Suggestions on how to prevent urine sluge?

[betty]

Molly still has problems with urine sludge. Some of it stays on the top of the fleece and does not always come off in the wash. It feesl powdery and not gritty to the touch.

I have taken both girls off pellets, which I though was the problem. They are getting unlimed orchard grass hay and the following veggies each daily (split into two feedings):

Green or Red Leaf Lettuce - 2 large leaves
Bell Pepper (varied colours, but usually green) - 1/8 a pepper
cilantro - 3 sprigs including stem
carrot - 1/2 baby carrot
cherry tomatoe - 1
Younger pig gets 1 sprig of parsley every other day.

Here are my questions:

This seems to be a good diet, what am I doing/not doing?
Truffle is now almost 6 months old but does not seem to be fully grown, does she still need additional calcium?

Any other comments or suggestions would be welcome.

[madelineelaine]

My girl also produces a lot of urine sludge. She doesn't eat her pellets, but they do get a lot of lettuce. I think lettuce is what's causing the sludge.

[betty]

I wonder if it is somewhat normal. But I am still worried about it forming stones in her bladder. I don't want to put a pig through that pain!

[bpatters]

You're right, it does seem to be a good diet. I'd try taking out the cilantro and see if that improves things.

Truffle should be ok without the calcium, but it wouldn't hurt to continue giving her a daily sprig of parsley for a while.

[betty]

Thanks bpatters, I will take out the cilantro and see if it helps.

[pinky]

What's your water source? If you're giving them tap water or bottled water with added minerals, that can lead to sludge.

[bpatters]

Good catch, pinky. @betty , if you're not using filtered water, you might try that. I use the filtered water from my refrigerator ice maker, but you can use a Brita filter or something similar to that.

[Skippie]

My vet recommends really limiting the tomatoes to an "occasional" food because of the acid and sugar. Also, I would keep the cilantro but not give carrot every day! Try adding in a little different variety and see if there is a change. You could add endive, butternut lettuce, etc. Remember, the sludge isn't always a bad thing. Some pigs produce a lot more of it than others. My six year old pig produces quite a bit of it but has had x-rays and is in great shape. On the other hand, I had a baby pig who never had sludge but did have stones. Unfortunatly, he was probably prone to them via genetics.

[betty]

Bpatters, our water is mostly rainwater and is very soft, but that is a good thought.

Is it really dangerous or will Molly be okay to always have sludge?

[bpatters]

Well, it's preferable if they don't have sludge, and I'd do everything I could to see if I could figure out why a pig has it and if any changes in their diet could prevent it.

But some pigs will have it regardless, and you can't do anything about it except cross your fingers that it doesn't cause them any problems.

The main reason to reduce sludge is that it's almost always calcium carbonate, which is what urinary tract stones are usually formed of. So it indicates excess calcium in the urine, and that's definitely a factor in stone formation.

[madelineelaine]

I have a filter on my tap and give them water from there, Would eliminating cilantro really help? Because I'm willing to try that. They do love cilantro though.

[bpatters]

@madelineelaine , no one knows if eliminating cilantro will help your pig or not. Doing that has helped some pigs, but not others. Calcium metabolism is a very complicated process, and no one really understands all the factors that affect it.

You could try eliminating it, and if it works, just substitute another herb and see if that does better. Mine love dill, and it seems to have no ill effects on them.

[madelineelaine]

I'm going to see about dill then. They seeem to LOVE cilantro, but if I can give them dill instead then that might be better. I hate the smell of cilantro. My whole family hates it. If I can get rid of it, then I will :P

[betty]

Update: I have cut Molly's food back to only lettuce and bell pepper and one week later the sludge has definately gotten less. It goes through the fleece now and does not sit on top as much anymore. Seems like cilantro was the culprit this time.

[madelineelaine]

hmm, that's intresting.