Saturday, August 24, 2013

Calcium and a Brownie Recipe

This is GuineaRabbit. She's been with us since she was a teeny piggy, when we brought her and her sister Popcorn home almost 3 years ago. Unfortunately Poppy had tooth trouble; her jaw was not lined up so her teeth did not wear down. She died suddenly after only a few months, leaving Guinea as an Only Pig. After a while we brought home two friends for her to play with. Big fail. So Guinea remains happily single. She spends her days roaming free, causing troubles here and there, standing on our feet and wheeking loudly for food. She has a big personality. She wages piggy war if her bed needs cleaning or her hay pile is too small. She demands her portion of smoothies and salads. She watches tv and has favorite shows on Netflix. She even tried out being a guard pig for a while, puffing up on tiptoe and pacing when anyone outside the family entered the house.

But today piggy tragedy struck. While Guinea licked the banana masher, she peed red. A few minutes later, she did it again. And again. The pig who hadn't needed a vet since babyhood. I called a few vets nearby but found no exotic vet open. It's Saturday. So off to the pet ER we went.

 

Guinea spent a lot of time on my lap, mad that wouldn't feed her. She did not think highly of the big dogs in the waiting room, the vet feeling her belly, the stethoscope, and the metal table, especially when I continued to with hold not just veggies, but also hay. Oh, the horrid-ness of it all. She squeaked at everyone who would listen. She was smart enough to pee on the table after the vet was explained how she would use a needle to obtain a urine sample, but the urinalysis yielded no definite answer, so I agreed to an x-ray. I signed sedation forms and handed her over.

 

After a while, a nurse brought me back an incredibly puffed up, huffy Guinea. She had obviously been unhappy with the proceedings and voiced her desire for a most-deserved treat. The nurse gave the go-ahead, and I put her hay and veggies (that she KNEW I had brought along) back into her cage. At last. She gave one last very loud wheek and dove in.

 

Turns out she hadn't been sedated. She had actually laid on her side for the x-ray! Amazing. Anyway, good news is that her bladder stones (pigs are prone to calcium stones) are small and passable. After 5 hours, Guinea and I went home with antibiotics and anti-inflammatories and instructions to feed her only low-calcium foods.

 

Low calcium? I thought we already were! But it turns out that nuts are high in calcium. Oranges. Cucumbers. Celery. Romaine lettuce. Sunflower seeds. Oops. And her beloved smoothies.... Sometimes we make them with almond milk from a carton. Calcium. Good to know that WE are getting plenty of calcium.... But not so good for Guinea.

 

Meanwhile, the kids were at home with daddy. They ate every leftover they could find, including the brownies and coconut cream. :) e does make excellent brownies.

We found the recipe on the back of the bag of Let's Do....Organic coconut flour. Here it is:

 

1/3 c coconut oil

1/2 c cocoa powder

6 eggs

1/2 c honey OR 3/4 c maple syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 c coconut flour

1 c chocolate chips (e prefers chunks instead)

 

Bake at 350 degrees F. Yum. I would suggest using duck eggs instead of chicken eggs or perhaps adding an extra chicken egg. The brownies were extra yummy and moist made that way.

 

e helped me make dinner, we did another page in her main lesson book (picture of that tomorrow), and E and C looked up information on how diatomaceous earth works (ick).

 

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