Miniature pigs reach half their adult weight (32-68 kg) by about 1 year of age and will continue to grow until 3-4 years of age. Pigs easily gain weight and obesity is a very common problem in pet pigs, especially when animals are fed free-choice and not exercised. The risk of obesity in pet pigs can be minimized with client education on body condition scoring as well as regular weighing.
All raptors consume a meat-based diet ranging from the specialist diet of the fish-eating osprey (Pandion haliaetus) to a generalist diet that can include insects, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and even carrion. Other than poultry, the exact nutritional requirements of birds are unknown, however the natural raptor diet is always relatively high in protein and fat and low in carbohydrates. Whole prey diets have a calcium/phosphorus ratio of 1.5:1 as the bird actually consumes the bones as well as the meat…
Body condition scoring or BCS is a useful tool for assessment of a patient’s general health status and evaluation of a patient’s food supply. The BCS system described below is based on scores between 1 and 5, with 1 being emaciated and 5 being obese for the “generic” bird. Currently there is no universally agreed upon BCS system for the avian patient due to…
