How Much Do You Spend A Week On Food?

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sarah298

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Just wondering how much each of you spend a week on fresh fruit and veg?

We have 2 guinea pigs and 2 rabbits and seem to spend £20-£25 a week which seems an awful lot!

I have made a meal plan for both the piggies and rabbits based on other meal plans I've seen online etc but am thinking it would be nice if I could cut their food bill down a bit.
 
I spend £4 - £5 on 4 guinea pigs and we eat some of that. I do supplement their veggies with bits from the garden this time of year so it ma be a £1 or two more in the winter. Mine don't like much fruit though, they share an apple with me about once a week.
 
Have you tried going to the veg stall at your local market as asking if the have any cabbage leaves/carrot tops etc? They will probably just give them to you as it saves them throwing it away. You could offer to pay a nominal sum such as 50p for them.
 
I give mine a fair bit of hand picked grass which does instead of some of their veg ration. Market veg is a good idea. Also supermarket marked down stuff.
 
Wow I am definitely paying to much! We tried growing loads of veg and some strawberries in the garden last year but the rabbits found it and demolished it all! I have attached a picture of the rough amount what I feed the guinea pigs twice a day. I might be over feeding, but like I said I went by the diet plans I saw on guineapigcages forum.

We shop at Asda atm and have thought about trying to find a cheaper market to go to for the veg. I don't feel confident enough to forage and there isn't much around my area either.

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Glass is to show size
 
I give my 5 pigs about that much once a day in the evening after cuddle time around 7 - 8pm. They start asking for it about 6pm of course!
 
Well I did some calculations a short time ago but I won't bore you with that.

For 8 pigs I was spending £10-£13 per week on veg. But then again, I specifically go to Aldi and search out for their Super 6 deals, and then I scour supermarkets for their out of date or best before but knowing I can feed them still. I'm a canny shopper....it's the scottish in me.
 
vegs cannot replace the quality of the grass, I think. And I am not confident of the vegs themselves... they grow up with chemicals, have a lot of residual toxic substances... the grass is always natural and organic; if the lawn is not safe I would wash it with the product for washing vegs, but I can be sure that grass is only rich of minerals well balanced for a piggie's needs... I remember so many safe gardens in UK, private and public... and your climate is so good for grass.
Anyway, in my district there are private lawns around each building, gardeners use only water.
Each day I feed my two piggies with a bag of grass and a piece of bell pepper and some slices of cucumber which now is very cheap at the market. Here vegs cost 1-2€/kg... and a pig if does not eat grass gets 80-100g of vegs a day...
it is not a huge sum.
For these months my piggies have been eating only grass and a little piece of some veg. This is the grass picked up yesterday, this is my famous "grass-bag"! I put the bag well closed into the fridge, so that the grass keeps its freshness during the whole day.
My advice is feeding our herbivore pets with grass; just a short walk or a fast drive to some good private lawn and the meal is served:D
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Hmm ok thanks guys :) I think I need to have another look at some threads and what I'm feeding them. We have some grass in our back garden so I will try introducing more of that to them.

Our rabbits are more picky, but do you worry about feeding them the same thing all week? Or do you not feed them that much to worry about that?
 
I feed the piggies what we eat now, the only thing I buy for them specifically is lettuce (I only like iceberg and they get lettuce mix) and coriander which noone else in the house can stand and I browse the reduced items section for anything really cheap they can have provided it still looks good (which I also feed my family, I have no shame in admitting that) but I am going to try starting a a herb garden and maybe also grow some capsicums which I buy a ton of for the whole family.
 
I very rarely buy anything fresh specifically for them - and if I so it's because I've noticed something exciting is reduced. Mine get mostly grass, other forage, and herbs I grow myself. They do get some peppers and other veg, but as I just have two piggies the offcuts of veg I've bought for myself is enough in terms of amounts. If I had more piggies or if I ate only a 'normal UK diet' amount of veg (i.e. not much) then I would probably have to buy more specifically for them!

The most expensive part for me is the grain free dry food. Because in only having a pair I have to buy the small bags which are more £/Kg than bigger bags.
 
acapae said:
I very rarely buy anything fresh specifically for them - and if I so it's because I've noticed something exciting is reduced. Mine get mostly grass, other forage, and herbs I grow myself. They do get some peppers and other veg, but as I just have two piggies the offcuts of veg I've bought for myself is enough in terms of amounts. If I had more piggies or if I ate only a 'normal UK diet' amount of veg (i.e. not much) then I would probably have to buy more specifically for them!

The most expensive part for me is the grain free dry food. Because in only having a pair I have to buy the small bags which are more £/Kg than bigger bags.
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I totally agree. I think it depends on how the owner eats at home. I always buy 2-3kg a day of vegs for my family, we eat loads of vegs, today for lunch I cooked 3kg of bell peppers (1€ a kg) and we were three. A piece of bell pepper for the piggies made no difference.
This evening I will have 2kg of chicory for our dinner and some leaves for my piggies will be a "nothing".
Pellets.. well, my piggies developed a great health and a nice shape without eating them (just 4-5 pieces a day) and I will go on like that, saving money... for the vet...:( (who is satisfied of them, though)
 
rome_italy said:
vegs cannot replace the quality of the grass, I think. And I am not confident of the vegs themselves... they grow up with chemicals, have a lot of residual toxic substances... the grass is always natural and organic; if the lawn is not safe I would wash it with the product for washing vegs, but I can be sure that grass is only rich of minerals well balanced for a piggie's needs... I remember so many safe gardens in UK, private and public... and your climate is so good for grass.
Anyway, in my district there are private lawns around each building, gardeners use only water.
Each day I feed my two piggies with a bag of grass and a piece of bell pepper and some slices of cucumber which now is very cheap at the market. Here vegs cost 1-2€/kg... and a pig if does not eat grass gets 80-100g of vegs a day...
it is not a huge sum.
For these months my piggies have been eating only grass and a little piece of some veg. This is the grass picked up yesterday, this is my famous "grass-bag"! I put the bag well closed into the fridge, so that the grass keeps its freshness during the whole day.
My advice is feeding our herbivore pets with grass; just a short walk or a fast drive to some good private lawn and the meal is served:D
View attachment 66187
View attachment 66188
Click to expand...

That grass looks very lush and green, I'm not surprised they love it!
 
I haven't noticed any extra spending since getting the 3 piggies. I always buy a lot of salad, veg and herbs for myself and the piggies just share what I have. I get mine from Lidl as it's just across the road and has a good selection. They also do a few different veg at a low price each week so I try and grab the bargains.
 
Squeakz said:
That grass looks very lush and green, I'm not surprised they love it!
Click to expand...
I have a great luck living in a district a bit different... here buildings are surrounded by private green areas where you can cut some good grass and nobody cares. Public parks are burnt now; this season is terrible, last evening at 9 pm I went out for an icecream and there were 32°C! there isn't any single string of wild grass in the parks. Private gardens are watered twice a day, though.
 
I like the idea of only feeding them what you have in for the family as that makes complete sense. However it's only me and home and when my husband is home he is one that hates all veg. I think that's why I feel I have to buy more because I can't get through enough for them if that makes sense?

I'm going to get some herb plants, lavender (which I believe they can eat?) and grow some more grass in a raised bed so the rabbits can't get to it and try and use more of this. I will have a look at the foraging posts as well to get some ideas of suitable plants to grow.
 
I spend around £10 a week on veggies for my 10 during winter, a bit less in summer. I love raiding the garden and the marked down fruit and veg at the supermarket :D
 
I also grow a lot, most of them self seed every year too like my chard plants, free plants every year! :D

I'm terrible at forgetting to water things so every I grow more or less looks after itself :))

The main things I buy are cucumber & peppers because I keep killing the plants! I haven't grown cherry tomatoes this year but they're super easy to grow too. Last year I had a seed pot for 60p from Tescos and I ended up with 21 plants and was up to my eyeballs in tomatoes! Had to give loads away and a few plants too!

Cutting down cost and having pesticide free veg (companion planting is amazing) is definitely the way to go if you have the space. I barely buy anything from shops now, having 5 means you have to watch the purse! :D
 
Flutterby said:
I spend around £10 a week on veggies for my 10 during winter, a bit less in summer. I love raiding the garden and the marked down fruit and veg at the supermarket :D
Click to expand...

Ahh I'm clearly going wrong with what I'm spending for my 4 each week :eek: lol. I'm really going to have to knuckle down and sort out their food! Ive seen a seller on eBay 'shelledwarriors' or something like that who sell seeds suitable for guineas/ rabbits/ tortoise etc so will have a look through their shop and order some!
 
@sarah298 Ive bought from Shelled Warriors before - they're good They have a website-based shop too; the prices are the same as on eBay, but some people prefer one over the other.
 
Thanks for that, il have a look now :). I like the eBay page but sometimes find it difficult to find bits.
 
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