Food Advice

[Jann]

Hi Friends,
Getting used to three piggies and eating habits. Can I stick mainly to the cabbage family, e.g. sprouts, cabbages, kale, as they love these. So many ideas on a variety of foods although they don't seem partial to peppers, courgettes, carrot, bean sprouts, etc. They laughed when I tried parsnip - as if!

They do like cabbage greens, lettuce, including peppery, parsley and absolutely go crazy for dandelions.

Is this all right? I want to ensure they don't have too much of one type due to overload of calcium etc. Or gas

But they won't do more than pick at everything else.

O and fresh corn cobs are fought over, but only when really fresh.

In addition they have bedding hay and rose hay, which they also love, plus the nuggets.


Many thanks

 

[Swissgreys]

I always think this thread offers a really good overview of a balanced piggy diet:
Recommendations For A Balanced General Guinea Pig Diet

I think the general rule of thumb is not to overfeed any one item.
For example parsley is high in calcium (Coriander is a better choice for daily feeding) but obviously a small amount a couple of times a week is fine.

I did find it took my lot a while to learn to love new things.
I feed fresh once a day, and what hasn't been eaten after an hour or two gets removed.

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

Generally the veg from the cabbage family are going to be higher in calcium (like kale which is my lots favourite!) and will cause more gas as well unfortunately.

All my pigs love things in that family, which is typical! You do have to be persistent (took a fair few tries to get them to like bell peppers but now they love them) because they are naturally suspicious of new foods.

Have you tried your lot with chard? That's a massive winner with all my pigs and a good alternative if you're trying to mix it up a bit

 

[Jann]

I always think this thread offers a really good overview of a balanced piggy diet:
Recommendations For A Balanced General Guinea Pig Diet

I think the general rule of thumb is not to overfeed any one item.
For example parsley is high in calcium (Coriander is a better choice for daily feeding) but obviously a small amount a couple of times a week is fine.

I did find it took my lot a while to learn to love new things.
I feed fresh once a day, and what hasn't been eaten after an hour or two gets removed.

Generally the veg from the cabbage family are going to be higher in calcium (like kale which is my lots favourite!) and will cause more gas as well unfortunately.

All my pigs love things in that family, which is typical! You do have to be persistent (took a fair few tries to get them to like bell peppers but now they love them) because they are naturally suspicious of new foods.

Have you tried your lot with chard? That's a massive winner with all my pigs and a good alternative if you're trying to mix it up a bit

 

[Jann]

Thank you Swissgreys
Will try coriander. Ty for the link. I did read it, though these piggies seem a bit fussy with a lot of the things tried so far..

I thought twice daily for fresh foods. So it can be once, just enough to get extra nutrients. I don't want to give too much yet make sure they have what they need to be happy.-
Thank you for your advice x

 

[Jann]

Thank you Cavy Kung-Fu. I will get some chard if my shop have it.
And keep persisting offering other things. So grateful.

 

[rome_italy]

here cale is never suggested, because of oxalates and the risk of bloating... My piggies lived into a rescue and learnt to eat only very few vegs, but they are the good ones; bell pepper, for example (and 2-3 other vegs only).
But you did not mention the fresh grass which is their main veg and can substitute all vegs when you find a great variety of wild grass. After 3 months of drought, now in Rome with some thunderstorms I am seeing a new heaven in the local parks, with new soft grass and a great variety. My piggies are eating almost only grass now.
I suggest you to mix the vegs (not too much, because they might cause bloating or an excess of sugar or calcium) with a great amount of fresh grass which is very good also for eroding the teeth. Usually piggies love fresh grass, but they have their strict preferences and you will learn to distinguish a type of grass from another one.
Picked up grass can be kept fresh into a plastic bag into the fridge and you can wash it as you do with normal salad (better if you have a salad spinner). Anyway I don't wash it.

 

[Jann]

here cale is never suggested, because of oxalates and the risk of bloating... My piggies lived into a rescue and learnt to eat only very few vegs, but they are the good ones; bell pepper, for example (and 2-3 other vegs only).
But you did not mention the fresh grass which is their main veg and can substitute all vegs when you find a great variety of wild grass. After 3 months of drought, now in Rome with some thunderstorms I am seeing a new heaven in the local parks, with new soft grass and a great variety. My piggies are eating almost only grass now.
I suggest you to mix the vegs (not too much, because they might cause bloating or an excess of sugar or calcium) with a great amount of fresh grass which is very good also for eroding the teeth. Usually piggies love fresh grass, but they have their strict preferences and you will learn to distinguish a type of grass from another one.
Picked up grass can be kept fresh into a plastic bag into the fridge and you can wash it as you do with normal salad (better if you have a salad spinner). Anyway I don't wash it.

Ty rome-italy. I have no garden grass. Lol with such a full food list posted on the forum, I didn't even think of it! I will gather some grass for them in place of kale. Thank you !

 

[Lorcan]

For stuff like cucumber and by extension parsnips, have you tried them with the baby versions? My two wouldn't eat cucumber til I gave them baby cucumber and now even normal cucumber gets squabbled over, similar thing happened with parsnip/baby parsnip.

 

[Jann]

For stuff like cucumber and by extension parsnips, have you tried them with the baby versions? My two wouldn't eat cucumber til I gave them baby cucumber and now even normal cucumber gets squabbled over, similar thing happened with parsnip/baby parsnip.

Thank you! I will buy some today. Grateful thanks.

 

[rome_italy]

Ty rome-italy. I have no garden grass. Lol with such a full food list posted on the forum, I didn't even think of it! I will gather some grass for them in place of kale. Thank you !

Of course I also don't have a garden. Now I am going to the park, in summer months when it was all burnt by the hot, I used to go to private green areas around certain buildings... my vet told me he used to go to the cemetery! ahaha! everyone has his own secret zone for rabbits and piggies. Now we have some rain again and the grass is available. Maybe you also can find some good grass now. It is very good for their gut. Of course at the beginning try with a handful; then they will eat grass even in huge amounts (they won't become fat for an excess of grass/hay)

 

[Jann]

Of course I also don't have a garden. Now I am going to the park, in summer months when it was all burnt by the hot, I used to go to private green areas around certain buildings... my vet told me he used to go to the cemetery! ahaha! everyone has his own secret zone for rabbits and piggies. Now we have some rain again and the grass is available. Maybe you also can find some good grass now. It is very good for their gut. Of course at the beginning try with a handful; then they will eat grass even in huge amounts (they won't become fat for an excess of grass/hay)

Brill. Ty so much x