Wanted - tips to aid weight gain in senior piggy

[-Drezella-]

Hi guys,

As some of you may know my senior boar Paddy, who is aged 6, was bereaved last Monday and completely stopped eating. I stepped in with syringe feeds, initially thinking it was just grief but then after a vets diagnosis was informed that it was due to a chest infection and dental issues. Paddy’s teeth have now been fixed and I’m pleased to say that he is now eating independently again, and has been given some take home meds from the exotics specialist.

He has however lost an awful lot of weight and is quite bony/thin around his hips and waist area. How can I help him to regain weight? I’m providing a good diet of Burgess hay, science selective pellets and a selection of fresh veg each day, and he has plenty of things to chew on. I’m going to monitor his weight closely and will obviously take him back to the vet if any issues arise. But in the meantime as he’s well generally and he eating by himself, what else can I do to help him regain the weight that he lost?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi guys,

As some of you may know my senior boar Paddy, who is aged 6, was bereaved last Monday and completely stopped eating. I stepped in with syringe feeds, initially thinking it was just grief but then after a vets diagnosis was informed that it was due to a chest infection and dental issues. Paddy’s teeth have now been fixed and I’m pleased to say that he is now eating independently again, and has been given some take home meds from the exotics specialist.

He has however lost an awful lot of weight and is quite bony/thin around his hips and waist area. How can I help him to regain weight? I’m providing a good diet of Burgess hay, science selective pellets and a selection of fresh veg each day, and he has plenty of things to chew on. I’m going to monitor his weight closely and will obviously take him back to the vet if any issues arise. But in the meantime as he’s well generally and he eating by himself, what else can I do to help him regain the weight that he lost?

You can try offering top-up feed in a bowl and can also offer plain porridge oats.

 

[PigglePuggle]

Yes porridge oats are great, and we have found that grated sweet potato is very good for weight gain in recovering piggies, its very high calorie and very tasty- most piggies hoover it up even if they have dental issues and not much appetite!

 

[Pineagigs]

Yes porridge oats are great, and we have found that grated sweet potato is very good for weight gain in recovering piggies, its very high calorie and very tasty- most piggies hoover it up even if they have dental issues and not much appetite!

Sorry if this sounds daft but do you give the porridge oats raw from the bag, soaked or even cooked? I ask because I have seen cooked barley recommended before and wondered if it’s the same for oats.

 

[PigglePuggle]

Dry porridge oats straight from the bag are fine, though you could probably wet them for a piggy with dental problems who can't chew well. Not heard of cooking them but I could be wrong! We've always fed them dry or mixed with grated veg or apple...

 

[-Drezella-]

Awesome thanks everyone I’ll be sure to give those a try!

 

[Merab]

As well as the suggestions already made you could also try a dish of Critical Care with banana mashed into it.
A ramekin dish tucked in the cage worked for me.

Carrot and sweet corn also help add weight

 

[-Drezella-]

Fab thanks everyone. He’s still eating independently which is great, my only worry is that I think my mum accidentally caused him to aspirate this weekend whilst giving him his medicine (I was away camping for the weekend so she was piggy sitting for me), and now he’s rather puffed up, slightly cool to the touch and clicking a little when he breathes. I suspect he is developing a chest infection, so I’ve continued with the Baytril that my local vet gave me and I’m keeping him warm, but I think he needs something stronger, does anyone know of any other antibiotics that can be used to treat a chest infection? I’m continuing to monitor him closely and will book him in with the vet again if no signs of improvement with the Baytril. My local vet isn’t a specialist though and it’d be impossible for me to get back to the specialist until Saturday at the earliest, so I just wondered if anyone could tell me common antibiotics used to treat them, then I can take the list with me to the local vet and ask him for a stronger one. It’ll be much quicker and better for Paddy if I can get it locally.

Hoping my baby boy starts to feel better soon ❤