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Tiny white

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Lisajazz

Lisajazz

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Tiny white lost 1g overnight. They had seemed to be in a pattern of gaining 5g every day but not yesterday.

I want to know if anyone can think of anything I can do to help them.

The vet was alot more hopeful today than last week and tiny had a proper check over breathing okay, heart okay and perky enough. He also said that it's great they are eating grass and to keep pushing that.

I have been sitting with tiny on my lap every couple of hours with a loads of tasty treats - tiny then eats and eats, They also take the goats milk and break more than any other guinea.

I have strawberry complan here but they wont eat it - none of them seem to like that. Is there a preferred flavour?

Any other tips, advice, old wives tails, homopathic stuff?

I'll try anything!
 
I don't know much about raising baby piggies but i think i read somewhere that barley rings are particularly good for piggies if you want them to gain weight?!
 
Hi Lisa,

I don't know anything about babies, but as you probably know 30grams in an adult can be the difference between a full bladder and an empty one. Maybe it is nothing to worry about, as tiny has been gaining the same as the other siblings am I right?

I would continue as you are, but try not to worry to much just yet, obviously if the weightloss continues over a couple days then worry, but 1 gram doesn't seem like alot.

I do hope Tiny starts gaining again soon, we have our fingers crossed x xoxo

Ps. I also remember when Marvin was a baby (10weeks old), some weeks he would gain more than others, maybe it's the same for them?
 
cant give you advice, but i hope the tiny white starts gaining weight, sounds hopeful that the vet is more hopeful than before.

fingers and paws crossed for the little piggy.
 
No Tiny hasn't gained like the others, after the first 2 days they started gaining 5g a day but the others gain 10 - 12g a day from the very first day. Tiny red is striding ahead too last 24h gained 8g

Tiny weighs 67g this morning the biggest guinea baby is 165g
 
Lisa, I'm sure someone will be along soon to give you any tips they have. I just wanted to say that I have my fingers crossed for Tiny White - as Joanne said, it may be the diference between a full or empty bladder. Please keep us posted xx
 
Lisajazz said:
No Tiny hasn't gained like the others, after the first 2 days they started gaining 5g a day but the others gain 10 - 12g a day from the very first day. Tiny red is striding ahead too last 24h gained 8g

Tiny weighs 67g this morning the biggest guinea baby is 165g
Click to expand...

Just got my record folders out Lisa wanted to show you how my Tiny got on:
They were born on 27/12/08
On 31/12/08 Tiny weighed 41g Gizmo (the biggest) weighed 87g
On 3/1/9 Tiny 51g (+10g) / Gizmo 110g (+23g)
On 10/1/9 Tiny 88g (+37g) / Gizmo 166g (+56g)
This pattern continued for several weeks - Tiny would put on weight but at a lower rate than the others, she also took longer to eat hay etc and drink water than the others. Hope this helps a bit xx
 
Tiny is passing away now on my lap :(

Hes been gagging the last few days but it seemed a bit better

Hes doing it now and dying - i'm gutted.
 
Oh no- so sad :( poor little tiny, i thought he's make it- slowly but surely :(
 
I have just put tiny back in the cage after holding them close. They seem to have stopped gagging and it's snuggled up to it's brothers and sisters.

I am really really not hopeful but pleased it doesn't seem to be suffering right now.

That was HORRIBLE :(
 
Oh Lisa, huge hugs to you I really don't know what to say except I have everything crossed for Tiny xx
 
OMG I just went in the kitchen to make Eva some lunch and came back in to tiny tackling corn?

I am absolutely speechless - how it can go through what it just went through (seriously bluging eyes, panicked running, snot coming out of nose and this crazy wretching which I really didn't think they could do)

How can they go from that to this in minutes?

And has anyone gotany ideas why tiny is wretching / gagging?
 
Big hugs! it must be so hard for you right now! Whatever happens with Tiny White you have done everything you possibly could... All fingers and paws crossed over here, hopefully he really wants to live!

I don't know enough to give any advice, sorry... We'll be thinking of you!
 
Big hugs! it must be so hard for you right now! Whatever happens with Tiny White you have done everything you possibly could... All fingers and paws crossed over here, hopefully he really wants to live!

I don't know enough to give any advice, sorry... We'll be thinking of you!
 
Oh my gosh, what a fright the piggy has just given you! The best and most helpful thing you can do is have Tiny White on your lap with Dolly and get him/her to feed, feed, feed! She will probably look for her other babies and they will cry for her, but providing they are all doing well, they will be fine for ten minutes. I'd aim to feed him for ten minutes every 2-3 hours, even if means actually putting his/her mouth on to Dolly and using your hands to keep him there.

I have no idea why he is wretching/gagging. I'd be worried that he'd aspirated (breathed fluid in) does his breathing seem laboured at all? If he is running around then he can't have aspirated. I've only seen wretching in one other piggy who passed away, but he had water/food coming up out of his mouth and I'm assuming Tiny doesn't?
 
I think Tiny, don't quote me was having a heaving hiccup, I remember the first time I saw Wilma doing it, looks like they are choking, struggling to breathe, there body jolts forward and back with a gagging motion. I thought Wilma was dying, turned out it was just a heaving hiccup and she was fine.

I was more shaken than her.

Does that sound like it Lisa?
 
That's scary. Hope he's ok now. Eating corn is hopefully a good sign. Hugs for both of you. xx>>>

Have been peeping at Dolly. She looks like a fantastic mum. xx>>>
 
Just wanted to add that these bubs are a week old now so if you were going to lose one of them I'd put money that it would have happened already. They're sort of out of the 'danger zone' now IMO :) x)
 
It's definitely not hiccups as sometimes food DOES come up - grass mulch and another time another food mulch. I was swinging them around and rubbing their back / sides it was seriously the scariest thing. Poor poor baby :(

I think there is some kind of stomach / windpipe issue there hence why they wont feed from Dolly either - and struggles taking milk from a spoon.

Tracy I have had them on my lap loads of times and put tiny's mouth on her teat - not taking it. I put goats mik on the teat and still wouldn't entertain it. Infact I can't gettiny to feed from Dolly at all no matter what I do. Tiny red is and I think that's why one is starting to thrive and the other isn't. Tiny red was the smallest born but not any more.

I take the others out twice a day for about an hour and leave tiny white and red in.

I am at my wits end and can't think of anything else to do

:(
 
The poor little thing :( Has he fed from Dolly at all since he was born? How does Dolly act towards him?

I have no other suggestions, the only thing I can think is that there might be a stomach problem as you already said, perhaps he was born that way. The only piggy I ever had that 'vomited' (I know people say piggies can't vomit, but I've seen something similar!) was doing the same thing, making a retching noise and heaving, and he did later pass away. I hope the same thing won't happen to Tiny White. I am keeping everything crossed for you. Remember you've done the VERY BEST you could have done for all of these piglets xxxxx
 
Dolly would happily let tiny feed - it was tiny red she wouldn't allow to feed at the start. Tiny red was so so weak but tiny white has been pretty sprightly from the beginning and still is.

It's just that I don't think Tiny is physically able to feed. He takes bread soaked in goats milk and I sprinkle water onto the grass sometimes so make sure that they are getting enough fluid.

I wish there was more I could do - I wish there was more information on this kind of thing. It's so frustrating :(
 
Oh you poor thing lisa. One of our boys did that once and we were really panicing took him to the emergency vet and they couldn't find anything wrong and thought he maybe just swallowed a little akwardly but had sorted it kinda like when I maybe don't chew enough times and swallow something little uncomfy but goes down. bandit did something like that when he had baytril on it's own the first time as he didnlt like it. I thought he was choking! Good luck you are doing all you can. white is so small why don't you measure the weight in a percentage because although the others are bigger they may be all growing at a similar rate. 1 gram means he's put on 1.5% of his body weight in a day and if white was 65 g and put on 5 g that is 7.7% bigger and if the 165g piggie has put on 10 g it 6% so rate was the same just not the amount of physical weight. (1.5% is roughly equivilent to a 13st person putting on 2.7lbs in a day 6% is 13st person putting on 10lbs) hope this makes sense.

My maths is only rough figures not to the decimal point by the way!
 
Right I just read a description of heaving hiccups

http://www.oginet.com/pgurney/heavinghiccups.htm

It sounds just like this - only Peter Gurney says they will have 5 or 6 of these spasms - tiny white had at least 60 and was really struggling to breathe and all the rest of the horrid stuff I described earlier.
 
Lisajazz said:
Right I just read a description of heaving hiccups

http://www.oginet.com/pgurney/heavinghiccups.htm

It sounds just like this - only Peter Gurney says they will have 5 or 6 of these spasms - tiny white had at least 60 and was really struggling to breathe and all the rest of the horrid stuff I described earlier.
Click to expand...

As I said I saw Wilma doing it and it went on for a good 40 seconds. She was also pawing at her mouth as if something was caught. If you've never seen it before, it's awful to watch as you seriously think the pig is passing I know I did and then I spoke to Laura and she told me about heaving hiccups.
 
Hi Lisa, just logged on and your post is the first I've read. What an awful, awful, shock for you. I too would be at my wits end, especially when we have little knowledge of what is happening.

I'm praying and keeping everything cross for you and the little ones. Maybe Laura will pop along soon and give some advice as to what you can do to help them.

Take care xx
 
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