How to slow my pig down?

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AmeliaA

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my fattie is on restricted hay (10kg in 24hours) but eats it so fast! Any creative ways to slow him down?
I already feed soaked hay in greedy feeders but he seems to have mastered these and can get huge amounts through them.
I can’t double net as he initially eats just as fast but then can’t get the last bits out so isn’t going to help my issues of him standing without. He has a hay ball but he eats it in less than 10 minutes. When I can I split the feedings up but it’s too expensive and time consuming to go up twice a day when i work full time. I’m going to discuss supplementing with straw with the vet when it’s due his vaccinations in 2 weeks
 
The parrelax hayball designed for small ponies and donkey's has slowed my piglet down. Martsnets also help, I use the pony sized ones although she is a big horse, and have them dotted around the box/yard so she has to search for them.
 
AdorableAlice said:
The parrelax hayball designed for small ponies and donkey's has slowed my piglet down. Martsnets also help, I use the pony sized ones although she is a big horse, and have them dotted around the box/yard so she has to search for them.
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Is there much difference between the Martsnets and shires greedy feeders?
 
the things that worked for slowing my fatty down were packing nets with straw to bulk them out, splitting the portion into 2 nets but fed at same time just opposite ends of the stable, and hanging nets from the ceiling so she had to work harder!
 
dottylottie said:
the things that worked for slowing my fatty down were packing nets with straw to bulk them out, splitting the portion into 2 nets but fed at same time just opposite ends of the stable, and hanging nets from the ceiling so she had to work harder!
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Did you drop any of her ration of hay and replace with straw or just as additional?
 
Abbier214 said:
Did you drop any of her ration of hay and replace with straw or just as additional?
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just additional! you’d have to feed absolutely huge amounts of straw for it to put weight on them. i put straw around the outsides to slow her down, and to make sure she still had something to pick at - she used to be on a straw bed but she’d munch her way through the whole thing, so i knew she definitely had no argument about eating it?
 
dottylottie said:
just additional! you’d have to feed absolutely huge amounts of straw for it to put weight on them. i put straw around the outsides to slow her down, and to make sure she still had something to pick at - she used to be on a straw bed but she’d munch her way through the whole thing, so i knew she definitely had no argument about eating it?
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Oooh thank you! Do you buy packaged straw from a tack shop or just buy locally?
 
Abbier214 said:
Oooh thank you! Do you buy packaged straw from a tack shop or just buy locally?
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she doesn’t have the straw in anymore but we just used to use the same bales you’d use for their beds - since reading on here though i’m fairly confident that’s not in fact the best idea, i *think* oat straw is the go to but i’m not 100% sure! if you search on here though there’s a few threads about it. we never had any ill effects from it but we didn’t do it long term, and that’s not to say it can’t happen, i think one of the main issues is dust
 
I do believe you should only feed a quarter of their hay ration as straw. my mare is on the exact same amount and it doesn’t seem a lot does it. When she was on box rest I added straw and she ate it if she was really hungry. I now use shires greedy feeder nets and I split the amount in 3 but mine are at home. I either hang them or put them on the floor as hay balls ( they are unshod) . Can you not pay or swap a favour with someone on the yard to put a net in for you later? My horses would eat all that ration in no time at all if they got in 1 go . I would be worrying about ulcers
 
Does the horse also have grass?

Mine is off grass and on 12kg. He has 4 or 5 nets (the 5th is if we are around, as it stops him calling to us but is only haylage distributed from the other 4 nets, not extra) and a bucket feed. No way could I only feed one net. I have trickle nets and they take around an hour to eat.

Even if fed in 2 lots, I would use 4 nets still. It is harder to eat when they are near the end and also I have 2 hanging stations so he has to browse.

I did use the small holed hayball with some straw, but stopped after an impaction colic that almost killed him. TBH, it also made a mess of the turnout area.
 
Melandmary said:
I do believe you should only feed a quarter of their hay ration as straw. my mare is on the exact same amount and it doesn’t seem a lot does it. When she was on box rest I added straw and she ate it if she was really hungry. I now use shires greedy feeder nets and I split the amount in 3 but mine are at home. I either hang them or put them on the floor as hay balls ( they are unshod) . Can you not pay or swap a favour with someone on the yard to put a net in for you later? My horses would eat all that ration in no time at all if they got in 1 go . I would be worrying about ulcers
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I can get someone to put a net in later on at the weekends but unfortunately not an option during the week but I’m not usually leaving the yard until gone 7:30 anyway
 
Ooh sorry, misunderstood your post and thought you must be going to the yard in the morning And putting the 10kg in the stable to last 24 hours
 
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