hope they are sensitive enough, I've only weighed adult piggies on them before!

She's doing much better today, she's really strong, compared to yesterday. She's walking around a bit, still a little shaky, but pretty good. We're getting more hopeful for her.

Still not eating solids though. Should I be worried about vitamin C? I'm going to ask the vet Monday if there's anything I could give her, like a vitamin tonic or injection, or anything else that might help.

She was left without food for six hours today :( After my four hours of work turned into six! I was so angry/upset and worried but she was just fine. My dad tried to get her to drink from a spoon while I was gone but she wouldn't, and he texted me saying she was very active and squeaking :)

She's had a feed now and is happy :)

I'm free all day tomorrow for feeding her though, then she can come with me to work experience and to college all week. My teachers won't mind, it's educational!
 
regarding the weeing and pooping you have to keep rubbing for some time at times and they will wee and poop and just make sure your tissue or cotton wool is warm moist ......

also when your not in soak some bread in the goats milk and put it in a low saucer and leave it in her cage for her to lap up if she becomes hungry when your not there xxxxx
 
This is truly heart warming to read - you and your dad are doing a great job with the little one. Have you named her yet ?
She sounds like a little fighter and send healthy vibes from us x>>
 
Unfortunately she won't drink or eat from a dish on her own yet.

But she will eat tiny bits of bread soaked in goat's milk if I hold them up to her mouth.

She's getting much much stronger :) I'm so pleased. She ate some grass too, just tiny bits.

We haven't named her yet, but I'm thinking of names, I'll wait til she gets a little stronger :)
 
The baby ate quite a lot of carrot today and some mashes up banana. :) I discovered she liked banana cos I was eating one and cuddling her, and she started trying to eat my hand cos it tasted like banana :)) she loved it.

She's also pooping on her own, which is good.

I weighed her at the vets and she's 50g only. That's to the nearest ten cos that's all it measures. Birth weight should be about 60-100g right? Well she's tiny at 5 days old, but doing great.
 
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