New piggy Primrose is roughly 10 weeks old and has been with me since 30 July.
She has a slight head tilt. The vet thinks this is likely to be down to ear mites and a wax plug, so she's been given drops to combat both and this is being monitored.
She's underweight - just 400g when she arrived. You can feel her poor little ribs, so I've been trying to get her to gain weight and was succeeding until Tuesday PM when she started producing loose stools.
She's not showing signs of pain or bloating. Her character is bright, happy, squeaky, curious, and we have some popcorns every day. She has an appetite and eats/drinks on her own.
Her diet consists of timothy hay, alfalfa hay (given her age I figured this would be ok) pellets, water, Critical Care and/or pellet mash. I've been supplementing her vitamin C and she's had poop soup twice since the loose stools started. I stopped giving veggies after the loose stools began.
The stools were like little cow pats to begin with and now are more like toothpaste. The colour is normal, the odour isn't offensive, they're not what I'd call diarrhoea but they're not right. I'm collecting samples for testing, however her symptoms don't seem to match those listed here for diarrhoea caused by a parasite or antibiotics. She's not had any antibiotics or oral medicine whilst in my care.
I'd be very grateful for any advice or information that anyone could offer.
Primrose's medical thread
-
bpatters
- And got the T-shirt
You did the right thing by stopping the veggies. You might also stop with the vitamin C, as it can cause diarrhea itself. How much C are you giving?
And if she's getting a high quality pellet with stabilized vitamin C, there's no need for a supplement unless she's ill or recuperating. That's especially true if she's getting veggies.
Is she gaining steadily? If so, I'd let her regular diet of hay, pellets and veggies (when she goes back on them) take care of the weight gain rather than trying to force it. She's getting a LOT of calcium per day if she's getting alfalfa hay plus Critical Care. I know young pigs need calcium, but good quality pellets usually take care of that. There shouldn't be any need to push for weight gain unless something is wrong somewhere. If she's just underweight because of her past history, your good food should take care of the problem.
And if she's getting a high quality pellet with stabilized vitamin C, there's no need for a supplement unless she's ill or recuperating. That's especially true if she's getting veggies.
Is she gaining steadily? If so, I'd let her regular diet of hay, pellets and veggies (when she goes back on them) take care of the weight gain rather than trying to force it. She's getting a LOT of calcium per day if she's getting alfalfa hay plus Critical Care. I know young pigs need calcium, but good quality pellets usually take care of that. There shouldn't be any need to push for weight gain unless something is wrong somewhere. If she's just underweight because of her past history, your good food should take care of the problem.
Thanks for your reply.
She was gaining steadily until the loose stools, now she's lost most of what she gained.
Understood re calcium and vitamin c. I was giving 25mg vit c per day but will stop. I'm all out of Critical care now now too so no double dosing calcium.
Any ideas what might be behind the loose stools?
She was gaining steadily until the loose stools, now she's lost most of what she gained.
Understood re calcium and vitamin c. I was giving 25mg vit c per day but will stop. I'm all out of Critical care now now too so no double dosing calcium.
Any ideas what might be behind the loose stools?
SHOP AMAZON