Fruit n veg selection

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AbiS

AbiS

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I was just wondering if folk thought it is better to give a wide selection of the same fruit and veg in small amounts every day or a larger amount of couple of things per day but change the menu each day. (I hope that makes sense).

At the moment Toby and Barney have daily:
Carrot
Melon
Pepper
Broccoli
Sweet potato
Celery
Cucumber
Parsley
Coriander
Basil
Salad leaves

They have small amounts of all of these every day. I worry that this is like us having the same thing to eat every day and so they might get bored and go off it. Would it be better to give them, for example, larger portions of melon and pepper one day and then broccoli and sweet potato the next? I think I would worry about giving larger amounts of broccoli in case they got bloaty.
 
Hiya

I think thsts a wide selection. As long as they have their dry food and constant hay too. Mine love cucumber and spinach but whatever they like and eat is great. Veg is better than fruit as its lower in sugar and piggies are prone to dental problems. I hope this helps.:))
 
Thanks for your response. I'm just worried they might get bored of the same things every day. Sometimes they dive into it like they are having a vegetable bath. Other times they chomp all the herbs then just wander off.

And yes - plentiful supply of timothy hay and nuggets
 
I have about 12 different veg in my fridge at any one time. On average they get 6 different things from this list every night as well as a handful out of a mixed bag of leaves. I feed small amounts. The 12 vary week by week as well, hope that makes sense? If I was to buy every single fruit and veg my guineas get one week I would have about 20 different kinds in my fridge, so I alternate daily and weekly.

That doesn't make much sense reading it back..?
 
That makes perfect sense. So I maybe just need to increase the amount a little bit and swap things around more. I gave them their veg this morning and so far they have eaten the herbs and melon and left everything else. They then have a handful of salad leaves (mixed bag) for supper which they always wolf down.

Am struggling to think of different things to try - so far we have a total paws down to mango, strawberries, grapes, nectarines, tomatoes, asparagus, peas, beans, sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower

Very fussy little piggies!
 
Mine have: Red, Yellow and Green Bell Pepper, Parsnip, Carrot, Brocolli, peas, runner beans, baby sweetcorn, apple, grapes, celery, lettuce, parsely, coriander, tomato, cucumber, spinach, rocket, dandelion, watercress, melon, strawberries and probably some more but I can't think of them right now! They have tried courgette and cabbage but we're big fans.
 
oh yes - mine don't like courgette either.
I only give them one colour of pepper at a time and swap depending on what in the fridge - I guess they do all taste different so there is a bit more variety.

It makes me laugh when I look at the random selection of fruit and veg the hubby and I eat now. Instead of the piggies getting our leftovers we are eating theirs! As long as we know our place in the herd! rolleyes
 
I'm almost 100% sure there's more guinea pig food in the fridge than human food. It comes to something when you tell your mum she can't have cucumber in her salad because you're saving it for the pigs! All part of being a slave haha
 
Everybody needs to find their own balance between how many different veg they can offer and what is practical before veg goes off. Ideally you aim for a wide range - but this is admittedly easier with more piggies than just a couple! There are also veg that should not be given daily.

I have my veg and fruit in three categories; the piggies get mostly fed from the first two, a selection of about 6-7 different veg in a day. I simply rotate and vary with the second group.

Daily: cucumber, chopped celery (because of the strings), pepper (1 slice), coriander(UK)/cilantro(US) (1 sprig)

2-3 times a week:
Fresh herbs (1 sprig per piggy is enough): parsley, dill, mint, basil, fennel.
veg: cabbages (like sweetheart, spring greens, savoy, green cabbage), crucifera (all parts of broccoli, cauli leaves); all these veg are a good source of vitamin C, but please feed them always as part of a mix and immediately take them off if you have a piggy with a tender digestion.
Lettuce (romaine), carrots, fresh beetroot (breaks up calcium, but makes washable pink pee); green beans or mangetout; sweetcorn (all parts of a cob); fennel and chard.
Fruit and tomatoes (too much too often can cause sores): apple, pear, halved seedless grapes, (organic) banana skin and fruit, strawberry (including green bits and whole leaves), melon. Don't feed stone fruit or exotic fruit.

Very occasional treat as high in calcium: kale, spinach, carrot greens.

I hope that that helps you to work out your own menu!
 
Everybody needs to find their own balance between how many different veg they can offer and what can be used up within a reasonable time. Ideally you aim for a wide range - but this is admittedly easier with more piggies than just a couple! There are also veg that should not be given daily.
I would recommend that you include more roast veg, vegetable soups, pizzas, curries or pasta sauces that have been bulked up with veg into your own diet to not waste too much! ;)

I have my veg and fruit in three categories; the piggies get mostly fed from the first two, a selection of about 6-7 different veg in a day. I simply rotate and vary with the second group.

Daily: cucumber, chopped celery (because of the strings), pepper (1 slice), coriander(UK)/cilantro(US) (1 sprig)

2-3 times a week:
Fresh herbs (1 sprig per piggy is enough): parsley, dill, mint, basil, fennel.
veg: cabbages (like sweetheart, spring greens, savoy, green cabbage), crucifera (all parts of broccoli, cauli leaves); all these veg are a good source of vitamin C, but please feed them always as part of a mix and immediately take them off if you have a piggy with a tender digestion.
Lettuce (romaine), carrots, fresh beetroot (breaks up calcium, but makes washable pink pee); green beans or mangetout; sweetcorn (all parts of a cob); fennel and chard.
Fruit and tomatoes (too much too often can cause sores): apple, pear, halved seedless grapes, (organic) banana skin and fruit, strawberry (including green bits and whole leaves), melon. Don't feed stone fruit or exotic fruit.

Very occasional treat as high in calcium: kale, spinach, carrot greens.

I hope that that helps you to work out your own menu!
 
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Thanks for your post Wiebke - that's really helpful. I guess all animals are the same - just because you love something and could eat your body weight in it doesn't mean its good for you (ahem...chocolate). From your post I think I really have to change the way I feed them because I have a funny feeling that I may be slightly overdosing them on a few things.
 
PS: Sweet potato goes in the second category. Mine are not all that keen on it, so I have got out of the habit of feeding it.
 
Sugar can be an issue in pigs with diabetes, or make them too fat. As piggies teeth continue to grow and wear, it's not an issue for the teeth themselves. I swear by a low calcium diet and never give any rich calcium veggies, not even as a treat, to the pigs.
 
Kind of worried I'm feeding them too many herbs!
Mine often get coriander and because it's such a big bunch and I've only got two piggies I give them quite a large handful (lots of sprigs).
Do you think this is a problem Wiebke? because you said you only feed each pig a single sprig?
 
I feed herbs sparingly because i've heard that too much is not good. I buy small bags where possible and they generally last me nearly 2 weeks. Since our old piggy used to get a lot of stones (we didn't realise why until too late) mine get very few veg that are high in calcium and when they do it's a tiny portion.
 
My pigs get whatever veg is reduced that night (we're talking 1p veg here!) as well as celery, cucumber and pepper daily. I grow lettuce, kale, spinach, carrots, radish, various herbs and beetroot for them so can easily take a few of the leaves to go in there. I have 4 piggies and I personally dont eat fruit or veg so it is not possible to have a wide selection as most ends up in the compost bin hence growing some myself as I can just take a bit off and leave the rest to keep growing. Two of my boars are middle aged lads are approx 3.5 years who get different veg to my younger lads who are approx 1.5 years. If I have only paid a few pence for their veg I dont mind feeding it to the compost bin :-) I use the one "cup" per piggy per day rule and dont feed as many pellets as the back of packet says to just because that keeps them eating their hay well.
 
I was thinking of trying them with baby corn. I'm not sure how to explain the presence of it in the fridge to hubby. I don't ever buy it for us because its expensive.

Nothing but the best for my babies!
 
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