Cheap, healthy treat list

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Thanks, I'll get him to take a look.

I managed to get normal grass seed in the pound shop so it is worth looking there.
 
flips said:
Could you post a pic of the barley rings please? I don't really understand what they are. :red
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I'm so sorry I completely forgot about this!

But I've looked on ebay and this seller has some for sale with a photo;
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/500g-Barley-R...et_Supplies_Small_Animals?hash=item3a591c5929

They look a bit like dog biscuits and are about the size of 10p coin. I think the above is quite expensive (I paid £7 for a HUGE bag) but it would be perfect if you just wanted to give them a try?
 
Tracyxx said:
I'm so sorry I completely forgot about this!

But I've looked on ebay and this seller has some for sale with a photo;
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/500g-Barley-R...et_Supplies_Small_Animals?hash=item3a591c5929

They look a bit like dog biscuits and are about the size of 10p coin. I think the above is quite expensive (I paid £7 for a HUGE bag) but it would be perfect if you just wanted to give them a try?
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Ah, that makes sense now. I had something much bigger in mind because of the horse connection. :)) They might have them at the feed suppliers. Thanks. :)
 
Hi there :3

Today we went to this big shop (here there are quite a lot of shops that sell plants, pets, pet supplies, tools, D.I.Y stuff, etc) and we bough another bird toy (they broke the last one in their enthusiasm to reach the grass inside) ans some grass seed!
The grass seed was really bought by my mum, but I'm hoping she'll let us have some (as we have a small garden and she bought one of those massive boxes! also most of are garden already has healthy grass)

My pigs loove grass. I already mentioned that they broke their toys in their haste to eat it.

Thanks for the treat list by the way. x
 
Tracyxx said:
The pigs have been getting barley rings on alternate days and I have to tell you, the results are FANTASTIC! They are all much fatter and their coats are shinier. They taste a bit sweet, so they are a real hit with a pigs. If anyone is struggling to get weight on their pigs, try these, I beg you..I only wish I'd discovered them sooner.
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I've just bought a small bag of these barley rings. Does anyone know if they're supposed to smell quite strongly of a linseed oil type smell? I wasn't sure if this was normal and wanted to check before giving them. Thanks!
 
Mine don't smell of linseed oil..they smell quite sweet I think.
Where did you get them from? I am sure if they were from a feed supplier they'd be quite safe. :)
 
From the ebay link you posted, as an example to show what they look like. I wouldn't normally buy foodstuffs online that weren't in properly sealed packaging (i.e. straight from the manufacturers) but that seller is a nursery/garden centre (established 50 yrs) who also do some pet supplies. I figured that it'd be ok but found the linseed oil smell quite offputting. They don't really smell sweet either. Hmmmm....not sure...maybe I should get them from somewhere else but I am glad that I discovered them, nonetheless! :)
 
missy said:
From the ebay link you posted, as an example to show what they look like. I wouldn't normally buy foodstuffs online that weren't in properly sealed packaging (i.e. straight from the manufacturers) but that seller is a nursery/garden centre (established 50 yrs) who also do some pet supplies. I figured that it'd be ok but found the linseed oil smell quite offputting. They don't really smell sweet either. Hmmmm....not sure...maybe I should get them from somewhere else but I am glad that I discovered them, nonetheless! :)
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I should've said...They came in a taped plastic bag and had obviously been divided out from a much larger bag.
 
I'm sure these are fine to give to your pigs. Failing that try a horse feed supplier, I got a HUGE bag for eight pounds I think and it's lasted me weeks and weeks and I have 30+ pigs.
 
Think of the dog food Frolic and they are very similar in size and thickness to those. We sell lots through our pet shop and have had reports of people making them into a mash to help fatten up low weight piggies and rabbits or those who are having problem eating.
 
Thanks guys!

HH, I've noticed that the ones you sell contain linseed as a main ingredient. This explains the strong linseed smell with the ones I bought then! Mine don't smell sweet though - I think they may be stale as they're not in original packaging and could well be past their use by date. When I get around to it I'll try some of your Dodson & Horrell ones instead. Thanks for the tip! :)
 
missy said:
If you mean the barley grass, then I assume you can just grow it in shallow plastic trays and put a complete tray in their run for them to chomp down themselves, or just trim it down yourself as you would cut fresh herbs and feed it like that?

Now I'm being thick....I assume that barley grass is the stuff that barley straw is made from? Is there such a thing as barley hay? And if barley straw is unsuitable for pigs to eat, is the grass version definitely ok? (I'm assuming that because it's not dried out that the grass has good nutrients in it...is that right?)
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Is Barley straw unsuitable for them to eat? Is that just because it is sharp, or why? Mine have eaten it before.
 
Tracyxx said:
The pigs have been getting barley rings on alternate days and I have to tell you, the results are FANTASTIC! They are all much fatter and their coats are shinier. They taste a bit sweet, so they are a real hit with a pigs. If anyone is struggling to get weight on their pigs, try these, I beg you..I only wish I'd discovered them sooner.

I am also now giving them the option of Pets at Home nuggets or goat mix every day. It's a hit with probably 70% of the pigs and is cheap to buy in bulk (20kgs for £7 from Just For Pets) if anyone wants to try it.
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Do you mean you give the goat mix as a treat or as their main food instead of guinea pig food (with their veggies and hay and all that too)? Is it much the same as guinea pig food? Thanks :)
 
CiaraPatricia said:
Is Barley straw unsuitable for them to eat? Is that just because it is sharp, or why? Mine have eaten it before.
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I could be wrong but I've always understood it to have very little nutritional value. I'm not aware of any reason why it'd be unsafe to eat but I think it's just not really beneficial as part of a guinea pigs' diet - it'd help wear down their teeth but that's about it.
 
missy said:
I could be wrong but I've always understood it to have very little nutritional value. I'm not aware of any reason why it'd be unsafe to eat but I think it's just not really beneficial as part of a guinea pigs' diet - it'd help wear down their teeth but that's about it.
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Thanks :) I used to use straw as bedding for mine, with hay on top, and if they finished the hay then they'd eat the straw a bit. I know straw is meant to be too sharp to use, but I find some hay just as sharp! I haven't used it in a while but just wanted to make sure it's ok for them to eat. Thanks
 
Just to say that my guinea pigs have been having each night a couple of barley rings and their coats are SO shiny. I also haven't had any skin problems this summer with them. It is the first time that my oldest one (5 years old) hasn't had to be treated for any skin problems. Could just be sheer coincidence but I can say how shiny their coats are.
 
Joey&Gizmo said:
Thank you for adding that list! My boys also love the naturals range and i did buy my healthy treats from Pampered piggys, but since she has shut down its been hard searching for natural safe treats, now i have a great list thank you Tracy.

:)
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yeah my drizzle loves the alpha bales! does anywhere do a cheaper copy of those do you know?gemx
 
WOW I have learnt so much after reading this post. I didnt know you could give piggies oats n wheat let alone barley rings. I am so glad I joined this forum yesterday and wish I knew about it a long time ago. I'm off to search for some nice treats for my babies lol.
 
Klangdon said:
tomatoes! tis the season =)
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can you give piggies tomatoes? my dad grew loads this year...


Also... these "barlet rings" are these a treat or an extra to add to their complete food?

My lot don't like those petshopp styled guinea treat sticks at all... so iam looking for something ideal like these rings. :)

Esther x
 
I've tried mine with several different bought treats but they never seem bothered and usually just get wasted, I've never tried them with treats like the dried herbs ect. Can piggys have fresh chives?
By Bran do you mean bran flakes cereal?
 
I have noticed that my piggies love to eat the plants that grow from wild bird seed.Goodness knows what they are but they grow very quicly and the piggies love them.
 
4Pigs said:
I've tried mine with several different bought treats but they never seem bothered and usually just get wasted, I've never tried them with treats like the dried herbs ect. Can piggys have fresh chives?
By Bran do you mean bran flakes cereal?
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I got my bran from Holland and Barret's for 89p i think for a big bag (it was definitely under £1), the boys love it! Its in the cooking/cereal section and its called wheat bran, they arent like the cereal bran more like tiny tiny flakes if that makes sense. Just found a link so you know what it looks like.

http://www.healthysupplies.co.uk/organic-wheat-bran-250g-infinity.html

:)
 
Joey&Gizmo said:
I got my bran from Holland and Barret's for 89p i think for a big bag (it was definitely under £1), the boys love it! Its in the cooking/cereal section and its called wheat bran, they arent like the cereal bran more like tiny tiny flakes if that makes sense. Just found a link so you know what it looks like.

http://www.healthysupplies.co.uk/organic-wheat-bran-250g-infinity.html

:)
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Thats the same stuff you can feed mealworms when bought from a petshop ;) do you just mix this bran in with their food? or scatter is around... i suppose you have the problem of it being very fine they can't pick it up tho?
 
Curlycritter said:
Thats the same stuff you can feed mealworms when bought from a petshop ;) do you just mix this bran in with their food? or scatter is around... i suppose you have the problem of it being very fine they can't pick it up tho?
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Oh didnt know that about the mealworms!:(|)

I put a tablespoon in each bowl and they hoover it all up. It is messy and sometimes i find bits stuck in the fleece but its easy to sweep up.

:)
 
Curlycritter said:
can you give piggies tomatoes? my dad grew loads this year...


Also... these "barlet rings" are these a treat or an extra to add to their complete food?

My lot don't like those petshopp styled guinea treat sticks at all... so iam looking for something ideal like these rings. :)

Esther x
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Piggies will go crazy for tomatoes at least mine does rolleyes
 
Joey&Gizmo said:
Oh didnt know that about the mealworms!:(|)

I put a tablespoon in each bowl and they hoover it all up. It is messy and sometimes i find bits stuck in the fleece but its easy to sweep up.

:)
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that just looks like weetabix @)
 
i tried my pigs on bran tonight and they didnt eat it I'm gutted hahaha.

david wont eat barley rings either.
 
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