Diet Trying to fatten him up...suggestions?

sierralj97 · Mar 28, 2015

So I'd say maybe 2 weeks ago or so I adopted two piggies from a family that didn't want them. Sad situation. They were housed separately and fed that crap mix you buy at walmart. No fresh water (the bottle looked like it hadn't been cleaned EVER) no hay, no good pellets, no veggies. One of the boys sadly passed away after about a week. (He wasn't eating. I took him to the vet and he was prescribed critical care, but the poor baby couldn't hold on)

Oreo on the other hand was perfectly healthy and happy aside from being VERY skinny. His hip bones jutted out and he felt like all bones! Now that he's on a proper diet, he's starting to pork up, but I'd like to know what I can feed him to keep him healthy, but fatten him up at the same time. Should I just continue doing what I'm doing, or should I pick the higher fat foods from the nutrition list? I've always fed my pigs the proper thing, so I've never had to worry about fattening anyone up haha!

LoveMyHerd · Mar 28, 2015

Oh my goodness, I saw this thread's title and I thought you were some kind of guinea pig eater... sorry! lol

aqh88 · Mar 28, 2015

If they aren't having continual problems it's healthier to let them gain weight steadily on a normal, balanced diet than specific supplemented foods. You can give the rest of the critical care you have. When I have guinea pigs eating normal and excess critical care I make a mash with veggies and fruits in it. Sometimes no sugar added veggie or fruit juice instead of water to mix up the critical care. It makes a good treat.

CavyMama · Mar 28, 2015

I had rescued a pig who had been fed a diet of, "straw and sometimes celery" is what the owner said. Straw, not hay. His poo was bright orange (from the straw). He was so light that I thought he was only a couple months old but the owner said he had "her" for a year and got "her" at 6 mths old. Hmmm we checked and even in dim light (it was getting dark), we could see "she" was "he". This guy had this pig for a year and the entire time, thought the pig was a girl. Named "her" Bella.

Anyway, we could feel this poor pig's ribs, hip bones, and individual vertebrae along the spine. I got him home and gave him a small handful of KMs pellets, a small salad and some KMs hay. I didn't want to overload his system, especially if he was really starving. He started eating and within 48 hours, his poop was back to a normal brown color and slowly he started to fill out to a healthy weight. I still have him to this day. The rescue was a few years ago and he is now a healthy chunky little man.

Unless you need him to put on weight quickly or if he is otherwise unwell, I would suggest the CC but it sounds like he is healthy, just underweight. It sounds like he simply needs a regular healthy diet to get him back up to a good weight.

sierralj97 · Mar 30, 2015

Thank you guys for all of the help

I'll start supplementing him with CC. He's looking healthier by the day

sierralj97 · Mar 30, 2015

LoveMyHerd said:
Oh my goodness, I saw this thread's title and I thought you were some kind of guinea pig eater... sorry! lol

LOL that gave me a good laugh!! lol

Where People & Piggies Thrive

Newbie or Guinea Guru? Popcorn in!

Diet Trying to fatten him up...suggestions?

sierralj97

Well-known Member

LoveMyHerd

Well-known Member

aqh88

Well-known Member

CavyMama

Well-known Member

sierralj97

Well-known Member

sierralj97

Well-known Member

Similar threads

Share this Page

Newest members

Online statistics

Key Resources

Members online