Long term impacts from poor diet?

[lauraboara]

Ok - this might be a bit long for a Friday night but just thinking about my older rescue pigs.
I have 2 older boars (approx 3 yrs) and 4 teenagers. They all have a diet of farm hay, Burgess nuggets and some veggies per day. What I have noticed though is that the teenagers have perfectly formed poos - neat bullet shaped. The older boars though seem to get odd shaped, twisted or slightly squishy poohs from time to time - nothing major but noticeable. I am careful about introducing new veggies.

What I am wondering is whether the older boars have a 'gut sensitivity' which goes back to before they were rescued? They were neglected and very underweight when rescued and were at least 2 years old when rescued so could have had poor diet for while. They are quite chunky now! Have others noticed that previously neglected piggies might have longer term digestion issues? Or am I reading too much into poos??/ Probably need to get out more.....

 

[Abi_nurse]

I'm not sure on digestive issues, but i do think that in general that if a piggie lives outside (or in i suppose) and negected to be looked after will live shorter lives. And i guess they may have long term digestive issues?

I think it may be more that people are ignorant to it. I think in general if an owner does not look into the best diet/quality for there animals then they are less likely to look into health for it or seek veterinary care. If that makes sense. We all know how vigilant we have to be with the health of our piggies.

I have a rescue boar who i got at 4 years old, his brother had not long died. And to be honest, if i hadnt taken him i dont think he would have lasted much longer. He was under 800g when he was handed into me :... hes now a healthy 1080g. He was suffering from so much, and he didnt even understand what hay was. The owner he negected to find out that he needed unlimited hay etc grrrr.

As for poops, i cant say about the squishyness, but boars tend to have poops in a 'banana' type shape rather than the sows in little bullet shapes.

Sorry I'm not much help, but just discussing my views.

x.

 

[lauraboara]

Thanks for replying Abi - obviously poo chat did not really grab many people's interest! Which is probably reassuring. Yes, they are banana shaped I suppose but very uniform bananas in the teenager boars and less uniform in the adults.

I have known horses with long term issues from being fed a poor diet when still growing but just was wondering about piggies.

 

[Wiebke]

It depends on the extent of the neglect and the kind of diet they have been on., I would think, but as I am not a rescue lady, I haven't got personal experience.

Often, lack of hay is one (can lead to tooth problems, too); scurvy (lack of vitamin C) can be another problem, depending on what and how much veg they have been getting.

 

[Pebble]

I have PM'd you!

x

 

[Christina]

I have a guinea pig with digestive issues. Her system is very sensitive and sometimes will not tolerate all the veggies and fruit she gets.

I have her on a strict diet and she is thriving with gentle care. This is what I give her

hay and pellets during the day
3 carrots (morning, noon and night)
4 pieces of apple (night)
5 pieces of broccoli (she cannot eat lettuce at all)
2 pieces of coliflower.

That is split up during the day except for what is in brackets

 

[Amanda1801]

It's always good to be aware of poo!

One thing that hasn't been mentioned, is muscles.

As they get older, boars particularly, their muscles aren't as "tight" as they used to be, which can lead to impaction, which has to be manually cleared.

More info here:
http://www.guinealynx.info/impaction.html