Piggy doesnt eat

Question
QUESTION: I have a 7 week old pbp I just got a week ago. He's very friendly and I've gotten him to use the litter box already so he's an indoor pig. I'm a bit concerned though because I've hardly seen him eat, I am feeding him pot belly pig pellets I got from a feed store and I try hand feeding it to him he refuses. When I put it in his mouth he tries to chew it but then spits it out. All he does is sleep all day, get up to drink water, use the litter box then lays back in his bed. I recently mixed his pellets with a bit of water so it's mushy and I hand fed it to him and he eats it. The problem is I can't get him to get up and eat it on his own. I have to baby him to eat, is it possible he might be sick?
-Kathy

ANSWER: Your piglet might be sick, but more likely he wasn't weaned yet. Pot-bellied pig moms don't wean their babies until they are close to 12 weeks old. Your baby probably can not chew the pellets and is sleeping because he's starving.

If your baby has barely eaten in a week he needs nutrition right now. Give him some vanilla Boost or Ensure or something similar, at room temperature or slightly warmer. Let him have as much as he wants. Goats milk is better for babies than cows milk, but a little harder to find. Start mixing the Boost or goat milk with the pellets. Just a few pellets, it should be like very runny oatmeal. Gradually mix in more pellets, by the time he is 12 weeks he should be eating the food dry.

Sadly, I've seen breeders take baby pigs just a few days old away from their moms, and sell them as 7 or 8 week olds. These little babies usually die because they can not eat solid food yet.

Yahoo has several groups devoted to pot-bellied pigs. PigInfoAndChat and PotSpot are the best. There's lots of people there, with lots of piggy experience.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello, I've been feeding my piggy ensure mixed with his pellets just like you said, and he's eating now, yesterday was his second day of eating well, when towards the end of the day he started getting diarrhea and it won't go away. He tries to make it to the litter box but he drips everywhere on the way, it's all over his hind legs and tail. I'm constantly wiping him down because he's getting it all over his bed when he goes to lay down. What can I do to be rid of the diarrhea?
-Kathy  

Answer
I believe this happened because he went without eating for awhile. It's uncomfortable for both of you, but it will probably go away in a day as his body adjusts. When pigs are weaned naturally, they slowly switch from moms milk to solid foods. But, I know you didn't have any sow milk, so he had to switch somewhat abruptly. His body just needs a bit of time to adjust. The diarrhea is unpleasant at best, but giving him different foods or meds while his body is adjusting will make the adjustment period longer.

If it does not clear up in a day, he may have an infection and need to see a vet for antibiotics. E coli is not uncommon in pigs and causes chronic diarrhea. If that's the case, he's most likely had it for awhile, you just could not see the symptoms because if a piggy doesn't eat, there's nothing to come out the other end.

You mention that he tries to make it to the litter box, so I'm assuming that he has more energy and is feeling better in general.