Burgess Excel shortage

At the end of the day, lots of factors come into play when we feed our Piggies.
Factors like cost, availablity and knowledge are the most paramount...
We all have fed rubbish to our Piggies at one time or another and bitterly regret that now. But we all start somewhere with our Piggies... the most important thing is tho, no matter what the feed we give our Piggies, they are loved unconditionally.
We look after our babies, with pride and support from dedicated other Piggie enthusiasts. One thing I have learned over the years is to listen to your Piggie and the rest falls into place.
We all have a common interest. Our furbabies; and altho I might not have much money for the best most expensive dry feed on the market. They will always eat well with veggies and hay. They will never be cold and never be unloved.
God bless us all who love our Piggies and watch over us to give the best care we can ❤
 
My Olga and (first) Primrose were 7 and 8 when they passed over to the Rainbow Bridge. They lived on hay and Fibre P horse mix, mixed with rabbit muesli.... it was the late 80s and I didn't know any better back then. Carrots and other vegetables were only once a week. But not once did they need a vet.
Maybe I was just lucky...
But there wasn't the knowledge back then.
 
ThePiggieHouse said:
My Olga and (first) Primrose were 7 and 8 when they passed over to the Rainbow Bridge. They lived on hay and Fibre P horse mix, mixed with rabbit muesli.... it was the late 80s and I didn't know any better back then. Carrots and other vegetables were only once a week. But not once did they need a vet.
Maybe I was just lucky...
But there wasn't the knowledge back then.
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My husbands auntie used to keep guinea pigs in the 70’s and 80’s. They lived in a hutch outside all year round with a carpet over the top during the winter on shavings, were fed muesli, hay, carrots and cabbage, rarely needed a vet and they all lived longer than mine ever have :( She still doesn’t understand how mine live indoors with all their fleecy items and carefully selected diet...
 
Betsy said:
None taken @Skypipdot! I had to feed them on something and as they refused the pellets I had to get the muesli even though it's like eating crisps and chocolate!
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My gerbils wont eat pellets. Only meusli. But i give veg too in tiny amounts. Gerbil food is so hard to find a good one
 
Claire W said:
My gerbils won't eat pellets either, they're on wragg hamster gerbil and mouse munch. Neither would my degu.
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i get a plain bag mix with chicken and pumpkin seads and raisins along with loads of other bits. Petscorner sell it
 
Skypipdot said:
i get a plain bag mix with chicken and pumpkin seads and raisins along with loads of other bits. Petscorner sell it
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O cool you have a degu!? These are what i plan to keep in the future, i hear they can get diabetes very easily. So will take some learning
 
Skypipdot said:
O cool you have a degu!? These are what i plan to keep in the future, i hear they can get diabetes very easily. So will take some learning
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We did and he was lovely :) Sadly he was a lone degu (they should live in pairs or groups) but before we got him, he was a pair but him and his brother had a huge fight my degu ended up losing most of his tail and his brother his foot) so the owners handed them in to pets at home. The brother was apparently rehomed almost straight away but Marley was there for weeks and looked so sad. I was in hospital at the time so we often went to the closest pets at home just to get out for an hour. He lived a happy 5 years with us although he was nearer 6 as he was roughly a year old when we adopted him.

Yes, they can get diabetes if not fed correctly
 
I had piggies in the 80s and 90s fed on meadow hay, muesli, grass, dandelions, sow thistle, cabbage and the occasional bit of carrot, they were the longest lived I have had, (two got to 8 & 9 years). They lived outside in a hutch in summer and in a cold unused garage in the winter. In all the years I had guinea pigs I saw a vet twice, once for hay mites and once for a URI. Having had so many piggies recently with stone/sludge/bladder problems at young ages and vets visits becoming a regular occurance I am beginning to think what we thought was wrong was more right than we realise!
My vet advised not to give up pellets altogether as modern veg is badly stored and refridgerated for far too long before it hits the shops the vitamin content is very low as it degrades quickly. It's important to feed a good quality low calcium pellet. I've been feeding SS grainless but I'm not happy with the soya content to name but one! They've taken out the grain and added another cheap ingrediant. I also feed Versele Laga when I can get it (Zooplus or Time for paws) the ingrediants seem better. JR Farm grainless are good and only .5% calcium but I can only find them on Zooplus.
If I'd realised how complicated guinea pigs had become I don't think I'd have returned to keeping them, it seems whatever you do these days you can't do right for doing wrong!
 
piggieminder said:
I had piggies in the 80s and 90s fed on meadow hay, muesli, grass, dandelions, sow thistle, cabbage and the occasional bit of carrot, they were the longest lived I have had, (two got to 8 & 9 years). They lived outside in a hutch in summer and in a cold unused garage in the winter. In all the years I had guinea pigs I saw a vet twice, once for hay mites and once for a URI. Having had so many piggies recently with stone/sludge/bladder problems at young ages and vets visits becoming a regular occurance I am beginning to think what we thought was wrong was more right than we realise!
My vet advised not to give up pellets altogether as modern veg is badly stored and refridgerated for far too long before it hits the shops the vitamin content is very low as it degrades quickly. It's important to feed a good quality low calcium pellet. I've been feeding SS grainless but I'm not happy with the soya content to name but one! They've taken out the grain and added another cheap ingrediant. I also feed Versele Laga when I can get it (Zooplus or Time for paws) the ingrediants seem better. JR Farm grainless are good and only .5% calcium but I can only find them on Zooplus.
If I'd realised how complicated guinea pigs had become I don't think I'd have returned to keeping them, it seems whatever you do these days you can't do right for doing wrong!
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100% agree on what you said. I think everything with enthusiasts gets killed by people wanting the most perfect way of doing stuff, I'm guilty of it, i have realised for a while that it has to stop. I'm not going to neglect, but stop obsessing over diets too much. Aslong as i have the basics down. My vet advised me ages ago to stay away from researching diets, as theres so so much conflicting advice. I have to say though, i wonder if genetics are getting worse now if that makes sense
 
piggieminder said:
I had piggies in the 80s and 90s fed on meadow hay, muesli, grass, dandelions, sow thistle, cabbage and the occasional bit of carrot, they were the longest lived I have had, (two got to 8 & 9 years). They lived outside in a hutch in summer and in a cold unused garage in the winter. In all the years I had guinea pigs I saw a vet twice, once for hay mites and once for a URI. Having had so many piggies recently with stone/sludge/bladder problems at young ages and vets visits becoming a regular occurance I am beginning to think what we thought was wrong was more right than we realise!
My vet advised not to give up pellets altogether as modern veg is badly stored and refridgerated for far too long before it hits the shops the vitamin content is very low as it degrades quickly. It's important to feed a good quality low calcium pellet. I've been feeding SS grainless but I'm not happy with the soya content to name but one! They've taken out the grain and added another cheap ingrediant. I also feed Versele Laga when I can get it (Zooplus or Time for paws) the ingrediants seem better. JR Farm grainless are good and only .5% calcium but I can only find them on Zooplus.
If I'd realised how complicated guinea pigs had become I don't think I'd have returned to keeping them, it seems whatever you do these days you can't do right for doing wrong!
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This is exactly what my husband's auntie says who kept guinea pigs in the 70's and 80's. Her pigs were kept in.a hutch outside all year round, fed on muesli and hay and their veg consisted of carrot and cabbage but they lived longer than any of mine with rarely any health problems. It amazes her how times have changed when she sees how mine are 'pampered' as she puts it
 
Ive kept rabbits outside in hutches all year round, with just a felt cover, but i think rabbits maybe harder to the cold? I'm not sure, but they were fine. Had lots of hay
 
I realised having said all that, I didn't say what I set out too! My vet sells Burgess so I guess they think it's a good pellet! I stopped feeding it 3 years ago when Spike first got bladder sludge as I suspected the pellets then.
 
Skypipdot said:
Ive kept rabbits outside in hutches all year round, with just a felt cover, but i think rabbits maybe harder to the cold? I'm not sure, but they were fine. Had lots of hay
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I had a rabbit when I was 15. He lived alone in a smallish hutch in the shed. He was fed muesli and straw and even dry bread as a treat! I feel so guilty now but me and my.parents didn't know any different at the time. He lived until he was nearly 10 years old
 
Claire W said:
I had a rabbit when I was 15. He lived alone in a smallish hutch in the shed. He was fed muesli and straw and even dry bread as a treat! I feel so guilty now but me and my.parents didn't know any different at the time. He lived until he was nearly 10 years old
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Yea mine ate burnt toast. How bad 👎
 
Skypipdot said:
Ive kept rabbits outside in hutches all year round, with just a felt cover, but i think rabbits maybe harder to the cold? I'm not sure, but they were fine. Had lots of hay
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Yes rabbits can take the cold. The bunny I have now is protected with thermal hutch covers etc but the ones I had as a child just had an A3 sized bit of plastic sheeting pinned to the wire door of the hutch and then an old blanket thrown over the front! To be honest, I am not sure that that really ever did anything. I have never kept rabbits indoors in all my 30 years of having them.
 
I had piggie and a rabbit over the 60’s 70’s and two male piggie bros which turned out to be brother and sister! over the 80’s, 90’s. Plus their babies 😲They were kept in outdoor hutches with a waterproof sheet cover over an old piece of carpet.
They were put out in a run(s) with shelter during the day and brought in at night. In hard winters they went into a shed or garage. We fed them GP muesli, hay, carrots, cabbage, apples from tree and dandelions. Bedded on straw, saw dust and hay. All lived long and healthy lives. A rabbit had to be pts because he had an eye infection which could not be cured otherwise no problems. Mis-sexed brothers had two litters with only one stillborn. I do wonder if they were all healthier then or tougher than now.

I still put my Bill and Ted outside most days even in winter as I consider it healthy for them and it’s quite mild here, our garden is very sheltered too. Their run and hutch have covers and lots of fresh dry hay. They become quite lazy and bored if they don’t, totally different piggies really. They sleep in a cage in an unheated conservatory on a night during winter and apart from Ted’s teeth problem earlier this year they are very happy and healthy boys.
 
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We also had a cat that loved fudge and toffee which my mother would continuously feed him. He lived until he was 17! It’s so strange, I wonder if they are going like dogs, too much interbreeding or something?
 
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Claire W said:
At least yours wasn't lonely :( but it never occurred to us to have two
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They both lived seperate they had a huge fluffball fight. They did have a good run around the garden tho seperatly. It was enclosed by 4 walls with no gaps
 
Bill & Ted said:
We also had a cat that love fudge and toffee which my mother would continuously feed him. He lived until he was 17! It’s so strange, I wonder if they are going like dogs, too much interbreed?
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How were they domesticated from day one, we need to start all over again from wild guinea pigs lol
 
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