Post by Dawn - Admin on Dec 13, 2006 10:49:09 GMT
I came across this article today. Thought I would copy it here as it may be of use to you all at some point. Hopefully not but it's worth knowing anyway.
I have some advice for those of you having feeding problems due to illness or teeth problems. The best thing to do is get some "Critical Care" from your vet or "Oxbow Hay". It will remind you of ground up pellets, then you add water and feed by syringe or spoon. If you don't have Critical Care make something similar (but not nearly as good) by dissolving your regular pellets in water or juice for a while as they soak up a lot of liquid. Add a Vit C supplement, and a tiny bit of sugar or juice if the pig is weak. Add yogurt or other probiotics if your piggy is on antibiotics. It is best that you all train your piggies in advance to eat from a syringe so they look forward to the syringe when they don't feel good. I have nursed one pig in a cage only to have all the pigs in that cage fight for their own turn at the syringe. I had another ill one, my Jetma now at the bridge, who could grab the syringe out of my hand and turn it in her mouth till she had the right end, then suck like crazy. What a sight. Also, they become so well trained I can just stick the syringe down in the cage and she will suck it up.
Another phenomena is that a sick pig will eat more if he is offered a variety of foods to tempt his sulky appetites. I invite any sick or just thin or droopy looking piggy to breakfast with me. I get out tiny bowls for yogurt and juices, and their own plate for different veggies, oatmeal, grains etc. Then whee just have our breakfast together. They will eat more this way I promise.
Finally, train your piggies to eat chewable vit C tabs, either the ones from Oxbow or cut up people ones to approx 50 or 100 mg size. Feed once or twice a day to sick pigs. I don't regularly feed Vit C tabs as Penny Giggles all eat Vit C foods like oranges, spinach and greens, etc., and fresh pellets (only buy the kind that have the manufacture date on it) Not
to claim that the Penny Giggles are so highly trained, but they will shove their noses eagerly into the Oxbow bottle to pick out their own vitamin. This simple training really pays off when they are sick.
I do not syringe only juice although hydration is critical during illness as I think the Oxbow Hay Critical Care or regular pellets liquefied (only if u can't get Critical Care) is by far and away the best thing for pigs. Also if you are hand feeding, do it as often as you can, I would say not less than 4 or 6 times a day, hourly when you can manage it. Piggies are
eating machines and they operate on low nutrient foods like grass and hay by constantly eating.
I think common sense pretty much rules And I don't want it to seem overly complicated but I will offer my thoughts. Over the years my Penny Giggles have had the opportunity to eat many different fresh foods and there are very few foods I rule out. I usually use Oxbow timothy based pellets (Cavy Cuisine). I always use as much Timothy or grass hay as they can eat. I think its critical to recognize that GP's really need to eat almost constantly to keep their guts healthy. Also note to check a GP's water bottles if they seem off feed as GP's won't eat dry food if there is no water available, (for safety I keep 2 water bottles per tub). My GP's will start to eat dry food the second they see me grab their bottle as they have
learned fresh water is coming. Boars grab food and run to their own corner or pigloo, girls are frequently happy to sit around a large leaf and companionably munch together. The Dancie pigs, who used to be free range boars, will grab a piece from my hands, drop it, grab another and another
hoarding as big a pile as they can get, while caged piggies just take one at a time and are often happy to eat from your hands instead of grabbing it away.
Also importantly, they enjoy may food parts we don't eat like
rinds, skins, corn husks etc., and I believe it's very important to wash or scrub these parts. For instance melon and orange rinds; GP's really love these but pesticides may be there in levels that aren't regulated as consumers don't eat these parts. There may be bacteria like e-coli as has been found
on some Mexican melons and even Roma tomatoes Feed apple lightly as it has been reported ( by P Gurney, I think) to cause mouth sores in some GP's. Never feed onions and mushrooms, iceberg, or apple seeds. Limit carrots to 1 inch per day (too much beta carotene hurts livers). I don't feed potato, winter squash, or real starchy veggies. Feed as wide a variety as possible, but limit sweet stuff. I feed banana to thin or convalescing pigs only, except to Willie who demands it.
So far I haven't had much luck feeding Brussels sprouts and only a few like fresh cranberries and asparagus stalks. Their most frequent foods are carrots, celery, romaine, greens, cilantro, parsley, oranges, tomatoes, grapes, bananas, strawberries, other berries, broccoli, kiwi, cabbage, cardoons, dandelions, green beans, and peppers. We grow a lot of this stuff here using composted piggie bedding for fertilizer and soil amendment. They love dill. Don't forget to serve the parts of veggies we don't eat, like outer leaves, cabbage cores, celery bases and tops, corn silk and husks
etc., but wash em well.
I try to feed one Vit C food a day. I found my family eats a lot more veggies since the piggies came to live here. I don't chop up foods for the piggies, I think its part of their job (except carrots as they bash each other with them to get it to them selves)
I have used dry oatmeal and cooked oatmeal with sick or thin pigs mixed with fruit juice, banana and or plain yogurt as well as Critical Care of course. I endorse cranberry juice(unsweetened if possible). I never offer people food, fats, meats or dairy(except as noted). No seeds except rarely and shelled, no commercially prepared treats even if it says for
GP's, nothing with dyes, no candy or sweets, chocolate is poison to piggies and most animals.
Piggies learn to eat from their mommies and cage mates. Whatever one piggy in a group likes, they will all learn to eat. I have some groups that fight over cranberries, others that go Pitooey when you offer them. Some pigs will run to grab those little Oxbow Vit C pills, others go pitooey (so funny as it is accompanied by an unforgettable look in your direction).
They learn to eat from their slaves too, so whenever you want to teach a new food just get a hungry pig from the cage and sit down for a snack with him. You take a bite, offer him some, let him smell or lick the juice from your fingers. After a while the piggy will bite, then you eat more, offer him more, etc. As piggies are competitive about food the best way is to offer him a bite, when he gets it his mouth he may hold it but not eat, tug gently, he bites harder, tug more, pretty soon he tastes it and will usually then start to eat it. Keep eating your own portion. Soon he loves it.
Finally offer him some in his cage make him tug it, this will prompt the other piggies to grab it and in the process they will taste it and seeing the other pig eat it soon the whole tub loves it. May take a week or so but worth it as I feel greater variety is really good for people a as well as piggies. This week I had Boar-is sitting on my chest and Ryan hands me a piece of celery. Boar-is wasn't hungry so he ignored it. I took a bite of the other end and Boar-is comes running up grabs it out my mouth and starts chewing away. Silly pig.
Is Your Piggy Too Thirsty? I know of 2 reasons pigs get overly thirsty.
1. Diabetes. You can get test strips at the pharmacy and check her urine. Stop feeding anything sweet or starchy and check again. Also switch to timothy hay pellets instead of alfalfa. You can get these from Oxbow Hay or American Pet Diner on line.
2. Hormone/metabolic problem. I had 2 girl piggies get this. Their metabolism really revs up due to some problem that has to be detected and corrected. My Brown Noise had a uterine tumor and had to be spayed. We never found out what was wrong with Jetma even after a lot of vet visits. We
tried ruling out a lot of things and in the end think it might have been Cushing's disease. This can often be treated with hormones and I believe the info is In the GPDD archives
The most important thing in both cases is to make absolutely sure she has the water she needs or she will just burn up. My girls got very hungry too, to the point that I had to have something in my hands to offer or they would eat me. Jetma was so desperate she would grab the syringe out of my hand and run around the cage trying to get more out of it. Any way make sure she has 2 bottles.
Also I think its clear that a vet may be needed if simple dietary correction doesn't help for hormone treatment or spay.
Article found at: gpdd@gpdd.org
I have some advice for those of you having feeding problems due to illness or teeth problems. The best thing to do is get some "Critical Care" from your vet or "Oxbow Hay". It will remind you of ground up pellets, then you add water and feed by syringe or spoon. If you don't have Critical Care make something similar (but not nearly as good) by dissolving your regular pellets in water or juice for a while as they soak up a lot of liquid. Add a Vit C supplement, and a tiny bit of sugar or juice if the pig is weak. Add yogurt or other probiotics if your piggy is on antibiotics. It is best that you all train your piggies in advance to eat from a syringe so they look forward to the syringe when they don't feel good. I have nursed one pig in a cage only to have all the pigs in that cage fight for their own turn at the syringe. I had another ill one, my Jetma now at the bridge, who could grab the syringe out of my hand and turn it in her mouth till she had the right end, then suck like crazy. What a sight. Also, they become so well trained I can just stick the syringe down in the cage and she will suck it up.
Another phenomena is that a sick pig will eat more if he is offered a variety of foods to tempt his sulky appetites. I invite any sick or just thin or droopy looking piggy to breakfast with me. I get out tiny bowls for yogurt and juices, and their own plate for different veggies, oatmeal, grains etc. Then whee just have our breakfast together. They will eat more this way I promise.
Finally, train your piggies to eat chewable vit C tabs, either the ones from Oxbow or cut up people ones to approx 50 or 100 mg size. Feed once or twice a day to sick pigs. I don't regularly feed Vit C tabs as Penny Giggles all eat Vit C foods like oranges, spinach and greens, etc., and fresh pellets (only buy the kind that have the manufacture date on it) Not
to claim that the Penny Giggles are so highly trained, but they will shove their noses eagerly into the Oxbow bottle to pick out their own vitamin. This simple training really pays off when they are sick.
I do not syringe only juice although hydration is critical during illness as I think the Oxbow Hay Critical Care or regular pellets liquefied (only if u can't get Critical Care) is by far and away the best thing for pigs. Also if you are hand feeding, do it as often as you can, I would say not less than 4 or 6 times a day, hourly when you can manage it. Piggies are
eating machines and they operate on low nutrient foods like grass and hay by constantly eating.
I think common sense pretty much rules And I don't want it to seem overly complicated but I will offer my thoughts. Over the years my Penny Giggles have had the opportunity to eat many different fresh foods and there are very few foods I rule out. I usually use Oxbow timothy based pellets (Cavy Cuisine). I always use as much Timothy or grass hay as they can eat. I think its critical to recognize that GP's really need to eat almost constantly to keep their guts healthy. Also note to check a GP's water bottles if they seem off feed as GP's won't eat dry food if there is no water available, (for safety I keep 2 water bottles per tub). My GP's will start to eat dry food the second they see me grab their bottle as they have
learned fresh water is coming. Boars grab food and run to their own corner or pigloo, girls are frequently happy to sit around a large leaf and companionably munch together. The Dancie pigs, who used to be free range boars, will grab a piece from my hands, drop it, grab another and another
hoarding as big a pile as they can get, while caged piggies just take one at a time and are often happy to eat from your hands instead of grabbing it away.
Also importantly, they enjoy may food parts we don't eat like
rinds, skins, corn husks etc., and I believe it's very important to wash or scrub these parts. For instance melon and orange rinds; GP's really love these but pesticides may be there in levels that aren't regulated as consumers don't eat these parts. There may be bacteria like e-coli as has been found
on some Mexican melons and even Roma tomatoes Feed apple lightly as it has been reported ( by P Gurney, I think) to cause mouth sores in some GP's. Never feed onions and mushrooms, iceberg, or apple seeds. Limit carrots to 1 inch per day (too much beta carotene hurts livers). I don't feed potato, winter squash, or real starchy veggies. Feed as wide a variety as possible, but limit sweet stuff. I feed banana to thin or convalescing pigs only, except to Willie who demands it.
So far I haven't had much luck feeding Brussels sprouts and only a few like fresh cranberries and asparagus stalks. Their most frequent foods are carrots, celery, romaine, greens, cilantro, parsley, oranges, tomatoes, grapes, bananas, strawberries, other berries, broccoli, kiwi, cabbage, cardoons, dandelions, green beans, and peppers. We grow a lot of this stuff here using composted piggie bedding for fertilizer and soil amendment. They love dill. Don't forget to serve the parts of veggies we don't eat, like outer leaves, cabbage cores, celery bases and tops, corn silk and husks
etc., but wash em well.
I try to feed one Vit C food a day. I found my family eats a lot more veggies since the piggies came to live here. I don't chop up foods for the piggies, I think its part of their job (except carrots as they bash each other with them to get it to them selves)
I have used dry oatmeal and cooked oatmeal with sick or thin pigs mixed with fruit juice, banana and or plain yogurt as well as Critical Care of course. I endorse cranberry juice(unsweetened if possible). I never offer people food, fats, meats or dairy(except as noted). No seeds except rarely and shelled, no commercially prepared treats even if it says for
GP's, nothing with dyes, no candy or sweets, chocolate is poison to piggies and most animals.
Piggies learn to eat from their mommies and cage mates. Whatever one piggy in a group likes, they will all learn to eat. I have some groups that fight over cranberries, others that go Pitooey when you offer them. Some pigs will run to grab those little Oxbow Vit C pills, others go pitooey (so funny as it is accompanied by an unforgettable look in your direction).
They learn to eat from their slaves too, so whenever you want to teach a new food just get a hungry pig from the cage and sit down for a snack with him. You take a bite, offer him some, let him smell or lick the juice from your fingers. After a while the piggy will bite, then you eat more, offer him more, etc. As piggies are competitive about food the best way is to offer him a bite, when he gets it his mouth he may hold it but not eat, tug gently, he bites harder, tug more, pretty soon he tastes it and will usually then start to eat it. Keep eating your own portion. Soon he loves it.
Finally offer him some in his cage make him tug it, this will prompt the other piggies to grab it and in the process they will taste it and seeing the other pig eat it soon the whole tub loves it. May take a week or so but worth it as I feel greater variety is really good for people a as well as piggies. This week I had Boar-is sitting on my chest and Ryan hands me a piece of celery. Boar-is wasn't hungry so he ignored it. I took a bite of the other end and Boar-is comes running up grabs it out my mouth and starts chewing away. Silly pig.
Is Your Piggy Too Thirsty? I know of 2 reasons pigs get overly thirsty.
1. Diabetes. You can get test strips at the pharmacy and check her urine. Stop feeding anything sweet or starchy and check again. Also switch to timothy hay pellets instead of alfalfa. You can get these from Oxbow Hay or American Pet Diner on line.
2. Hormone/metabolic problem. I had 2 girl piggies get this. Their metabolism really revs up due to some problem that has to be detected and corrected. My Brown Noise had a uterine tumor and had to be spayed. We never found out what was wrong with Jetma even after a lot of vet visits. We
tried ruling out a lot of things and in the end think it might have been Cushing's disease. This can often be treated with hormones and I believe the info is In the GPDD archives
The most important thing in both cases is to make absolutely sure she has the water she needs or she will just burn up. My girls got very hungry too, to the point that I had to have something in my hands to offer or they would eat me. Jetma was so desperate she would grab the syringe out of my hand and run around the cage trying to get more out of it. Any way make sure she has 2 bottles.
Also I think its clear that a vet may be needed if simple dietary correction doesn't help for hormone treatment or spay.
Article found at: gpdd@gpdd.org
