Feeding - Please Please Help

[Claire K]

My piggies are so fussy, its unbelievable. I am really worried though as the only fresh veg that they will eat at the moment is Kale, Parsley, Carrots, Cucumber and Cauli Leaves (incl stalks) - I have read on many threads/stickys that some of the above foods can not be given every day due to too much Calcium/bloating problems etc but i am at a loss as if i dont give these 5 to them, they wont eat anything else and wont get their recommended amount of veg each day.

Please Help !

 

[boureki]

Hmm, I have this problem with one of my boys, he won't eat peppers, French beans, corn or sometimes greens and will often pick at the other stuff he usually eats. Someone recommended that I give them a slightly smaller choice (ie four different foods rather than the usual 6 or 7 types that I give) and I felt mean doing it but it didn't seem to help in my case, but it may in yours.

Have you tried dill and coriander? Mine go crazy for coriander, especially fussy-pants Alanpig. They all turned their noses up at the coriander the first time I tried it but the second time they discovered that they liked it and devour it first every time. Have you tried persevering with a wider range of foods? Like my pigs, sometimes they refuse to eat new things but if you persevere they suddenly go for it. I'm sure you have, but it's worth mentioning anyway!

There is a safe food list sticky thread in the Food section of this forum if you have not already seen it

 

[Claire K]

Thanks Boureki - If i was to only give them 3 or 4 veg, how much of each would I have to give them?

I have tried Coriander, peppers, brussels, brocolli, cabbage, spring greens, mange tout, radishes, sweetcorn, celery but they wont touch it.

I have printed off a copy of the safe foods but am a bit confused as in the sticky about calcium ratios etc, there is a list of daily foods that can be given and also those foods that can be given rarely etc. Foods like cauli leaves, parsley etc are in the daily list yet some say not to give them too often - what do I do ?

x

 

[boureki]

Another difficult one! I can't really advise, but I can tell you what we do - we give parsley, spinach and kale about three times a week and it amounts to about a third of a cupful. We give these size bowls:

the pic was taken back in the days when we had less pigs and considerably more time (and money |)!) I put in some other items in the pic so you can see how big the bowls are in comparison. They also had a little more cucumber in this pic than they usually have as this was taken two years ago in summer when it was hot. We put in a little more so it's full to the top these days, it works out to around a cupful of veggies when chopped up etc.

I try to avoid too much carrot, I usually put in about two 1cm chunks of an average sized carrot per pig about every other day, I try to alternate every other day.

I give broccoli occasionally but not too much as I read that that and cabbage can cause bloat so that's a treat, but they love it. I never feed cabbage, only greens.

The Ca/ph issue is a tricky one and I try to not let it drive me to distraction, so I try and stick to what I said before about high Ca foods being fed no more than 4 times a week, usually three.

If it helps, I feed this:

Most days:
Greens
Celery
Cucumber
Coriander
Peppers (pref green)

Every other day roughly:
Carrot
Baby corn
French beans
Dill (if we have any in)
One cherry tomato (**** a bit less than every other day)

Three times a week or less/treats:
Spinach
Romaine / Little Gem lettuce
Kale
Parsley
Broccoli

I've probably missed some out as it's a bit early!

That hasn't really answered your question, sorry

 

[Banana]

That's really helpful, I've been trying to think how to expand my piggies repertoire as the only things they really like to eat in large quantities are broccoli, cabbage, cucumber, grass and dandelions, some of those obviously I don't want to feed every day. Everything else gets picked at or left untouched!

I've got a good feeling about celery so will be give that a try!

 

[Porky Pig]

Hi Banana!

Have you checked the sticky on Calciumh ration (in the food section of this forum)? Like you, I've been tearing my hair out with my fussy pig. Then, I've decided to follow the weekly menu in that thread. For example, at the moment, I am using the Week One menu:-

Morning
- 8 grams pepper
- 8 grams cucumber
- 4 grams kale
- 4 grams parsley

Evening
- 8 grams tomato (take out the seeds and gooey bits)
- 8 grams round lettuce
- 4 grams kale
- 4 grams parsley

Because there is a small amount of each, he eats everything.
For variety, I hope to move to the Week 2, 3 (etc) menus.
So far, so good - and he IS a fussy pig, like yours.

Hope you'll get them to eat well

 

[Banana]

Hi Banana!

Have you checked the sticky on Calciumh ration (in the food section of this forum)?

Yes I have, unfortunately my piggies either won't read it or just don't care. They get pepper in the morning every day as offcuts from my lunch salad but I'm lucky if they eat more than a tiny piece each, it's one of the things still lurking at the bottom of the bowl when I get home. I end up giving them more cucumber as at least it's fairly safe mineral wise!

I'm not sure how grass fits into this, but I always give them a big plateful of that every evening, and at least that goes down well.

I've never had piggies that weren't fussed about carrot before, they'll nibble a couple of bits and then leave it with the mange tout and fill up on hay.

Maybe it's because they're still babies, and they'll grow into wider tastes. After all, I didn't like curry when I was a kid.