Dilly's Piggies
Teenage Guinea Pig
I have two sister sows, both are 1.8 years old, both displayed symptoms of ovarian cysts at only 12 months old so both have been successfully spayed, all hormonal issues are gone now, besides weight loss. We thought their lower weights were due to the cysts, but it has been 8 months since they were spayed and they still have a low weight, so I'm not so certain it's related.
Harriet was the first one to be spayed, she went down to 890g but since spaying she has gone up to and keeping at around 970g now which I am okay with, her body condition feels perfect, no bones sticking out etc, she's also a short backed, stocky type build so I think this weight is alright for her.
Her sister Lottie however is a longer backed pig, her weight on the scales is also 950-970g but her body condition does not feel as good as Harriet's. Lottie is lacking a lot of fat and muscle along her topline, her weight seems to drop down, she has a good belly but nothing along the top, she has bony shoulders, spine, ribs and hips.
I have taken both pigs to the vet countless times about their weight since the issues first started a year ago, there is seemingly absolutely nothing wrong with either of them. Both are active, bright, alert and eating all of their hay and veggies (they don't eat many pellets for some reason) but as I have 6 other sows who all weigh over 1100g, seeing 950g on the scale seems underweight to me, for Lottie in particular due to the lack of condition.
I had their mother too and she was very petite in build, fine boned, bony topline and long backed, very much the same build as Lottie, but she still weighed over 1000g.
I have done numerous things to try and get them to gain weight, examples are they get 15ml of critical care every day, they get fruit (usually a full strawberry or a few grapes) daily, carrots in their veggies, unlimited pellets, multiple types of hay, hay on the floor instead of bags and I also feed them a high energy muesli mix alongside their pellets in a separate bowl. They have both even tried medication like antibiotics incase of an infection and also loxicom in case of pain/inflammation, nothing has made a difference, they stick with their weight and do not gain despite all of these extra things I do for them and how hard I try.
It's getting to the point now where nothing is working and the vets can't find anything wrong, so we're beginning to think, perhaps this is just how they are, maybe they will always be this way. I am worried to stop all the extra feed incase they drop weight, but maybe I should do it just to see if they stay the same, if they maintain then perhaps this is their natural weight.
I also wanted to know if spayed females typically weigh less than an entire sow, both girls are not as driven to eat or fight the other pigs for their food, they tend to come and go at the veggie pile throughout the night instead of eating it all in one sitting like my others, they're very laid back since being spayed and perhaps this is the issue.
I just wanted to come here and ask for opinions about this, could this just be normal for them, how do we reach that conclusion and accept their lower weight? It's always hard to tell if there's a medical issue especially when nothing is obviously wrong.
Harriet was the first one to be spayed, she went down to 890g but since spaying she has gone up to and keeping at around 970g now which I am okay with, her body condition feels perfect, no bones sticking out etc, she's also a short backed, stocky type build so I think this weight is alright for her.
Her sister Lottie however is a longer backed pig, her weight on the scales is also 950-970g but her body condition does not feel as good as Harriet's. Lottie is lacking a lot of fat and muscle along her topline, her weight seems to drop down, she has a good belly but nothing along the top, she has bony shoulders, spine, ribs and hips.
I have taken both pigs to the vet countless times about their weight since the issues first started a year ago, there is seemingly absolutely nothing wrong with either of them. Both are active, bright, alert and eating all of their hay and veggies (they don't eat many pellets for some reason) but as I have 6 other sows who all weigh over 1100g, seeing 950g on the scale seems underweight to me, for Lottie in particular due to the lack of condition.
I had their mother too and she was very petite in build, fine boned, bony topline and long backed, very much the same build as Lottie, but she still weighed over 1000g.
I have done numerous things to try and get them to gain weight, examples are they get 15ml of critical care every day, they get fruit (usually a full strawberry or a few grapes) daily, carrots in their veggies, unlimited pellets, multiple types of hay, hay on the floor instead of bags and I also feed them a high energy muesli mix alongside their pellets in a separate bowl. They have both even tried medication like antibiotics incase of an infection and also loxicom in case of pain/inflammation, nothing has made a difference, they stick with their weight and do not gain despite all of these extra things I do for them and how hard I try.
It's getting to the point now where nothing is working and the vets can't find anything wrong, so we're beginning to think, perhaps this is just how they are, maybe they will always be this way. I am worried to stop all the extra feed incase they drop weight, but maybe I should do it just to see if they stay the same, if they maintain then perhaps this is their natural weight.
I also wanted to know if spayed females typically weigh less than an entire sow, both girls are not as driven to eat or fight the other pigs for their food, they tend to come and go at the veggie pile throughout the night instead of eating it all in one sitting like my others, they're very laid back since being spayed and perhaps this is the issue.
I just wanted to come here and ask for opinions about this, could this just be normal for them, how do we reach that conclusion and accept their lower weight? It's always hard to tell if there's a medical issue especially when nothing is obviously wrong.
I'd rather that than something go unnoticed though, but yes my vet really loves me... hahahaa
Just gorgeous! Weights can vary... right now I have one girl, Hadley, well over 1000 g and one, Leela, who is under. They are eating the same diet. Hadley is bigger all around and Leela is more petite. My daughter says Leela is her little potato and Hadley is her sack of potatoes!