Teeth problems and weight fluctuation

[kevinischunky37]

My pig, Kevin, lost 250g very quickly, the vet wasn’t 100% sure why. When checking him over at his most recent appointment 2 weeks ago, she noticed that one of his back teeth looked twisted, but no abscesses or redness, or stuck food etc. After the appointment I did also notice him turning his head when eating sometimes as well as a slight dribbly chin. His starting weight at the beginning of this weight gain journey was 1028g, after a 7/8 days he got up to 1095g, but today his weight started at 1055g and dropped to 1030g. I’d watched him eating and he definitely seems more himself than when I last took him to the vet at pretty much the same weight. No head turning, isn’t puffed up etc. It just very confusing, he really doesn’t like taking critical care and I am not going to force him, but his weight had been increasing slowly and suddenly dropped? I’ve never encountered teeth issues with a pig before (luckily!) so I’m not sure if this can be expected in the recovery process? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I’ve been prioritising him eating over the types of food, so he’s been eating a lot of romaine because he’ll eat that without fail. Some pepper, broccoli stalk, baby corn, parsley etc. He won’t eat high calorie foods though. Hay is also always available.

Edit: if his weight drops considerably overnight and he doesn’t regain it with his first feed tomorrow, he will be back at the vets.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry to hear this.

Hay intake is vital and it is that which will keep his weight up. A sudden drop in weight means a sudden decrease in the amount of hay he is eating. If he is losing weight then he needs to be given critical care.

You need to weigh him first thing in the morning, before you give him any food. If you weigh him after he is fed then you are just weighing a full tummy.

Has he been given any painkillers at all?

 

[kevinischunky37]

I’m sorry to hear this.

Hay intake is vital and it is that which will keep his weight up. A sudden drop in weight means a sudden decrease in the amount of hay he is eating. If he is losing weight then he needs to be given critical care.

You need to weigh him first thing in the morning, before you give him any food. If you weigh him after he is fed then you are just weighing a full tummy.

Has he been given any painkillers at all?

Thank you for your reply. He has been munching on hay intermittently throughout the day, definitely eating fresh veggies more at the moment. He’s normally been fine with his hay, do you have any ideas to get him to eat more of it, or more ‘fattening’ types? He was on an anti-inflammatory, antibiotic and something for his digestion. The only course he’s still on currently is to help his digestion. I have been weighing him morning and evening during his recovery. Is once in the morning the best option?

 

[Piggies&buns]

You can’t get him to eat more hay per se - it rather comes down to the resolution of whatever is causing him to not eat enough, and then he should begin to eat more on his own.
Make sure you keep to one cup of veg per day. You don’t want him to overeat veg as that can cause discourage hay intake and cause digestive issues.

Yes just weigh once in the morning, first thing.
If you weigh twice a day then you pick up too much fluctuation and make readings inaccurate and unreliable - he is going to weigh more at the end of the day than at the beginning and thus you’re just weighing a day worth of food.

 

[kevinischunky37]

You can’t get him to eat more hay per se - it rather comes down to the resolution of whatever is causing him to not eat enough, and then he should begin to eat more on his own.
Make sure you keep to one cup of veg per day. You don’t want him to overeat veg as that can cause discourage hay intake and cause digestive issues.

Yes just weigh once in the morning, first thing.
If you weigh twice a day then you pick up too much fluctuation and make readings inaccurate and unreliable - he is going to weigh more at the end of the day than at the beginning and thus you’re just weighing a day worth of food.

I’d say he probably is eating around 1 cup a day, hay, probably the same amount. My concern is if I stop giving him the veg, he won’t eat at all. Which obviously is a concern in and of itself, but I’d rather his weight be stronger before limiting his veg in the effort of getting him to eat more hay. It’s the fluctuations that are most concerning at the moment, I’m not used to it.

 

[Piggies&buns]

You don’t need to stop feeding veg, just make sure you are not over feeding it - one cup per day maximum. Veg won’t stabilise his weight. One cup of veg per day is only around 15% of the daily food intake. Hay is 80%. You must replace lost hay intake with critical care feeds to keep that 80% fibre intake up. It is the hay and critical care that will stabilise him, stop weight drops and maintain gut function.

Fluctuations within 30-50g either way are fine and normal. Outside of that he needs enough syringe feeds to stop drops in weight

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