Only eating hay

[LouisesPigguns]

Hi All,

My Sheltie Boar Cuzzy was diagnoised with a URI last Tuesday, on Wednesday he was diagnoised with an ear infection which caused a wry neck, twitching eyes and made him fall over. I syringe fed him cc every 2/3 hours while really bad and lengthened the time between feeds as he improved.

He is still on antibiotics and is a lot brighter in himself, no wry neck but still a little drunk looking at times. He has had 2 check ups and the vet is pleased. His healthy weight before illness was 775g that dropped to 700g and he is now at 725g, it is fluctuating between 725g and 750g.

Anyway, Cuzzy will hardly touch veggies but will have a small attempt at dried pellets but it is the hay that he is eating the most of. He is pooping as normal so obviously what he is getting is doing him some good but I'm a little concerned he is not getting his required vit c or other nutrients from the veg.

So what I want to know is, is this normal for a pig who has had double infections? How long will it take before he is eating veggies fully and how can I encourage him to munch on more? Sorry for all the questions, having Cuzzy ill like this is new to me, I've never came across URI's or ear infections in pigs.

Thanks for reading!

Louise
xxx

[aqh88]

Usually they don't go off veggies but pellets is understandable. They are hard to chew and ear infections can cause pain down into the jaw. Try soaking the pellets in water or plain fruit juice (no sugar, sucrose, fructose, etc.. just juice and possibly vitamins on the ingredients)to soften them and if you can find an uncontaminated spot some fresh grass. Even when they won't eat veggies they often eat grass. Sometimes just feeling miserable will make them unwilling to eat much. Hay will not provide vit c and neither hay nor veggies provide EFAs (essential fatty acids) or much vit E which is needed to properly use many sources of EFAs. They don't need large or constant amounts of these unlike vit c but they do need them and pellets are the best source so several weeks without pellets may start to cause a decline in those nutrients. If he continues not to eat either veggies or pellets I would go back to critical care but you probably don't have to syringe feed it. Just provide it in a small dish or off a spoon. Again fruit juice can take the place of water to provide more flavor and entice him to start eating on his own again.

[LouisesPigguns]

Thank you so much for replying. Yes I was thinking of trying the cc if he won't entertain veggies. He ate 1 small piece of celery this morning. So really not enough. Firstly I'll try some mashed up pellets tomorrow if he won't entertain veggies in the morning,

I'm currently sleeping on the sofa as he is a lone pig right now and I prefer to keep an eye on him.

Thanks for your help, much appreciated, will update when I have some news on his progress.

Louise

[aqh88]

Celery isn't really a useful vegetable. It's got alot of water and little vit c. Try bell peppers especialy red. They are slightly expensive but they have tons of vit c. You'd only have to get him to eat a little chunk of it a day to make his minimum requirements. Another option would be a little extra fruit since they tend to like fruit better. Kiwis are good for vit c. Check out the charts: Guinea Lynx :: Vitamin C Chart

[LouisesPigguns]

Thanks for that. Yes I use the Guinea Lynx chart to make sure all pigs get a varied diet. I give green pepper every other day as I read it has the most vit c in while reds have a lot of sugars so I give them as an occassional treat. Green ones are a firm fav in our house and for a bag of mixed peppers they cost £1.00 in our local supermarket so great value and you get about 8 in the pack! I'm all for a bargin especially with having 5 little ones to feed.

I wasn't happy with the amount of veg Cuzzy had ate last night so I gave him some cc and he woofed it straight down. It must still hurt a little to chew veggies, poor little man. I'll see how he goes this morning and will give some more cc if he doesn't eat any veggies.

Thanks for your help, really appreciate it.

Louise

[Ly&Pigs]

There are also color coded charts here in our diet and nutrition section. Just look at the top under the sticky thread for the "Everything you need to know about a cavy's diet" thread.