[Gpdd] HEALTH: Diet

Pam Bowyer petra-nef at shaw.ca
Tue Mar 31 12:40:39 EDT 2009



         Hi all,

         In the last digest, I noticed that several people mention 
feeding oats to their piggies. I wanted to share my experience with 
that, because it is a cautionary tale. Many years ago, someone had 
posted a recipe for a sort of grain mix treat that contained oatmeal, 
among other things like barley, rye, wheat flakes, etc. I don't 
remember the exact mix. Well, I started setting oatmeal out for my 
pigs on a regular basis, because they liked it so much. Then, one of 
my piggies began having bouts of diarrhea. Off the vet, antibiotics, 
stomach meds, acidophilus,. etc. We even tried testing for GI 
parasites. The diarrhea always resolved, but it always came back. In 
the meantime, for school, I was studying large animal diseases, and 
came across something known as Grain Overload Acidosis, which causes 
all sorts of nasty issues for large animals like cows and horses. And 
you would be amazed at how similar the stomachs of guinea pigs and 
horses are. Anyway, it finally dawns on me - it's the oatmeal that's 
causing the diarrhea!  (Yeah, I'm kinda slow). I took it away, and no 
more diarrhea. Of course, the pigs weren't very happy about this 
development. Sadly, the damage was done, and my piggie died of what I 
believe to be intestinal issues caused by Grain Overload Acidosis. 
Now, this is only my theory, but I did discuss it with the vet, and 
she agreed it seemed plausible. So, I just want to say to everyone - 
be really careful with feeding grains to piggies. True, the other 
pigs are fine (insofar as I know), but some are susceptible to this illness.

         In the same line, I've noticed that the new treats from 
Oxbow, called Barley Biscuits are full of grains, as well as a huge 
amount of sugar. So please be really careful when you feed these. I 
wish I had known about this issue before - my dear girl might still 
be with me.

Pam


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