Can you overfeed guinea pigs?

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lizzie_71

lizzie_71

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I know with hamsters you can't overfeed, they only eat what they need, but the piggies seem to eat everything I give them regardless. At one stage they did get a bit porky so I cut down their hay rations and that did the trick. Now I've started filling the hay racks twice a day again, they are piling on the pounds once more and I think a diet might be in order.

Should I cut back on their food?
 
What do they weigh? I wouldn't cut back on hay. I read the eat more in the winter which would be true as I'm going through loads of nuggets and hay lately too!

My girls save food until later if they aren;t that hungry. S&T just ravage it and then end up coughing! Pig weights can be anything from 1-4lb I wouldn't diet unless a vet told me but I know everyone is different. :)
 
I've never weighed them, but they are big boys! I will try to do it tomorrow, it's too late to get them out now.
 
Mine are never without food and hay yet none are what I would say over weight.
some are a lot more solid than others but they are much bigger piggies all round and not just fat
 
My piggies have fresh veg twice a day and constant supply of hay and muesli they also devour a bowl of readigrass for their supper as well. They are all gorgeous and chunky. Got some new scales so I'm going to weigh all mine tomorrow as these are digital.

Cant wait to weigh them especially Joe as he is only nine months but the chunkyiest. :smitten:

Murphy is the oldest at nearly 13 months but he is a bit fussy with his food so he isnt as chubby as my other boys.

I just love chunky piggies. :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:

Has anyone heard of piggies that had a weight problem. If not i would of thought they would stop eating when they are full. :smitten: :)


They are all definately eating alot more muesli and hay now its colder weather.
 
i think being a bit solid comes in handy if ever ill.

mine are eating me out of hay and dried grass at min, nuggetts no different
 
I noticed a while back that ALL mine were eating more since it turned colder. I asked on here and everyone that replied said that thier piggies are eating more too ;)
 
Mine never stop at the moment maybe the colder weather has something to do with it.

They might be more human than we think I put weight on in winter too!
 
Tracy aka Fudgey♥ said:
Mine never stop at the moment maybe the colder weather has something to do with it.

They might be more human than we think I put weight on in winter too!
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Lol me too need lots of warm foods when its cold. Salads out the window for me now while its cold ;D
 
My three are getting through a huge amount of food. Back in the summer a 2kg bag of food used to last almost 2 weeks, now its about 1/2 a week! Loads more hay too, truck loads of veggies, and they have been having some of the new naturals bits from p@h and they still wheek for more!
 
OK, I have now weighed the boys. Both of them weigh just over 1.3kgs, which I think is around 3 lbs. Does that sound OK for boars? They are probably about 14-15 months old, we got them just over a year ago and they were already pretty much fully grown then.
 
Sounds fine to me, they aren't overweight just big boys and it's better to be bigger then smaller because of any health issues they may get in the future. My 7 month old boys are 2.5 lb, chubby monkeys! :smitten:
 
Yep that sounds fine. My boar has been really sick these last few months, he was 2lb 4oz to start with and went down to 2lb at one point, the vet was never worried about his weight because he was big to start with, if he hadnt weighed so much his weight loss may have been an issue, now he's back to 2lb4oz and still gaining :) . Keep feeding them loads they sound great weights to me! x
 
Lizzie71 said:
I know with hamsters you can't overfeed, they only eat what they need, but the piggies seem to eat everything I give them regardless. At one stage they did get a bit porky so I cut down their hay rations and that did the trick. Now I've started filling the hay racks twice a day again, they are piling on the pounds once more and I think a diet might be in order.

Should I cut back on their food?
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In my opinion, the thing that makes piggies put on the most weight is dry food.

But I would never never cut the hay ration, I mean its THE basic thing their digestive system needs.. and afaik hay doesnt have that many calories either ;)
 
I think they only eat what they need, I think the only way they can be over fed is if you are feeding them the wrong kind of stuff so they sound ok to me and like pumpkinpiggie said all mine have started to eat more now its winter ;)
 
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