Lower weight in spayed sows

[Dilly's Piggies]

So I have a bit of OCD here I think, every piggy I've owned has weighed at least 1000g and I can't bring myself to accept that my spayed sow Harriet weighs around 960g, it's just bugging me that she won't gain! Her Sister Lottie was spayed a month after Harriet was (both had ovarian cysts) and Lottie was struggling to gain for months also, but lately she has been doing really well and has held her weight around 1000g for a few months, she's slowly gaining it back and I'm very happy about it!

It seems that Harriet is struggling a little more, however, Harriet isn't actually underweight, when I physically feel and body score her she's actually ideal, she feels very firm, solid, balanced and muscular with a good fat coverage. It's just the damn numbers on the scale that are niggling at me and I can't accept it! I prefer my piggies to have a little extra weight on them just incase they get sick, all my others are that way but Guinea Pigs are well known for being 'chubby', I think I might just be used to fat piggies lol...

But if I think about it Harriet is probably a perfect example of what a Guinea Pig should look like, she is fit and maintains her weight no problem, I just keep wanting her to gain and I need reassurance that her weight is fine and it doesn't mean she's sick in any way... I've taken her to the vet and they said she looks fine, nothing obviously wrong but to take her back if she loses weight.

I'm just being super silly here I think and my piggy is probably perfectly fit! I just wondered if anyone else has a piggy similar to Harriet that weighed less after a spay? She weighed 1050g before her spay and now sticking around 950g. I also wonder if spayed sows don't eat as much as an entire sow? I've noticed my two spayed girls are very laid back and don't fight for or 'savage' their food like my entire sows do, they're a bit pickier, maybe their bodies require less calories and this is normal?

Sorry I've never had a spayed sow before so I'm new to this part of piggy ownership, would love some info if anyone has some?

Here is a picture of Lottie and Harriet a few days ago, Lottie is on the left and is a bigger boned, long piggy whereas Harriet is finer boned and compact in build, Harriet has always been smaller from birth. Please excuse the awful haircuts lol! They both look fine to me, my brain just can't accept anything under 1000g on the scales, I need mental help!

 

[Wiebke]

So I have a bit of OCD here I think, every piggy I've owned has weighed at least 1000g and I can't bring myself to accept that my spayed sow Harriet weighs around 960g, it's just bugging me that she won't gain! Her Sister Lottie was spayed a month after Harriet was (both had ovarian cysts) and Lottie was struggling to gain for months also, but lately she has been doing really well and has held her weight around 1000g for a few months, she's slowly gaining it back and I'm very happy about it!

It seems that Harriet is struggling a little more, however, Harriet isn't actually underweight, when I physically feel and body score her she's actually ideal, she feels very firm, solid, balanced and muscular with a good fat coverage. It's just the damn numbers on the scale that are niggling at me and I can't accept it! I prefer my piggies to have a little extra weight on them just incase they get sick, all my others are that way but Guinea Pigs are well known for being 'chubby', I think I might just be used to fat piggies lol...

But if I think about it Harriet is probably a perfect example of what a Guinea Pig should look like, she is fit and maintains her weight no problem, I just keep wanting her to gain and I need reassurance that her weight is fine and it doesn't mean she's sick in any way... I've taken her to the vet and they said she looks fine, nothing obviously wrong but to take her back if she loses weight.

I'm just being super silly here I think and my piggy is probably perfectly fit! I just wondered if anyone else has a piggy similar to Harriet that weighed less after a spay? She weighed 1050g before her spay and now sticking around 950g. I also wonder if spayed sows don't eat as much as an entire sow? I've noticed my two spayed girls are very laid back and don't fight for or 'savage' their food like my entire sows do, they're a bit pickier, maybe their bodies require less calories and this is normal?

Sorry I've never had a spayed sow before so I'm new to this part of piggy ownership, would love some info if anyone has some?

Here is a picture of Lottie and Harriet a few days ago, Lottie is on the left and is a bigger boned, long piggy whereas Harriet is finer boned and compact in build, Harriet has always been smaller from birth. Please excuse the awful haircuts lol! They both look fine to me, my brain just can't accept anything under 1000g on the scales, I need mental help!
View attachment 85556

Take a deep breath - 960g is great weight! And they look perfectly healthy and chubby to me.

I've got a number of sows that are never going to get a look across the road at that kind of weight... However, they still grow as old as my other piggies, so a small size it is in no way a life shortener.
Anything over 800g is fine for an adult, depending on their genetically determined size.

Depending on how large her cysts were, she may never fully regain her previous weight, but she is still going to get smiles from your vet. Iola lost nearly 200g in the wake of removing two VERY large large cysts last year and has never recovered them. She is perfectly fine on her new weight; her heft (the feel of her ribcage) and my vet both agree.

Check your piggies around the ribcage. If you can just feel the ribs, then your piggies have an ideal weight/size ratio. If you can feel any ribs, she is overweight. If you can feel every single rib sticking out, then they are underweight. That is a much better way of checking whether any piggy of any age and size is OK for their individual weight.
The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

That sounds like a fine weight to me! I’d imagine the parts removed probably weighed a fair amount so she’s probably still normal for her

Although I don’t have spayed sows I have Bella who varies somewhere between 850-900grams whereas her birth sister is 1000-1100 so they’re all different shapes and sizes anyway.

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

She has some other problems with a stuffy nose and also smaller poops with a tail on them, which has worried me quite a lot combined with the lower weight but the vet said he can't see anything obviously wrong with her. She's on piriton for allergies but still gets quite snuffly and a daily probiotic which is helping her poops a lot, it stimulates her to eat more as I've noticed the spayed girls are pickier eaters...

Her body condition feels great though, no bones sticking out, she's nicely round and covered with a little belly on her, can just about feel her ribs, they have a nice coverage. I'm relieved to hear that her weight is good and there are healthy piggies out there who are much smaller, thank you!

 

[Wiebke]

She has some other problems with a stuffy nose and also smaller poops with a tail on them, which has worried me quite a lot combined with the lower weight but the vet said he can't see anything obviously wrong with her. She's on piriton for allergies but still gets quite snuffly and a daily probiotic which is helping her poops a lot, it stimulates her to eat more as I've noticed the spayed girls are pickier eaters...

Her body condition feels great though, no bones sticking out, she's nicely round and covered with a little belly on her, can just about feel her ribs, they have a nice coverage. I'm relieved to hear that her weight is good and there are healthy piggies out there who are much smaller, thank you!

She sounds like she is a perfect weight and heft that should delight any vet! If she is stable as she is, I would not worry.

If necessary, cut out veg for a day or two and just let her eat hay and pellets, and then see whether that is taking care of the tummy.

 

[helen105281]

My Robyn was spayed a couple of days ago as she had both small hormonal cysts and large fluid ones. She is looking very diddy bless her at the moment but is full of beans and seems so much brighter. I think Fuzzy remained small after her spay too.