Gone pellet free, advice from those who do this please.

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

I feel very strongly about allowing animals to display normal species specific behaviour, so I scatter a few nuggets into the hay, so they have to forage for them!

 

[DMS260820]

I feel very strongly about allowing animals to display normal species specific behaviour, so I scatter a few nuggets into the hay, so they have to forage for them!

I do 2 tablespoons every night, followed by a slice of cucumber each for moisture. But a pig eating nuggets will keep drinking after every nugget

 

[piggles 7000]

Me too.They love foraging for them,finding them themselves.
I do that when they go outside in the warmer weather too but only very few when they are on and eating grass

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

So if my piggies are getting plenty of forage, grass and hay as well as a piece of green capsicum, they are probably getting enough vitamin C daily as it is aye? I give them a huge variety, and forage for them daily. Because I live semi rural in NZ I go out my back door and get a variety of different weeds and fresh grass and my garden has a lot of different veggies which they get straight from the garden and is super fresh.

It sounds like your piggies have a really good diet! Keep doing what you're doing and there is no problem in going pellet free, or only feeding as a treat, as they will be easily getting all the vitamins they need!

 

[DMS260820]

And remember, take a deep breath, and relax. Everything will be alright

Sending lots of positive vibes you're way

 

[Eriathwen]

I contacted Arcadia before I bought it and they recommended the 20 Watt Bird lamp which is what I have. How long do you use it for at a time on your Osteodystrophy pigs? I've gotten a bit nervous now over using it after the discussion over UVB lamps. I don't want to give them sunburn or worse cancer. I am thinking that perhaps 10 minutes twice a day would be Ok and I will try to get them some time outdoors as well.

I don't use mine often either to be honest, I was advised a different bulb to yourself so I wouldn't use it the same amount of time just in case but I use it for half an hour at a time a couple of times a day only in the winter, you don't want to leave it on constantly in order to mimic cloud cover, the animal seeking shelter etc, they wouldn't always be exposed to uv when outside. Otherwise I take my boy outside when the weather is nice. Vitamin D is stored in the fat cells within the body so they don't necessarily need exposure to it all the time to benefit from it, once created they can store and use it when needed so daily exposure isn't strictly necessary.

 

[Shelley anne]

Thanks so much for all your advice and help. I feel confident I am on the right track now. But I will try to get them some outdoor time for the Vit D. There's very little sludge now which is very exciting. Bindy is a mature pig and I can see this is the change she needed.

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks so much for all your advice and help. I feel confident I am on the right track now. But I will try to get them some outdoor time for the Vit D. There's very little sludge now which is very exciting. Bindy is a mature pig and I can see this is the change she needed.

Make sure that any pellet replacement is not higher in calcium than pellets. There are several low calcium, grain-free brands available in the UK now.
Nugget Comparison Chart