Feeding Grass And Preparing Your Piggies For Lawn Time

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Maddykins said:
Is cat wee/poo poisonous too? Sorry if that's a stupid question.
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It's not a stupid question, and yes cat (or dog or fox) wee and poo are most definitely to be avoided. If you know that animals like this are in the vicinity (even if you can't see the "evidence") don't put your piggies out on that grass.
 
My guineas are currently being treated for a mild URI which they had developed before we bought them, our vet says it's fine to let them go in the run outside but they've never been out on the grass before. Are there any extra precautions I should take as they aren't feeling their best?
 
I've got an electric mower with a grass collecting box, can I put my piggie out on the grass after I've cut it
 
tonimilw said:
I've got an electric mower with a grass collecting box, can I put my piggie out on the grass after I've cut it
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Yes, you can! Just remove any large accumulations of fermenting cut grass that may have accidentally landed in the run area in order to prevent bloating.
 
Thanks very much. I thought I could but just wanted to be sure
 
Sue G said:
It's not a stupid question, and yes cat (or dog or fox) wee and poo are most definitely to be avoided. If you know that animals like this are in the vicinity (even if you can't see the "evidence") don't put your piggies out on that grass.
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Uhh I've been putting my piggies out on the lawn all summer, and I get cats and foxes visiting (no dogs). What am I going to do? I do inspect the area beforehand...
 
quick question I thought taking guinea pigs out on the field or grass increases the chance of them getting lice/mites/ringworm and how could u avoid this
 
There is not a great more risk of them picking up any fungal or parasites (skin parasites are species speicific anyway), but I wouldn't take guinea pigs out on a field that is open to cattle, dogs and foxes etc. as dog pee is poisonous.

Where are you located? It is certainly not the time of year to put any piggies out on the grass at the moment in the northern hemisphere.
 
Wiebke said:
There is not a great more risk of them picking up any fungal or parasites (skin parasites are species speicific anyway), but I wouldn't take guinea pigs out on a field that is open to cattle, dogs and foxes etc. as dog pee is poisonous.

Where are you located? It is certainly not the time of year to put any piggies out on the grass at the moment in the northern hemisphere.
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I live in the West Midlands and I wasn't going to put any guinea pigs outside, I don't even own any yet I was just asking for information because I read somewhere that they get those types of stuff
 
Ashtree122 said:
I live in the West Midlands and I wasn't going to put them guinea pigs, I don't even own any yet I was just asking for information because I read somewhere that they get those types of stuff
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Piggies can get fungal or skin parasites anywhere, even indoors, more likely when their immune system is subdued either from stress or after an illness. If you have them diagnosed and treated promptly and appropriately, they are not a major problem. ;)
 
Thank you for the reminder about what to do about grass. I want my trio to go out but there are a few cats roaming near my parents. I might try the seed tray idea. They loved the garden in our old house.
 
Why are daisies bad? You can feed them unlimited to rabbits, I'd assume the same would apply to guinea pigs?
 
very informative,ive just started giving small amounts of redigrass twice a week.do not intend to let them outside until its 15 degrees and above consistently.
 
Teddy and Pom are enjoying their second ten minute stint on the lawn as I type! They went out Sunday for the first time and ten minutes was plenty, they were stuffing that grass in! I'm going to stick with daily short bursts for quite a while as the lovely spring grass comes through.

Interesting to hear about the dog wee. We have two dogs and although they generally don't use the lawn as they have a separate run they do occasionally wee out there. I've never had a prob with my pigs, although I guess that the dogs generally would do it round the edges where the pigs don't go. Would pigs avoid a patch of wee grass if they had the option of other grass, or are they non discriminate about what they eat?
 
I believe that daisies (white petals, yellow centre) are okay for rabbits and guinea pigs. I always pick daisies for my piggies when I can find them and they have never done any harm.
It is Buttercups (all-yellow flowers) that must be avoided as they are poisonous.
 
Very gratefu to Wiebke for starting this thread.

Lots of very valid questions... we will do our best to answer all of them as time permits.

Please bear wit us
x
 
pecanandnutmeg said:
How about dry grass that has been washed can they still eat it?
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I don't quite know what you mean by washing dry grass. But I reckon if you think you need to wash grass, then better to avoid it. Only cut long grass from areas that you are certain have not been soiled by animals or pesticides, like your garden. It is generally believed best NOT to feed wet greens, including grass. You can dry wet grass by rolling it in paper towels first. That's what I do anyway.
 
I'm also wondering about dog wee. My dog uses the garden and because he's a little he often wee's on their hutch/run. The piggies have been with us for two years and are perfectly healthy despite the possibility of dog wee on their grass, can they smell it and avoid it? Also, I didn't ease them into outdoor life last spring/summer (oops), except I gradually increased their time outside starting off with a morning or afternoon and increasing to all day and then 24/7. They were absolutely fine! I have already put them out in the run once this week but didn't see them step foot out of their hut, it was about 10℃ but sunny...still too cold or were they just not used to it? The weird thing is, they're a bit feral generally, really outgoing and one is really not fond of cuddles (annoyingly the one that has long hair and therefore needs the most care!) I feel bad bringing them in every winter and now they won't go out?!
 
Just had a thought. If you've moved into a new place with a garden, is it worth to wait to see if there's any wandering cats?
I'm going into a new house soon but think I'll hold back from grass time until I see if there's any and whether they just run around or go to the toilet.
 
As a matter of interest, what is the biological reason behind the idea of urine being poisonous?Plus why only dogs - what about horse, cow sheep? Have to say I've obviously had tough guineas as I'm quite sure they have had all the above peeing on their grass regularly. I am absolutely paranoid about any risk of pesticide or weed killer - but have never worried about urine up to now.
 
Great thread! My garden it FULL of moss. probably more moss than there is grass :( I haven't had the girls out this year yet but have had them out every other year and I don't think the moss has done any harm. Would they avoid eating the moss do you think?
 
My piggies have a triangular run with a wooden hidey bit at the end. Is it safe to leave piggys out in the rain? The run is not waterproof as I found out when I left some bedding in overnight when was raining heavily ...
At the first sight of rain I rush outside and bring my piggys inside.
 
Maisy and Poppy said:
My piggies have a triangular run with a wooden hidey bit at the end. Is it safe to leave piggys out in the rain? The run is not waterproof as I found out when I left some bedding in overnight when was raining heavily ...
At the first sight of rain I rush outside and bring my piggys inside.
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I used to have a run just like that, but mine was from a pet shop and was very bad quality so it fell to bits and I had to throw it away.

As your run is not waterproof, I personally wouldn't leave them out in the rain without a waterproof cover because they will most likely get cold and wet. If it starts raining while they're still outside in the run, that's fine as long as you bring them in as soon as possible. :) You could use tarpaulin, a shower curtain, a sheet of correx, etc. as a DIY waterproof cover for when it's raining? Although you would have to put the cover on before it rains so the ground isn't wet.

Last summer, there was a sudden downpour whilst one of my boars was outside in his run (it was the run I have now, which is a metal octagonal run with a sun cover, not waterproof though) so I had to hurry outside to bring him in. He was being a bit stubborn so it took a few minutes to get him out of the run, and during that time a couple of drops of rain fell on him and he did not like that! :))
 
So do you put them out for grass during the day and then bring them in to sleep during the summer or do yours have a separate outdoor hutch where they sleep for the summer months?
 
Wiebke said:
Normally, piggies won't eat moss; it doesn't taste nice, but it would be good if you kept off the worst areas.
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Just to be clear, does that mean I can let them run around on grass that has some moss as long as there's not a lot of it where they are?

There is quite a lot of moss on my lawn. A few times when my piggies have had lawn time before I realised it was moss, they never seemed to actually eat any of it.
 
Simba said:
So do you put them out for grass during the day and then bring them in to sleep during the summer or do yours have a separate outdoor hutch where they sleep for the summer months?
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They should only be out on the grass if it's dry and reasonably warm, and at first you should gradually introduce the grass to them so they don't get upset tummies. If it's not warm enough you can still hand pick grass for them, though you have to be sure the grass has not been fertilised or has been sprayed with pesticides, no animals have defecated on it (cats, dogs, foxes, etc.), and if the grass is soaking wet you can use a towel or kitchen roll to make it dry enough for them to eat.

What I do is put the piggies' run outside, wait for it to rain (As this is Britain I don't have to wait for long, haha) so it washes off anything that might be on there, and once it's dry, the run area will most definitely not have any animal waste in it because the rain washed it off.

Remember, as was mentioned in the first post, be wary of weeds that may be poisonous.

If it's warm enough but the grass is too wet, you can put something waterproof on the patio (e.g. correx, shower curtain) and place fleece on the top so they can have exercise. I suppose you could alternatively use loads of towels or kitchen roll to dry the grass, but you would have to be quite thorough.

As for where they go during the night (or any other time they can't go on the lawn), it's up to you whether they stay in a hutch or an indoor cage. Outdoor piggies who have lived outdoors for a while will be able to cope with colder temperatures better than indoor piggies, though it still shouldn't be too cold if they have lawn time. If you want your indoor piggies to move into an outdoor hutch, please wait for the weather to be a little warmer consistently so it's not too much of a temperature difference for them. Once the autumn/winter comes and it gets colder, they can still live outdoors because they are already used to the outdoor weather, but the hutch will need some insulation.
 
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