How Much Do You Feed?

[Jjanec]

Hi, just looking for some advice on feeding as everywhere says different! I have 2 pigs around 9-12 weeks old id say. In the mornings I offer, today for example, 2 spinach leaves, 2 small broccoli florets, 2 slices of banana. In the afternoon Id usually his them about 2 cucumber sticks, a few slices of red pepper, 2 celery sticks and some kale. They get a different variety every day these are just from one day - they also have hay and sometimes a small handful of nuggets. They eat it all - I'm worried about putting more hay in as I'm scared of overfeeding them. Does this sound like too much? Obviously it is all split between them x

 

[BossHogg]

you can never give too much hay, ideally hay should make up a large percentage of their diet. I give mine a large bowl of greens for breakfast, a bowl of nuggets in the evening and copious amounts of hay. They also spend a lot of time on the lawn as well as invading the 2 rabbit hutches to hoover up their left over greens.

 

[theoretikos]

Make sure to give them unlimited hay. Piggies up to 6 months can also have unlimited pellets. I feel my boys a cup of mixed veggies each everyday usually split into morning and evening.

 

[Bekki]

My pigs dont get set amounts of veggies it depends what I have in the fridge, what was reduced in tesco, what needs eating and in which order they need eating and how big the items are. It probably average a handful each per day but sometimes its more sometimes its less and the odd day they dont get much at all and instead get a snazzy hay or readigrass to keep them occupied. Pellets is a small handful between the two and ad lib hay I just keep a tray stuffed with hay in their cage for them.

 

[eathayandlove]

If your two guinea pigs are around 9-12 weeks old, they need to be fed alfalfa hay because it is higher in calcium and carbohydrates, which guinea pigs need until they are full-grown (which is 6-12 months of age). You can never overfeed on hay, so make sure they are always having UNLIMITED HAY! It gives them something to grind their teeth down with, and is a food that helps them grow stronger. Young guinea pigs should only have 1/8 - 1/4 cup of pellets each too.

What concerns me is the high-calcium vegetable diet you are giving your guinea pigs... Spinach, broccoli, and kale are VERY high in calcium for guinea pigs, and bananas should not be fed regularly because it has a lot of sugar and can cause constipation. Celery sticks can be a choking hazard for guinea pigs, so make sure to cut them into small pieces and remove the "string" from the celery. I suggest giving your guinea pigs green bell peppers (sweet bell, not hot), parsley, cilantro, zucchini, endives, or carrots!