Do Piggles Go Off Nuggets?

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AbiS

AbiS

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I have always swapped around the nuggets that Toby & Barney have so that if I ever run out and cant get to one shop they can have different nuggets from somewhere else so I never buy the same brand 2 times in a row. They have always been quite happy with Burgess mint, Burgess oregano & blackcurrant, P@H, selective, harringtons. They usually start chasing us at about 20:15 for their night night nug nugs but didn't bother last night and when I went to the fill the bowl (burgess oregano & Blackcurrant, they still have quarter of a bag left) I noticed that they hadn't finished their morning ones (they get 15g twice a day), this is very unlike them. I was concerned as I am already keeping an eye on Toby because he has a limp and had to start metacam last night however he ate his lettuce last night and veg this morning like it was the last meal he was ever going to see.

Anyway, I thought I would do a nugget test so got 2 little bowls and put some burgess in one and P@H in the other - they both came over to the bowls, sniffed them both and then dove into the P@H one. So I am no longer worried that they aren't interested in eating, just that they seem to have gone off one brand.

I was wondering if this is something that ever happens to other piggles and their nug nugs?
 
It hasn't happened to mine... yet! I did try the JR grainless pellets because we think we have a bladder piggie... all but the bladder piggie ate them! Ugh! lol.
 
Mine are really brand specific (and I wasn't smart enough to rotate brands so they are only used to one type.) Once when I couldn't get the brand and was out of food, I had to buy something else and neither of them would touch it! I eventually got their usual brand and tried mixing the two together so I would still use up the off-brand stuff, and they actually avoided the pellets they didn't like and only ate the other stuff. In the end I had to admit that they won and ended up throwing out a whole bag of food that wasn't up to standard for my pigs!
 
:D All of my girls have been on Harrington's and Bunny Basic for quite a long time now. They will empty the bowl of Harri's if left for long enough. Harrington's have recently changed the shape and size of their nuggets (again!) however. Now they are bigger and rounder. No problem for my girls, except for Maya, with Lymphoma. She won't eat the new Harri's even though the ingredients are the same, and has been eating just the Bunny. Funny girl.
 
AbiS said:
Tell me more.....!
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I'm not techy enough to be able to put a link to the thread about it, but I bought what I am sure is a dodgy batch of Excel, they ate one bowl full and instantly went off all food! Gradually I got them eating again, but one still won't touch anything she thinks of as prepared human type food - the sack of food went in the bin and I swore off pellets for life!
 
Bluebell said:
I'm not techy enough to be able to put a link to the thread about it, but I bought what I am sure is a dodgy batch of Excel, they ate one bowl full and instantly went off all food! Gradually I got them eating again, but one still won't touch anything she thinks of as prepared human type food - the sack of food went in the bin and I swore off pellets for life!
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Oh blimey - well I hope my 2 don't go that. They still haven't polished off their morning ones like they would normally do!
 
Yep, our 3 are a pita with nuggets!
They wont eat Science Selective (well, Theo will eat 1 or 2) they flat refuse P@H nuggets, and they hate, loathe and despise the Alfalfa bales! They will eat a mix of the Harringtons (once Lettie's favourite) and the Excel Oregano & Blackcurrent, but it has to be half and half mix, any difference in ratio and there is bedlam! Like last night, there was more Harringtons than Excel..... *fire in the hole* ! lol! x
 
Rosehip said:
Yep, our 3 are a pita with nuggets!
They wont eat Science Selective (well, Theo will eat 1 or 2) they flat refuse P@H nuggets, and they hate, loathe and despise the Alfalfa bales! They will eat a mix of the Harringtons (once Lettie's favourite) and the Excel Oregano & Blackcurrent, but it has to be half and half mix, any difference in ratio and there is bedlam! Like last night, there was more Harringtons than Excel..... *fire in the hole* ! lol! x
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Did they like the other nuggets to start off with though. My boys liked them all to start with but now seem to be going off them.
 
Mine have gone off Excell mint which always seemed to be their favourite before. I've mixed them with Nutri Pro to use the bag up but thry are being picked out and left.
 
Hmmmm, I am beginning to wonder about all these piggies going off their nuggets....................................:eek:
 
@AbiS - yes, all of them have gone about a third of the way down a bag before going off it!
At the moment - touch wood - they are happy with the Harringtons and the Excel as long as it's mixed, but I'm dreading them going off these!

I think to be honest, owners are getting more finicky, and wanting 'the best' for their animals (all of them not just piggies) combined with an increased knowledge of different types of problems with piggies and how different feeds can help or hinder.

When I was breeding, I mixed my own feeds, a combination of equine pasture mix, rolled barley, peas, Alfalfa and added vit c, all my piggies were fine, lived long lives - 8 was the average, some were 11/12 when they passed - and were very happy.
They did selectively eat, but all the food was eaten up and no one went off the mixture..... it's odd isn't it! lol!

x
 
@Rosehip, you know I'd been wondering about using horse mixture, when you compare the ingredients it's higher quality. I'm not using it for the pony at the moment though so thinking I'd finish up with too much. Which make of food did you use?
 
I used pasture mix - the one in the pink and white bag - Allen & Page I think :-) @Bluebell
I don't know if its a 'recommended' thing to do, so will shy away from advocating it, but in my opinion I can't see it doing any harm if mixed in little by little! xx
 
LOL Don't worry -after four decades of piggy keeping I don't rely too heavily on what's recommended, just what works for me and mine!
 
Me too :-) I'm the same with the horses, if it works, that'll do! haha! x
 
I've met a few people who do feed horse feeds to guinea pigs, pasture mix, even stud mix and also sugarbeet feeds you soak (they do it warm and serve like porrige in winter). I was intrigued as it goes against alot of the things advised for guinea pigs e.g. no mixes, no molasses, no grains but all their pigs looked fantastic on it! Having said that I wouldn't feed those things to my horse as she is a little piggie and so she just has to have a little bit of something with vitamins in. I currently stick to pellets for piggies as I figure all the tricky calculations about vitamins and protein etc will have been done for me!
 
Sugarbeet - marvellous stuff, the dogs have it - I can't imagine why I never thought of it for the piggies - going to try it, seeing as how using proper guinea pig food nearly finished mine off I'm def looking for a different way of feeding!
 
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