Going Pelletless!

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I know what you mean, but I was thinking about this earlier, and I think all vitamin D3 is animal derived... I'm not 100% certain on this, but I think it is - either from lanolin (sheep) or fish. This is already in the Cavy Cuisine pellets, so... *brain explodes* :{
 
And given that Vit D is made in an animals body when exposed to sunlight, I suppose it makes sense...

My brain exploded last night too as seen in the Hay Ramblings thread, trying to retrieve the pieces this morning. :))

~

Moving onto the next two weeks, phase two, of the pelletless diet today. Removing all pellets at night, regardless of whether the bowls are empty or not.

It will make no difference at all to any of them, since all bowls are now empty by the evening anway (and Delilah and Sophia always leave what scattering of pellets remain at night).

I'll post their weights and any changes after the weigh in later this morning.
 
A pelletless diet has always intrigued me. With me being a diabetic and also me and my mom suffer from migraines, my house are big fans of eating more organic foods. Even our other animals eat organic cat or dog food. I do feel that pellets are more of a easy way. But if they are getting enough hay and a verity of fresh vegges, what really is the reason for pellets? My girls aren't over wight but i think it would be heather for them. I think Stella would have the hardest time though. She dives to the bowel. :<> I think i will be doing more looking and thinking. If i were to switch over i have to pick up a new scale before anything. hmmm The wheels are turning. ?/
 
It really does make you think!

Weigh in this morning threw out some big surprises...I had to weigh a couple of pigs two or three times to be sure. I am comparing the weights to the start of the project, not last weeks weigh in:

Dexter: -30g
Gwenivere: -46g
Saffron: -19g
Breanna: -22g
Jasmine: -29g
Willamina: equal

Franklyn: -11g
Meghan: -31g

Delilah: -35g
Sophia: +57g

Elijah: -17g
Errol: -26g

Pandora: +46g
Harrison: -17g

Biggest shock for this weeks weight fluctuations alone, was Sophia...she gained an extra80g..where that has come from I do not know. I am glad to see Meghan finally dropped some weight after last week's surprise gain, she remains a bit more portly than she should be. There have been a few 30g-ish (1oz) losses this week, but no change in body condition, and they aren't acting starved (despite the increase in volume of wheeks this last week). And overall, as you can see, the weights are actually pretty stable.
 
I have made the decision to take Delilah and Sophia off the pelletless project. The others will continue provided they manage as well as they have done so far.

I was cuddling Delilah tonight and felt her body condition has gone down a little, she feels lighter and a bit bonier than usual; upon weighing her she has dropped further weight to 910g (25g weight loss in four days) so I believe it is not working for her, I'm not willing to let her drop any more weight. As she lives with Sophia, the two of them will keep pellets in their diet.

I do have a backup plan in force now, if it comes to only Dexter himself going pelletless. He and one of his girls will live free-range in my bedroom throughout the day while all other piggies have their pellets, and he'll return to the cage in the evening when the pellets have been removed. As everyone else is still doing well, I'll continue with the project - just bearing the backup plan in mind in case I feel it is not working for other guineas!
 
Well good for you having a back up plan. And lucky the two you are taking off it are living together. That's good news.
 
I gave Delilah and Sophia some additional pellets last night, around 50g (two handfuls) of Science Selective instead of Wagg Optimum (which they were mostly leaving throughout the project), and it's all gone this morning. I'll give extra to help Delilah get back up to weight and then cut it back to the usual amount.

The girls have both been eating a *lot* more hay than normal the last few days so her weight loss surprised me, and there is no change in the pellet routine for the girls, but the fact the weight loss continued was becoming a problem.

I guess sometimes, some pigs need a safety net.
 
It is going well thanks Danni. :)

Delilah and Sophia have put themselves pretty much pelletless - so much for my decision to take them off the project! Delilah's weight is thus holding at the 920g area, no loss though so perhaps giving them the choice is best for them.

I am going to split the group of 6 up into two groups of three, the cages are being redesigned with a view to having Dexter, Gwen & Jasmine in one group (the quieter, older pigs with specific needs i.e. Dexter's tummy, Gwen's heart, Jasmine being the oldest of the six ) and the three youngsters Saffron, Bree and Willa in a separate group.

This means that, if it comes to it, I can easily have only three of 14 pigs (Dexter and the two girls) pelletless. Having Dex as part of a smaller group will ensure that meeting his dietary needs is much easier.

Everybody's weight was stable this week, only fluctuations of a few grams either way, hence no updates on that.
 
I've thought about skipping pellets during the Summer months and then re-introducing them in Winter. However, I'd feel much happier doing this if my (outdoor) guinea-pigs were free-range: had free access to the garden and so could pick-and-choose the plants they ate (avoiding poisonous ones, of course), as I think animals have an innate ability to choose foods based on what their bodies need at a particular time. My guinea-pigs were free-range during the day when I was a child and it worked really well. My current mob are out in a run on a very weedy lawn all day, every day (except during heavy rain), from Spring through to late Autumn. I also try and put them out in the Winter on mild days. I feel happier that the lawn is full of weeds, but they're still limited to whatever plants are on the lawn. I do pick weeds for them at night though as I think they're far more nutritious.

Laura, if you're going to go pellet-less I'd seriously consider growing/picking weeds for your guinea-pigs - they're far more nutritious than commercially-grown stuff, as plants start to lose nutrients the moment they're picked.
 
Laura, have you noticed anything around reduction of gas yet? Apologies if I've missed a post/update. I'm seriously starting to think that pellets aren't good for my 'gassie Cassie'.
 
Update:

I am pleasantly surprised by the latest weigh ins. They have been entirely without pellets since 12 March - not intentional, I just ran out and haven't bought any in yet!

Since the start of the Going Pelletless Project, on 1 February, the pigs weights have changed as follows:

Dexter: -60g
Gwenivere: -72g (diagnosed with a heart condition and started medication so despite a large loss prior to diagnosis, her weight is now increasing)
Saffron: -37g
Breanna: -56g
Jasmine: -33g
Willamina:- -16g

Franklyn: -47g
Meghan: -58g

Delilah: -32g
Sophia: +90g (don't ask how!?)

Elijah: -57g
Errol: -104g

Pandora: +50g
Harrison: -66g

Delilah and Sophia had been taken off the pelletless project. Despite being given pellets 24/7 again they ate nothing overnight, and they have also been completely pelletless since 12 March and there's been no weight loss. So, at least for now, they're back on the project.

I'm playing it by ear with every pig, but so far all of them seem so much better off for not being on pellets. They do not miss them, they don't wait for them in the morning any more, and their weight has actually been more stable the fewer pellets they've had. Dexter especially has made an incredible improvement - not gassy or "backed up" at all. The long-standing tightness and tenderness on his underside is gone, I can pick him up easily now whereas before he detested being handled due to the pain from his tummy.

As you've suggested Furries, I am focusing more on natural forages. Many more hay varieties (we're on six at the moment!), grasses and - when the weather warms up - more natural weeds. I cannot give any dried herbs to Dexter although all the others can have them fairly often as more variety and forage. I am hoping fresh, natural weeds won't be a problem for him, I will be growing some along with the grasses I'm growing for them and also they'll be allowed to go out in the garden on the lawn a lot more as the weather warms up.
 
It has been some months since I last updated on this. After time having them off pellets, then back on pellets daily for a bit, I have found a middle ground I am happy with.

All the pigs - Dexter included - get pellets twice a week. I found that once I took on poorly pigs who needed pellets daily, my lot were missing their share.

The diet is about 97% hay, herbs, lettuces, some veg, some fruits (and of course water). The other 3% accounts for the pellets as they are still a part of the diet, but very nearly non-existant in the diet! Dexter hasn't suffered any bloating or tenderness in his abdomen either.

I'm happy, pigs are happy, it's all good. It was a worthwhile project even though I did full circle at one point. :)
 
Sounds like you've found a happy compromise for everyone. Well done.

I've been starting to cut back on pellets now the girls are older but they keep making me feel guilty. I'm persevering as I know they don't need as much now. They're definitely eating more hay which has increased pooping capacity. rolleyes Wait til I tell them your pigs only get pellets twice a week!
 
I had considered the possibility of no pellets for my two shortly after I got them. But being a first time owner with lots to learn another forum put me off the idea and I was told pellets were needed.

Great to see this thread and that it is common in other countries to feed no pellets. I'd certainly considering reducing the amount of pellets I feed my two now.

I'm feel a diet as close to nature does animals good. My dogs are raw fed. The piggies would likely benefit from a more natural diet.

This thread is great. Thanks for keeping it updated! 8)
 
That sounds great! I would take mine off of pellets completely if I had the money for enough fresh food. (Actually I wonder, if I tried hard to find bargains veggies, would it be much more expensive than buying pellets!) In the summer they hardly eat their pellets anyway if they've enough veggies, grass and hay. For outdoor pigs like mine, I'd be a bit worried about them getting enough energy in the winter so would probably give in and let them have pellets!


Do you find they need a lot more veggies now? Or do they need a lot more hay?
 
More hay is the biggest thing Ciara, I feed the same amount of veggies as always. Grasses can make up a big part of the diet where possible. :)
 
Thanks for the update. :)

I'm currently trying to reduce porky and gassy Cassie's pellets down, although she also can't tolerate a great deal of veg.
 
I feel a bit bad bumping this up, but thankyou for this thread Laura, i've recently been considering removing dry food from Pirate and pickwick's diet at least as theyre both big boys and really dont eat that much, i do feed them less than i used too and more Hay's since we started buying from our local farm and they have so many differnt sorts. It's been very informative, i'm going to have a mull over it.
 
I was going to start a new thread on vitamin D, but I've decided to add to this one. Basically, I've been doing some more reading about it, and have had some more thoughts.

In humans it is thought that a lack of vitamin D can allow excess calcium to not be absorbed by the body, and therefore cause issues within it (build up in the arteries etc). Given that piggies are prone to calcium issues in the bladder/kidneys, I can't help but think that this might be a factor for indoor pigs.

I understand that vitamin D can be found in hay, particularly golden hays, but I do wonder whether indoor and outdoor piggies might have their own special needs and greater vitamin D needed for indoor (eg. more pellets, or other supplementation).

Just a thought anyway.

edit: forgot to mention, I do also wonder about the use of reptile UV lamps, eg. the Reptisun, which appears to have had studies proving that it can raise vitamin D levels. I wonder whether it would be too hot, bad for the eyes, unsafe etc etc etc.
 
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