How Important Is Grass?

[Malice]

With all my previous (rainbow) piggies, I lived with my parents in a property that had a garden (and we never had dogs), so during summer they would have nearly daily access to sun and fresh grass. Now I live with my partner and our property does not have a garden, meaning there is no safe outdoor place for our piggies to roam (although they do get regular indoor floor time!)

I was wondering, as they do not have the regular access to grass like my previous piggies, is this going to be much of a problem? Last summer I did take them over to my parents to run in the garden, but I'm wary as they invite friends with dogs over and have needed to treat the grass (basically, I have no idea what 'state' the grass is in and whether it's piggy safe as I'm not living there), so I'd rather not take them.

Would it be worth getting a planter and growing my own grass indoors, just for feeding? Or is grass not hugely important (as they have pellets, fresh vegetables and unlimited hay on a daily basis)? I know it's the natural food source for piggies, but I was just curious as to whether it was necessary for their diet or not.

I do miss being able to have piggies outdoors in a run, but for the time being that just isn't a possibility. =(

Any comments are appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Reenie]

I don't think grass is an essential part of their diet - hay is dried grass after all, so they are getting lots of it already. I do give mine a lot of hand cut grass and have them out on the lawn whenever I can, but this won't be possible in the winter, so it will be veggies instead. I'm always wary of saying something definitive like that, as someone more experienced may have a different view. Is there anywhere near you where you could collect grass for them? I cut some at the side of my road as it's longer and coarser than my lawn. (It's a private road and only 5 houses have access, so there's no pollution issue and none of us has dogs. I do worry about foxes sometimes, but I try to cut it from bits where it would be difficult for them to pee)

 

[flowerfairy]

Mine choose grass over hay veg and pellets. We have two dogs so I collect grass from the fields and wash it just in case.

 

[rome_italy]

my piggies' main food is fresh grass and hay (which is grass)... If you give them hay you can avoid the grass, but something else they will eat... the vegs? the pellets? a few grams of pellets can be okay, but the vegs are not a grass/hay substitute because of their different ph, not perfect ratio calcium/phosphorus and so on... Hay and/or grass need to be at the top of their diet for keeping alive all the good bacteria into the gut and keep far bladder infections (they usually start from the gut, even in us humans) and other diseases.
Of course I also don't live in a house with garden, I live into a building... but there are buildings here surrounded by private gardens and some of them water them regularly therefore I can cut a lot of fresh grass. I sometimes walk for finding this grass. Here exotic vets recommend expeditions with bag and scissor (and to walk far from pet shops).
If you are worried of the dogs you can wash the grass as you do with the salad... cut grass into a closed bag can be stored into the fridge for 2 days...
Anyway: don't worry... hay is grass... fresh grass has also a lot of vit C, but also a bell pepper has vit C.
Here nobody treat the gardens, in fact they are not perfect and have a lot of "wrong" grass, but if you want to be sure of the grass, can't you take a walk of some mile? You country has green grass everywhere... I find it in Rome which is totally burnt now, I am sure you have more choice... (and walking is good for us, too!)

 

[piggieminder]

If you can grow some grass indoors you piggies would love it. I grow trays on my widow ledge for times when the outside grass is not suitable (frosted). These trays help with entertainment during the long months in the winter when they can't get a change of scene in an outdoor run.

 

[rome_italy]

If you can grow some grass indoors you piggies would love it. I grow trays on my widow ledge for times when the outside grass is not suitable (frosted). These trays help with entertainment during the long months in the winter when they can't get a change of scene in an outdoor run.
View attachment 68365

I have tried to plant some seed but my result was poor... maybe I have made the mistake to put the tray outside or maybe I used the wrong seeds (it was the one for cats)...

 

[piggieminder]

I think some of the other forum members use cat seed @rome_italy I used the multi purpose seed I had left over from patching the lawn. Grass will grow outside in the trays if it's not too cold, I only grow it in the winter so I have it on the kitchen window ledge. I have grown it successfully in the greenhouse but I think the last two winters have been too cold even in there as its gone moldy.

 

[rome_italy]

I think some of the other forum members use cat seed @rome_italy I used the multi purpose seed I had left over from patching the lawn. Grass will grow outside in the trays if it's not too cold, I only grow it in the winter so I have it on the kitchen window ledge. I have grown it successfully in the greenhouse but I think the last two winters have been too cold even in there as its gone moldy.

very good idea... but I should find a little box of grass seeds. Actually maybe it is not even necessary, here winters are not that cold, but I don't remember if the lawns are green... (only the piggies taught me to look at the lawns around when I walk! before the piggies I only used to look at the dogs' poo on the pavement...)

 

[RescuedGuineas]

I’m currently growing grass for my two indoor girls. Any tips would be very gratefully received!
I bought Timothy grass seed from Galen’s Garden or Shelled Warriors but I’m sure lawn grass seed would do just as well!

Last year I tried the large, shallow gravel trays like the ones that @piggieminder’s photo shows, but the grass didn’t do well after the first flush of growth. (Perhaps I forgot to water it… !).
I also found that in the winter I didn’t have a bright spot big enough for the trays, so it died off.
This is a real shame as I loved the idea of being able to put a patch of “lawn” into the girls’ indoor run for a tasty winter snack!

This time I’ve bought some self-watering “balconieres” (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stewart-Balconniere-Trough-70-Terracotta/dp/B0045F3X82/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_4?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1507124441&sr=8-4-fkmr0&keywords=self-watering%2Btrough%2Bgreen&th=1). They are much deeper but narrower and obviously much smaller than the gravel trays.
Pros: deeper root run for the grass and water “reservoir” means I’m less likely to kill the grass when I under/over water them!
Narrower container means they will fit on my window sills and (hopefully!) will keep growing over the winter! Here’s hoping…!
Cons: the girls can’t actually climb in to them very easily. I either cut the grass off when it’s about 6” long and feed it to them, or put a step next to the planter so that the girls can reach the grass.

I’ve now got a few of these on the go so that I can rotate them. It’s certainly not enough for every day, but at least they’ll get a weekly “grass fix” during the winter!
I find that once the grass is established, they don’t pull it up by the roots so easily so I can let them self-feed, but when it’s just getting established I cut it with scissors and feed it to them. The first crop of Timothy grass was quite fine, but the regrowth looks much more substantial so I’m hopeful for the winter.
I also tried wheatgrass last year, which grew really quickly, but it went mouldy after the first cut so I had to throw it out.

I’d love to hear your hints and tips and stories of success/failure!

 

[RescuedGuineas]

Oops! Attached the same photo twice!

 

[rome_italy]

I’m currently growing grass for my two indoor girls. Any tips would be very gratefully received!
I bought Timothy grass seed from Galen’s Garden or Shelled Warriors but I’m sure lawn grass seed would do just as well!

Last year I tried the large, shallow gravel trays like the ones that @piggieminder’s photo shows, but the grass didn’t do well after the first flush of growth. (Perhaps I forgot to water it… !).
I also found that in the winter I didn’t have a bright spot big enough for the trays, so it died off.
This is a real shame as I loved the idea of being able to put a patch of “lawn” into the girls’ indoor run for a tasty winter snack!

This time I’ve bought some self-watering “balconieres” ([you]https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stewart-Balconniere-Trough-70-Terracotta/dp/B0045F3X82/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_4?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1507124441&sr=8-4-fkmr0&keywords=self-watering%2Btrough%2Bgreen&th=1[/you]). They are much deeper but narrower and obviously much smaller than the gravel trays.
Pros: deeper root run for the grass and water “reservoir” means I’m less likely to kill the grass when I under/over water them!
Narrower container means they will fit on my window sills and (hopefully!) will keep growing over the winter! Here’s hoping…!
Cons: the girls can’t actually climb in to them very easily. I either cut the grass off when it’s about 6” long and feed it to them, or put a step next to the planter so that the girls can reach the grass.

I’ve now got a few of these on the go so that I can rotate them. It’s certainly not enough for every day, but at least they’ll get a weekly “grass fix” during the winter!
I find that once the grass is established, they don’t pull it up by the roots so easily so I can let them self-feed, but when it’s just getting established I cut it with scissors and feed it to them. The first crop of Timothy grass was quite fine, but the regrowth looks much more substantial so I’m hopeful for the winter.
I also tried wheatgrass last year, which grew really quickly, but it went mouldy after the first cut so I had to throw it out.

I’d love to hear your hints and tips and stories of success/failure!

View attachment 72335

View attachment 72336

what an amazing result! I have tried last summer, but my pots looked "sad" compared with yours...

 

[Beans&Toast]

Grass is an important part of their diet, but not every one has access to it depending where you live.
Although hay is very good for their teeth, fresh grass is even better as the silica in the grass acts almost like sandpaper, keeping their teeth worn down. My garden gets flooded a lot so I can't always give grass but there's always plenty of hay