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Syringe Feeding - How Much And How Often?

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flintstones

flintstones

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It seems it is the season for poorly piggies, I'm currently building up Penfold for his vet appointment on Thursday. He was to poorly yesterday to withstand sedation so it was agreed that I would build him up until his next appointment which is Thursday.

He's doing much better than yesterday we have output and he's lively, Currently I'm managing 15 ml's every 3 hours and am aiming to do this up until 11pm but I'm wondering if that's to many ml's as his day will be 17 hours rather than 24hours - I know aim for 120ml's but to be honest he's lost a lot of weight so just over 800 grams 120ml's maybe to much for his stomach? I'm just concerned about the night time and giving to much food to him previously 90 grams is the maximum I have given.

It's been so long since I've had a piggy completely reliant on me well not strictly true my little Milo I lost earlier this year, although this was very much a different scenario. We're fortune that he chose my week's holiday, which is a relief as it allows me to give him round the clock care. Lucky for me, I'm also loaded with the flu so fabulous week off work!
 
we were given a guide of 15ml every 4-6 hours, but it depends on how much water you use to mix up the food aswell, so for comparison we were told about a packet of science recovery food per 24hrs. i think the bags are 70g dry powder. obviously the same if you use another food brand aswell.

if they can't manage 15ml every 4-6 hours then feed less more regularly and adjust depending on what they are eating for themselves.

this advice was given to us when eddie was poorly. he was eating small amounts of veg and a few pellets, the odd strand of hay, that kind of amount,

you're right that if they go from eating very little then it's better to build up the smaller amounts regularly to allow their tummy time to adjust :)
 
Thanks @biscandmatt I know I'm in the correct region, also just bought him some new farm hay that he had a little nibble off. He's just not eating enough, thankfully we're over the bloat if his output is anything to go with. I presume he'll most certainly make the syringe feeding almost impossible if he's had enough.

Just disappointed that we haven't gained any weight but I am managing to maintain him so I guess that's better than nothing!
 
Sorry to hear Penfold - it's so difficult to try and chubb them up when all they are taking is syringe food - I could never chubb mine up on it - only maintain - hope all goes well on Thursday - big hug to you x
 
sorry Penfold is pooly, re, syringe feed, as biscandmatt said little and often , and never force him to swollow more than he can easily dijest at one time :tu:
would love to hear how you get on at the vets on thuresday :tu:
 
You need to be aiming for 100-120mls per 24 hour period to even start gaining. Little and often is best. Try to give at least 20ml before bed, removing the need for overnight feeds. Spread the other feeds of 80-100ml across the day. A piggy can take 30-35ml in a sitting, particularly if starving, but it's not advisable as it doesn't mimic natural feeding.
 
@gizzy will update on Thursday, most certainly hoping for good news.

Thanks for the advice, will give him another feed before bed.
 
flintstones said:
Thanks @biscandmatt I know I'm in the correct region, also just bought him some new farm hay that he had a little nibble off. He's just not eating enough, thankfully we're over the bloat if his output is anything to go with. I presume he'll most certainly make the syringe feeding almost impossible if he's had enough.

Just disappointed that we haven't gained any weight but I am managing to maintain him so I guess that's better than nothing!
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sometimes even maintaining takes alot of work so still a great achievement i think :)
 
He's helping me by eating a little bit of hay, I'm feeling confident that we can get him well enough for his procedure. He's still bright but his weight-loss is worrying he's 828grams, and such a young pig! Granted there's only a difference of 20 grams between today and yesterday so I'm willing to say we haven't really lost anything.

Is it wrong that I can excited about him passing pellets, we have some feeding and then a little shot on the massage pad.
 
flintstones said:
He's helping me by eating a little bit of hay, I'm feeling confident that we can get him well enough for his procedure. He's still bright but his weight-loss is worrying he's 828grams, and such a young pig! Granted there's only a difference of 20 grams between today and yesterday so I'm willing to say we haven't really lost anything.

Is it wrong that I can excited about him passing pellets, we have some feeding and then a little shot on the massage pad.
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i'd call 20g difference stable aswell :)
 
Weighed little Penfold this morning and well I expected a loss as my syringe feeding was reduced considerably as he was at the vets and afterwards I had to ensure he was able to take some food. I was very surprised to find my little man is 880grams, we have had a considerable gain over the last three days. He was over 1kg when his problems first started, which is where we're aiming to be again.
 
flintstones said:
Weighed little Penfold this morning and well I expected a loss as my syringe feeding was reduced considerably as he was at the vets and afterwards I had to ensure he was able to take some food. I was very surprised to find my little man is 880grams, we have had a considerable gain over the last three days. He was over 1kg when his problems first started, which is where we're aiming to be again.
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i always think stable/increased after the vets a really positive sign because you do always expect that drop. he's doing so well :)
 
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