Fussy Eaters

[daw]

Hi everyone

We got our two boars a few weeks ago at 10 months. It seems previous owners gave them a limited diet because they are so fussy about which fruit/veg they will eat.

At the moment they will only eat broccoli, carrots, celery, Apple.

I have tried and they wont eat mushrooms, pepper, cucumber, strawberries, blueberries, banana, courgette, dandelion leaves, parsley.

If I keep presenting these foods will they start eating them or is it too late to get them interested in anything new?
mallethead

 

[EmJ]

I also have two fussy eaters!

I have been looking at the rate watchers diet but don't want to start it as I don't want the to go hungry!

Will be good to see what others have to say about getting them to eat different veg.

 

[lulu!]

might be wrong but i'm pretty sure mushrooms aren't suitable for pigs. someone else might be able to verify this.

i think what makes my pigs fussy is that they like variety. they tend to get bored of certain foods if they have them for too long, so i try to mix them up and give them at least two different kinds of food a week.

you might also find that as your pigs are both new to you and still quite young, it takes them a while to get used to a wide variety of foods- the fruits you're trying them with like blueberries have been quite hit and miss with my pigs. most of my pigs didn't have develop their preferences until they were at least a year old. they might just be still getting used to things, and you may find that in time they like a lot more.

 

[flips]

Some foods have been loved by my girls from the first try- parsley and green beans particularly. Others, such as coriander and green pepper have taken 4-5 attempts before they've been accepted. There are some things that they won't consider still- banana and dill are a definite no.

When I put the veggies in, I take the dry food out for about an hour to encourage them to eat up all their greens. Usually, when they realise there's not much else on offer they'll give the new things a try. It's worth varying how you chop/ serve veg. I like to put a whole cabbage leaf in sometimes- Flumpet seems to like the challenge and eats her way into it until she's sitting in the middle. |)

Soon after I got my pigs they stopped eating carrot. I tried them whole/ slice/ grated but they turned their noses up. Then I started putting some in when I went to bed and they wolf it down. Now carrot time is part of the night time routine and I just take it out of their dinner allowance of veg, so they're not actually getting any extra (shhhh... don't tell them).

So yes, persevere.