How to do a pellet free diet?

bonnieandpoppy

bonnieandpoppy

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I’ve been wanting to do pellet free diet for a while, especially after reading on erin’s ark blog about how bad they are. can someone please tell me how much veg forage etc i have to feed daily and just general information on a pellet free diet ? thanks x
 
also i meant how bad pellets are, not how bad pellet free diets are lol
 
My boy Finn and princess Lara get their veggies 3 times a day. Their 3 servings of veggies a day include romaine lettuce and baby spring mix veggies. They get different fruits throughout the week.

I believe their veggie intake 3 times a day would be enough for me to stop giving them pallets, but I wouldn't just stop giving them something they enjoy munching on. I also buy one of the more expensive pallets at the pet store.

I believe in Erin's ark she remarked she feeds her guinea pigs enough veggies so she won't be feeding pallets. I do feel I feed mine enough veggies but I give them pallets because I think mine like it.
 
So I would say that pellets aren’t always bad but there are better ones. A grain free choice made predominantly from Timothy hay can be very usefull, especially to keep the weight up on older pigs. At the end of the day they should mostly be eating hay and if they do that they shouldn’t eat so many pellets.
I think there are a few people on the forum who give pellets free diets my guess is there piggies have unlimited hay and most likely acess to grass.
 
@bonnieandpoppy Pellets should only be a small part of their diet anyway so you don't need to increase anything else to compensate. Hopefully they will eat more hay instead.

Have you considered feeding a grain free pellet food instead of cutting them out completely?
 
I don’t think pellets are bad in themselves. The issue is the nutritional content of some and the amount that owners give them. If you adhere to the rule that 80% of a piggy’s diet should be good quality hay, 10% veg and 10% pellets then you shouldn’t go far wrong. As with all things relating to pets it’s our responsibility to make sure they get offered the right foods in the right proportions as they can’t go and choose what and when to eat.
@Flutterby very helpfully produced a pellet comparison chart for your help in deciding which pellets are better than others Nugget Comparison Chart
For health reasons I have switched my own piggies onto grain free pellets and they continue to receive a small amount per day.
 
my guineas only get 10g each of pellets everyday and i can’t buy grain free as they’re expensive online and the nearest pet shop that sells them is an hour away
 
Mine only get a sprinkle for breakfast. They are currently on pets at home nuggets as they have refused to eat the grain free ones again. They change their mind all the time. Thankfully nuggets make up very little of a piggies diet, the trick is not to over feed them with nuggets as they can be highly fattening.
 
I know Erin's Ark also feeds her pigs and rabbits seeds in the winter for extra nutrition. She's also been selling them lately. Unfortunately, I can't buy of her new products because I live in the US, but they look great!
 
All 5 of mine get 5 small handfuls of pellets divided into 2 bowls every morning. I give them Harringtons. Velvet loves them so much that as soon as she hears me say "breakfast time" she is there waiting at the empty food bowl! She doesn't eat them all and will allow the others to share the food bowl with her. I'm sure if I let her she'd just live on pellets and nothing else. Once the pellets have gone that is it until the next day. Sometimes there are still pellets left the next day, if so then I don't refill the bowls until both are completely empty.
 
Gia said:
I know Erin's Ark also feeds her pigs and rabbits seeds in the winter for extra nutrition. She's also been selling them lately. Unfortunately, I can't buy of her new products because I live in the US, but they look great!
Click to expand...
Seeds and mixes containg seeds are not reccomended for guinea pigs, so I would personally avoid them.
 
Gia said:
I know Erin's Ark also feeds her pigs and rabbits seeds in the winter for extra nutrition. She's also been selling them lately. Unfortunately, I can't buy of her new products because I live in the US, but they look great!
Click to expand...

Seeds are not recommended for piggies.
 
Swissgreys said:
Seeds and mixes containg seeds are not reccomended for guinea pigs, so I would personally avoid them.
Click to expand...
VickiA said:
Seeds are not recommended for piggies.
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My pigs never have and will never get seeds, but these are the videos she mentions and recommends feeding seeds.
Start at 3:40
Start at 7:15
Start at 9:30
Here they are for sale on her website:
SEED BLENDS
Also, this is the information she provides about them:
https://www.erinsark-petcareguide.com/guinea-pig-seeds
 
I’m sorry, but I (and I’m sure many others will too) disagree with Erin’s Arc selling seeds as guinea pig food. They are a chocking hazzard and can also cause discomfort by getting stuck in their teeth.
 
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I also live in US. I have been wanting to try stuff from Erin's Ark but it is a bit tricky considering the distance.
I believe her stuff is more homemade. Similar to the way I like homemade cooking, I think her food will be better than store bought food for guinea pigs.
This is just how I looked at Erin's Ark food.
 
Seven7 said:
I also live in US. I have been wanting to try stuff from Erin's Ark but it is a bit tricky considering the distance.
I believe her stuff is more homemade. Similar to the way I like homemade cooking, I think her food will be better than store bought food for guinea pigs.
This is just how I looked at Erin's Ark food.
Click to expand...
She doesn't ship to the US as it's food product.
 
As this is a predominantly UK forum we adhere to the advice given in the UK. We do not recommend seeds for piggies.
@Gia I don’t want to fall out with you but just because someone on the Internet posts videos or blogs about giving seeds it doesn’t mean that it is an accepted or acceptable practice. The issue with the internet is that it is largely unregulated and a video of people giving advice they aren’t qualified to give, or bad practice, can appear “normalised” because they have followers who share their videos. You yourself say that you do not and will not give your guinea pigs seeds yet you have chosen to share a video promoting this practice.
While the forum accepts that people have different views we must make it clear as a responsible forum that this practice is NOT recommended or endorsed by the forum.
 
sorry about that, i didn’t mean to cause an argument over seeds! my pigs do get seeds occasionally, i find them ok, but i respect that many people don’t like them. i don’t by any means want to cause an argument or anything by saying that, and i’m not recommending seeds, it’s just what i do.
 
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