Going Pelletless!

Status
Not open for further replies.
My exotic vet advocates no pellets for buns or pigs, obviously you need to get the balance of vitamins right in the veg and hay.

I give mine a few handfuls per day - if I gave them unlimited they would be absolutely massive! :))
 
Weight checks today, one week into the "Going Pelletless Project":

Dexter: -59g down to 1441g (most of that was his bloat last week; going on the week before, his normal weight, he's lost only 1g!)
Gwenivere: -27g down to 1017g
Saffron: -35g down to 1214g
Breanna: -30g down to 1003g
Jasmine: -33g down to 1301g
Willamina: -7g down to 968g

Franklyn: -13g down to 1127g
Meghan: +1g up to 1266g (I am shocked! She has slimmed down but scales are sure she's 1g heavier.)

Delilah: -10g down to 960g
Sophia: -23g down to 1161g

Elijah:- +20g up to 1118g
Errol: -20g down to 1228g

Pandora: +21g up to 1024g
Harrison: -16g down to 1057g

Overall, those who have lost weight so far have generally dropped one ounce, or just below one ounce. (With a few exceptions of 7g/10g drops etc. and, somehow, a few gains.)

I am truly surprised by Meghan's weight gain...even if it is only 1g. She feels and looks slimmer but I weighed her a number of times and she is definitely 1g heavier than last week.
Errol has clearly just handed his share of pellets over to Elijah, interesting how one lost 20g and the other gained it.
I'm really pleased with Willa, she is the smallest in size so to only lose 7g is good - she probably doesn't usually get a look in at pellets anyway so a pelletless diet won't make much difference to her!
Delilah, my lovely golden oldie, only dropped the 10g which isn't a worry at all. Her and Sophia are barely touching their pellets at all now, they seem to be making the decision for themselves.

This afternoon I think I'll be off in search of hay, hay and more hay. Might try the local farm/equestrian centre and see if they'll let me see a bale before buying. It's only down the road so I'm sure I'll manage. :))
 
Simulating the grazing type foraging they would have in the wild means feeding them little and often with a variety of hays. I try to keep at least three or four varieties here and find it all gets eaten provided they only have a very small quantity given to them at a time. The "newness" of a tiny handful of a new hay seems to stimulate them into eating rather than if they have lots put in all in one go, then they eat initially then leave the rest.
Click to expand...



I find this too - esp with the dust free hay - they will eat it in their run but not in the cage. But I am pleased they will eat a little bit of it from time to time. I think (hope) it stops them being fussy.

That's another reason I keep using a cheap soft sweet bedding hay in hay lofts - then mixing in the readigrass or a different hay to give a wide variety of hay. They and I love their hay lofts as they forage round them for ages picking out the stuff they like. It's the fav place for all of my guineas.

My lot are all young (except for the 2 chippenham rescues - I have no idea how old they are) so this isn't something I would try but I am interested in the results.
 
Laura-CCC4 said:
Weight checks today, one week into the "Going Pelletless Project":

Dexter: -59g down to 1441g (most of that was his bloat last week; going on the week before, his normal weight, he's lost only 1g!)
Gwenivere: -27g down to 1017g
Saffron: -35g down to 1214g
Breanna: -30g down to 1003g
Jasmine: -33g down to 1301g
Willamina: -7g down to 968g

Franklyn: -13g down to 1127g
Meghan: +1g up to 1266g (I am shocked! She has slimmed down but scales are sure she's 1g heavier.)

Delilah: -10g down to 960g
Sophia: -23g down to 1161g

Elijah:- +20g up to 1118g
Errol: -20g down to 1228g

Pandora: +21g up to 1024g
Harrison: -16g down to 1057g

Overall, those who have lost weight so far have generally dropped one ounce, or just below one ounce. (With a few exceptions of 7g/10g drops etc. and, somehow, a few gains.)

I am truly surprised by Meghan's weight gain...even if it is only 1g. She feels and looks slimmer but I weighed her a number of times and she is definitely 1g heavier than last week.
Errol has clearly just handed his share of pellets over to Elijah, interesting how one lost 20g and the other gained it.
I'm really pleased with Willa, she is the smallest in size so to only lose 7g is good - she probably doesn't usually get a look in at pellets anyway so a pelletless diet won't make much difference to her!
Delilah, my lovely golden oldie, only dropped the 10g which isn't a worry at all. Her and Sophia are barely touching their pellets at all now, they seem to be making the decision for themselves.

This afternoon I think I'll be off in search of hay, hay and more hay. Might try the local farm/equestrian centre and see if they'll let me see a bale before buying. It's only down the road so I'm sure I'll manage. :))
Click to expand...

Do let us know how you get on with the hay.
 
Thanks Lisa. :)

I ordered some Dust Free hay, the ten bale deal - £40 for 25kg. Five soft and five stalky.

If the quality is good enough, I'll think about buying in this quantity of Dust Free Hay and just the one 22kg box of Oxbow, and see how we go.
 
Last edited:
Mine are pelletless as adviced by the rescue I got them from. When I joined this forum I felt I was doing something wrong because most pigs in here seem to have food bowls all the time. I had bought a bag of Oxbow Cavy Cuisine before I knew that the rescue didn't approve of pellets and they have been getting a tablespoon between them as a treat maybe twice a week, but then I scatter it all over the cage so that they have to look for it.

All of mine are healthy weight, Bo may even be on the tubby side at 1260...

Just wanted to say that though you may be a pioneer of sorts, a pelletless diet is not uncommon in Sweden. Lots of piggies thrive on it and I don't think you'll have any problems. I hope it's good for Dexter!
 
keep us updated!

I've been reading up a bit about the dried processed foods for pets recently (I admit, for the new kitty, and rescued pedigree dog who is highly likely to develop serious health probs as he ages, rather then piggies, the research concerns the expensive brands of dried food, and may apply to piggie pellets too). A lot of people think that the processed foods are a poor comparison to a fresh alternative.
 
It is all common sense, so it doesn't surprise me at all that other countries - Germany, Sweden - don't have guinea pig pellets as a part of the diet.

If I'm being harsh, but totally truthful, pellets are a convenience and a safety net; nothing more.

I am very excited about getting the pigs off pellets and onto just hay, grasses and veggies, and it is great to hear there are quite a few others who are already feeding a pelletless diet successfully.
 
Thanks for starting this very interesting thread. It's something I've thought about a lot. Particularly since I have a very gassy overweight piggy, and because I had some bunnies that did well on a pellet-free diet. In fact, I am actually starting to think that pellets are actually bad for bunnies, rather than just not always good, if that makes sense.

I do have a concern though, and that's not vitamin C but vitamin D. I can't see how I could ensure that my indoor piggies get enough vitamin D from hay and veggies alone, when they aren't regularly out in the sun (since vitamin D can't be absorbed through windows).
 
Good point worth mentioning Sarah, will follow that up. The same concern would go for pigs living in sheds year round etc...any pigs at all that don't go outdoors.

With a pelletless diet, I think many owners will be naturally more inclined to ensure they go outside to graze on the grass, since they are giving their pigs a more natural diet and that includes grass. It all comes together a bit more...they'd then get the Vit D from the sunlight.

I'll certainly do some more research on this.
 
I'll be really really interested to hear what you find out. I've been doing a lot of reading on the importance of vitamin D for humans and, given the quality of our summers (very wet and short-lived!), for indoor pets who only get to go out occasionally, like mine, I'm sure they wouldn't get enough vit D from the sun alone.
 
There are two thoughts I've got at the moment.

1) Guinea pigs won't need a huge amount of Vit D. Humans only need 10-15 mins three times a week to maintain the minimum. For piggies, just 10 mins twice a week is probably more than adequate.

2) UV lamp indoors.

Will see if I can gather some more thoughts from various people and places.
 
Would a 'daylight' bulb be ok?

My piggies are moving soon and will not have a window, so although the door will be open when weather allows, it's something I've been worrying about too!

Sophie
x
 
Something else that interests me, and apologies if I've missed a post or two about it (this thread is long already! :))) is the protein thing. It's always said that pigs need more protein than rabbits, and I'm never sure if this is true, or where it comes from. Particularly since piggies seem prone to kidney issues.

I'm really starting to question the rule book more and more these days... :{
 
sophiew said:
Would a 'daylight' bulb be ok?

My piggies are moving soon and will not have a window, so although the door will be open when weather allows, it's something I've been worrying about too!

Sophie
x
Click to expand...

A daylight bulb provides full spectrum light, but not vitamin D, as I understand it... My piggies have one of those.
 
Interesting point with the vitamin D. Goodness knows my piggies won't get much sun exposure... My flat rarely gets colder than 18 degrees so it just has to be a pretty nice summer's day for them to get out on the grass. I hope for plenty of those, but between late may- early september not all days will be suitable for indooor piggies outside.

Sweden's not England, but we get our fair share of rain too :)

I've loooked around but can't find any vegetable sources of vitamin D... Babies get AD vitamin drops here in Sweden, maybe that could be given to piggies very occationally during winter?
 
I recall alfalfa being high in protein, so a treat of alfalfa hay is one possibility. Just skip the high calcium veg for that day to balance the diet out.

Info on protein for guineas & rabbits:
http://www.galensgarden.co.uk/herbivores/nutrition/protein.php

You know, I am really starting to see why these "complete" dry foods were brought out and sell so well. It's so much less confusing! :))
 
Laura-CCC4 said:
Thanks Lisa. :)

I ordered some Dust Free hay, the ten bale deal - £40 for 25kg. Five soft and five stalky.

If the quality is good enough, I'll think about buying in this quantity of Dust Free Hay and just the one 22kg box of Oxbow, and see how we go.
Click to expand...
i've tried the dust free hay, it was my pigs' fave hay to date!
 
I think that once we move we'll phase out pellets. i agree laura, they may take out confusion, but i also think its much more natural for the piggies. my pigs just seem to tread down the hay and not eat that much hay, so i think a diet of lots of different types of hay and grasses woukd be great for them. how about herbs too? what are the best herbs for them?
 
If anyone has access to the countryside it's worth doing some foraging on behalf of your guinea pigs. I know it's not possible for everyone but there is a wealth of wild plants etc which are easily identifiable which can be beneficial to a piggy's diet.

I use the book Wild Flowers of Britain by Roger Phillips to identify those that are edible and do lots of research to ensure they are safe. It's also easy to google images to make sure you have the correct plant.

Plantain, dandelions, cleavers, clover are just some of the easy to identify plants that piggies love.

I even have a little wicker basket I take with me for my foraging :red
 
summerleaze said:
If anyone has access to the countryside it's worth doing some foraging on behalf of your guinea pigs. I know it's not possible for everyone but there is a wealth of wild plants etc which are easily identifiable which can be beneficial to a piggy's diet.

I use the book Wild Flowers of Britain by Roger Phillips to identify those that are edible and do lots of research to ensure they are safe. It's also easy to google images to make sure you have the correct plant.

Plantain, dandelions, cleavers, clover are just some of the easy to identify plants that piggies love.

I even have a little wicker basket I take with me for my foraging :red
Click to expand...
good idea babes
 
Fresh or dried? In terms of dried, I don't know much nutritionally just yet. In terms of fresh, I like to give a few sprigs of parsley or dill daily for the assurance of good Vitamin C intake. Coriander also has a comfortable Vit C level and is more balanced so you can give more of it.

The essential part of my veggie diet is herbs. Bearing in mind I have to tread carefully with Dexter, their new veggie diet is:

Coriander
Parsley / Dill (either or)
Lettuce (any one of romaine/cos, round, batavia, continental etc.)
Cucumber
Green beans

They also get one of either cherry tomatoes, carrot, apple or celery offered for variety each day.
 
When I popped Errol down to Vedra's this afternoon, I asked her about the issue with Vitamin D and pelletless diets/indoor piggies.

She thinks a supplement would be the best thing to ensure they get Vit D - Abidec baby vitamins, two drops per pig daily. I'm still researching more on this and getting as many views as possible, will keep you all updated.

Typically, all 14 pigs were ravenous for pellets this morning - not sure why as their hay racks are frequently filled, they weren't starved! They couldn't care less this past week but this morning they wheeked rather loudly as soon as they heard the pellet box, and flew at their bowls. Nothing like that sort of reaction to make you feel guilty for not indulging them!
 
Thanks for this, Laura - v interesting.

I find that mine get into the pellets as soon as there is a scarcity - suddenly it's a treat food! :))
 
I've just been looking at those Abidec vitamins and, surprisingly, they have vitamin D2 in them, which is poorly absorbed by humans (so I'd imagine by animals too). Vitamin D3 is the optimum form.
 
I wish this thing would let me edit my posts! rolleyes Me again! Just checked the Cavy Cuisine bag and it is D3 in that.
 
That is what I was trying to find out more about, Sarah, having learned about D2 and D3 when reading around the other day.
 
Second one looks more promising, I don't feel I would use the first as it states it may be unsuitable for vegans.

I'm still gathering as many thoughts as possible on this, may be a few days before I can draw anything from it but I do think it may be a good idea to have a supplement to hand at least, or even if it's given only once/twice a week.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top