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Weighing

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nutmeg

nutmeg

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I would welcome some advice about weighing. I have never weighed my piggies, they all seem to be growing nicely and happy, so is it necessary to weigh them? Also do you have special scales - not sure my kitchen scales are detailed enough? Thanks.
 
Weighing your piggie helps to identify illness quickly, the first sign of a piggy getting ill would be weight loss, and this isn't always identifiable from looking at them. Thats the main reason I weigh my boys, and kitchen scales will be fine, you don't need anything really detailed.
 
kitchen scales are fine. when they get older, their bums may hang off the edge, so get a bowl which fits on the weighing bit, and zero it and pop your piggie in it.

I weigh mine weekly just to keep an eye that they aren't losing weight
 
I weigh mine every week on the kitchen scales. I put a book on there first (one with a shiny surface), turn the scales on then put the piglet on. The shiny surface of the book keeps them still for the few seconds it takes for the weight to register and keeps the piglet off anything vaguely food related.

I'm so glad I do weigh mine weekly as it was the first sign that The Colonel was as poorly as he was last week and that he was starting to get better.

Plus it made me look good in front of the vet being able to tell him I knew how heavy The Colonel was and how much weight he'd lost!
 
I use digi scales and a large bowl. Pigs sit in that as long as it is set to 0 it is fine. :) I weigh in grams and convert to lbs for my own prehistoric calculations! :D
 
Thanks, I am a pounds and ounce gal too!
Think I will go and get the scales out now and keep a little book.
 
I used to weigh them once a month or so on kitchen scales. I realise I haven't done it for some time. Must do it. If someone is ill I do weigh. I was weighing Dr every day and I could watch the weight slide off from 1kg to the 500g he was when he left me.
 
I weigh mine every few weeks, on digital scales with a dog bowl on (!)

Wish I had weighed them recently as poor Harry has lost loads of weight and I only just noticed - he's so hairy that it hides it well. So def. worth doing

Sophie
x
 
Thanks everyone. I have just weighed them on my kitchen scales, with the spare matress from their hammocky hammocks piggie bed. Took photos of them all on my camera phone. Will try and post piccies on the photo gallery later.
 
sophiew said:
Wish I had weighed them recently as poor Harry has lost loads of weight and I only just noticed - he's so hairy that it hides it well. So def. worth doing

Sophie
x
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That is a very good point. If they are long-haired or just particularly fluffy, they can disguise alot! Weight loss, one of them.

I have to admit that I am a pound and ounces kind-of-gal :red I have kitchen scales that came with a bowl. It will fit small piggies into like Junior and Princess, but I guess my Shaun wouldn't fit in! rolleyes :))
 
The only pigs I weigh regularly are my Satins as weight loss would be the first indication that there was a problem with them. Other than those, I would only weigh a pig if it looked unwell and then keep an eye on its weight.
I'm sure that kitchen scales are fine for weighing adults.
I weigh in pounds & ounces for pigs and cookery ingredients (which is strange as I do part-time laboratory work and just couldn't possibly imagine weighing chemicals in ounces!)
 
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