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Feeding Grass And Preparing Your Piggies For Lawn Time

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I don't know if this has been asked or not but What is the longest amount of time that a pig who is used to grass can go out?
Thanks
 
We have animals that come in our garden, plus the lawn is full of moss :( so looking like my girls won't be going out ....luckily I have a playpen for them lol

Would it be ok to feed them grass I pull if I wash it throughly to remove any animal waste and dry it with kitchen towel?

x
 
We have animals that come in our garden, plus the lawn is full of moss :( so looking like my girls won't be going out ....luckily I have a playpen for them lol

Would it be ok to feed them grass I pull if I wash it throughly to remove any animal waste and dry it with kitchen towel?

x

Could you fence off an area of grass (with a metal cover) that other animals can get to so you can create a safe area? Dog and fox pee is poisonous, so we do not recommend to feed guinea pigs from a lawn that is regularly visited/used by either species.

Alternatively, you could consider growing grass in several seed trays which you can then rotate.
 
Warmer spring weather is on the way - and that means the start of the lawn season!

How to provide the run
- Provide a shelter against wind and weather, as temperatures can drop quickly as soon as the sun has gone or a sudden shower crops up. Make sure that your piggies have access to hay to help balance the digestion and ideally a place slightly above the ground that is dry and warm, so they don't catch UTI (urinary tract infection).
- Remember to make a run safe against predator from above!
- Part of the run should always be out of the sun. Unless the day is really unseasonably warm, limit the first few times your piggies are outside to let them get used to it.
- make sure that any plastic hideys are out of the sun, as they quickly heat up and turn into ovens in full sun, especially on hotter days.

How to best prepare indoors guinea pigs for the lawn season
- Treat your guinea pigs like tender plants and accustom them to the outdoors slowly on sunny, warmish afternoons with sheltering away from wind if wished and well insulated from the still cool ground.
- Please remember to put indoors piggies only out on the grass for the first when it is warm and dry to your bare feet in order to prevent UTI (urinary tract infection).
- It would be good if you started to gradually accustom your piggies to fresh, rich grass once the new grass is gorwing out. Start with small ripped grass portions and then up the amount every time in order to avoid diarrhoea or, at the worst, bloat on their first full stay on the lawn with an unaccustomed digestion. This is especially important for young, frail or elderly guinea pigs!


Beware!
- Do not feed soaking wet or frozen grass; it can cause tummy upsets.
- Please do not feed lawn mower clippings; they ferment very quickly and can cause digestive problems.
- If you have treated your lawn, you need to wait until you have mowed the grass 3-4 times before it is safe for the piggies to graze.
- Please remember that dog and fox pee is poisonous to guinea pigs; make sure that you don't let them have any grass or fresh greens from places where dogs could have toileted - this applies parks and road verges, too. Fresh dog pee can kill!
- Creeping buttercup and moss are poisonous. Too many daisies are also not good to eat.
 
Thank you for the advice, we have just got 2 little piggies who are still nervous, although parsley seems to be the way to their hearts! Once the weather improves I want to let them out on the grass, we've bought a run, so just waiting for the sun!
 
P
Could you fence off an area of grass (with a metal cover) that other animals can get to so you can create a safe area? Dog and fox pee is poisonous, so we do not recommend to feed guinea pigs from a lawn that is regularly visited/used by either species.

Alternatively, you could consider growing grass in several seed trays which you can then rotate.


I was thinking of getting a run now, washing the grass with a watering can repeatedly every day, and not moving the run, so I know that no animals has been on it by time I put the girls out in summer? Seems a shame to not let them on the grass , but obviously don't want to put them at risk xx
 
P


I was thinking of getting a run now, washing the grass with a watering can repeatedly every day, and not moving the run, so I know that no animals has been on it by time I put the girls out in summer? Seems a shame to not let them on the grass , but obviously don't want to put them at risk xx

I would just cut the grass short a couple of times, so you can be sure that everything is fine. By May, the grass in the run will definitely be safe, so your fur balls should be ready to catch most of the lawn season and enjoy it!
 
Warmer spring weather is on the way - and that means the start of the lawn season!

How to provide the run
- Provide a shelter against wind and weather, as temperatures can drop quickly as soon as the sun has gone or a sudden shower crops up. Make sure that your piggies have access to hay to help balance the digestion and ideally a place slightly above the ground that is dry and warm, so they don't catch UTI (urinary tract infection).
- Remember to make a run safe against predator from above!
- Part of the run should always be out of the sun. Unless the day is really unseasonably warm, limit the first few times your piggies are outside to let them get used to it.
- make sure that any plastic hideys are out of the sun, as they quickly heat up and turn into ovens in full sun, especially on hotter days.

How to best prepare indoors guinea pigs for the lawn season
- Treat your guinea pigs like tender plants and accustom them to the outdoors slowly on sunny, warmish afternoons with sheltering away from wind if wished and well insulated from the still cool ground.
- Please remember to put indoors piggies only out on the grass for the first when it is warm and dry to your bare feet in order to prevent UTI (urinary tract infection).
- It would be good if you started to gradually accustom your piggies to fresh, rich grass once the new grass is gorwing out. Start with small ripped grass portions and then up the amount every time in order to avoid diarrhoea or, at the worst, bloat on their first full stay on the lawn with an unaccustomed digestion. This is especially important for young, frail or elderly guinea pigs!


Beware!
- Do not feed soaking wet or frozen grass; it can cause tummy upsets.
- Please do not feed lawn mower clippings; they ferment very quickly and can cause digestive problems.
- If you have treated your lawn, you need to wait until you have mowed the grass 3-4 times before it is safe for the piggies to graze.
- Please remember that dog and fox pee is poisonous to guinea pigs; make sure that you don't let them have any grass or fresh greens from places where dogs could have toileted - this applies parks and road verges, too. Fresh dog pee can kill!
- Creeping buttercup and moss are poisonous. Too many daisies are also not good to eat.
 
Fantastic post I knew a lot of the information but was not aware of some of it. Also can I ask now my mother in law has become Ill and she is going to have to start saying with us 1 week every month, she has a spayed dog who although we will lock the garden gate we have but i can garrentee she will unlock it and let the femail dog onto the grass, if afterwards I wash the lawn thoroughly to get rid of any wee's and reminance of any dog bussiness, we cut the grass before letting our go out or will there still be a danger? If there's even a small danger I'll have to hide the key or find another way to grow grass indoors or something.
 
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Great post, thanks for sharing. I had no idea that dog pee was so dangerous! (Obviously, I would never feed my guinea pigs grass from a 'public' area as you never know what's happened to it, but I had considered putting them in my boyfriend's parent's garden over summer. unfortunately, they have dogs, so I will definitely reconsider this!)
 
If you know that a dog or dogs will be able to use your grass, the easiest and best thing to do, as Wiebke has said, is to fence them off from an area of grass. You can wash the grass after it has been pee-ed on, but the wee will still be in the earth. That just sounds like an awful lot of bother, too. :td:
 
I know you have't said this but is cat urine poisonous because i own cats and live in a cat neighbourhood
 
I know you have't said this but is cat urine poisonous because i own cats and live in a cat neighbourhood
We have an enclosed garden, but get cats in, try to shoo them away but I would like to know the answer to that also..
 
i can't shoo them away as my cats use the garden x
they urinate more in the bushes though so i think i'm safe

Cat urine is not acutely poisonous, but if possible, don't put the run where you have seen them urinate and remove any poos from around the lawn and borders in order to not risk fly strike on any piggies (especially frail ones that can't clean themselves well).
 
Thanks for that last year they all got stomach problems after the first day (a great reminder) x
 
@Wiebke If some piggies hasn't been on the grass in a long time, should I treat them as ones that hasn't been on before or just quickly introduce grass by putting some in the cage and then putting them out?
 
@Wiebke If some piggies hasn't been on the grass in a long time, should I treat them as ones that hasn't been on before or just quickly introduce grass by putting some in the cage and then putting them out?

I would introduce them to grass again over the course of at least two days to get the guts used to it.
 
Another question if that's okay - how long should piggies be on the grass? I just realised they've been on there since it was near turning six pm. It's nearly nine pm now and I'm wondering with all the grass if they still need the veggies tonight.
 
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