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If you have an Overweight Pig, here's a Good Diet
It is important to understand the functions of the pig's body in
order to treat obesity in an overweight pig. For example, if your pig
is obese you may think you should feed it less food and less often.
But actually you should increase the number of food servings your
pig gets during the day, not decrease them. To help your pig have
a healthy weight, give it smaller meals many times throughout the
day.
If you are feeding your pig commercial pig feed, vegetables and
fruits and allowing it to graze and it is obese, you should
adjust your pig's diet but not the quantity of food you give.
Rather, reduce the amount of commercial hog feed you are giving
your piggy by half. Replace with three cups of fresh vegetables,
(preferably leafy greens), to every cup of commercial pig feed.
Let you pig graze all day long and make sure that the vegetables
you give your pig are of a wide variety. You can improve your
pig's health greatly just by letting your pig graze as much as it
wants. This also gives your lawn a nice trim appearance and free
fertilizer! Your pig was made to graze. It gives him essential
vitamins and minerals that you can not find in commercial
vegetables these days and it also provides exercise for your
piggy which will naturally decrease his weight over time. There
is no quick fix. It will take a long time for your pig to lose
weight. If it is being done properly it will be done slowly.
Your human body needs ten servings of fruit and vegetables a day.
The same is true for your pig. Make sure that when you are trying
to help your pig lose weight you do not give him any sugar and
only small amounts of sugary fruits every so often. Fill him up
with grass from grazing and good green vegetables and he should
go back to a healthy weight for sure.
Your pig does need the commercial pig feed that it gets because
commercial foods have a balanced supply of the vitamins, minerals
and nutrients that a pig needs, just like you need to eat
specific foods during your day in order to have the correct
balance of vitamins, minerals and nutrients. But commercial feeds
don't fulfill all your pig's dietary needs. Fresh vegetables,
fruits and grasses are also necessary to provide needed enzymes,
roughage, as well as vitamins that don't survive processing.
Ten servings is a lot of fruits and vegetables but if you feed
your pig throughout the day it can manage to get it all down.
Don't try to feed them to it all at once. If you do it probably
won't eat it all and if he does it can make him ill. Feeding
every few hours is the best. Also, be sure to wash all vegetables
and fruits before giving them to your pig. You don't need to
process them more than simple washing, however.
Use good quality pig feed, as with all food, the cheaper it is
the worse it is for you. You do not have to buy the most
expensive, but you do need to be aware of what you are buying and
buy what is right for your pig. Mazuri Youth Feed or Heartland
Animal Health is excellent youth feed. Buckeye is also a good
brand of pig feed. Youth feed is more digestible and has a high
quality of essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients so your pig
will get more nutrition for the bulk of food and calories.
Always have plenty of clean water available and refresh it often.
If your pig isn't drinking enough water, try flavoring it with
one hundred percent juice. Unfortunately though, once you do this
your pig may refuse to drink plain water, so try to only do this
if it is absolutely necessary. If your piggy is dehydrated,
giving it Gatorade with whole food capsules can help, at least
until it can see the veterinarian.
Exercise is essential to losing weight. For any animal including
humans exercise makes all parts of the body work better and more
efficiently. Do activities with your pig that will stimulate him.
Roll a soccer ball and encourage him to push it too. Have fun and
play with your pig, this can be the best exercise and also
provide some valuable bonding time. Pigs, like people, often eat
out of boredom or loneliness.
Always consult your veterinarian before making any changes in
your pig's diet, so that you have the approval of your
veterinarian and are sure that you are using the most beneficial
and healthy methods of reducing your pig's weight. Introduce any
new diet slowly. Do not make major changes right away as this can
make your pig ill. The ultimate goal is to have a healthy pig,
not a thin pig.
As with any good diet change happens slowly over time. It can
take years to get the inappropriate weight back off. Don't expect
to see any major changes right away. If you do, something is
wrong and you should see your veterinarian.
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