how to encourage veggie-eating?

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lindsecm

lindsecm

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Well my 3 that I rescued from the local pet store almost 3 weeks ago, a mom and two babies (now almost 7 weeks old!) will not touch any veggie or fruit except corn on the cob!

I have offered the following:

Strawberries
Romaine Lettuce
Parsley
Cucumber
Apple
Green Beans
Banana with Peel
Cherry Tomatoes
Green Bell Peppers
Baby Carrots
Kiwi Fruit
Grapes

Going to try radishes and kale in the next few days.

Beginning to wonder if I should give up, as I have said they love their corn on the cob but will not touch anything else! They love their hay and pellets and the grass I grow for them. I don't have this problem with my other two, they have eaten veggies since day one.

Should mention that I tried to offer Shotzie (a young boar) a baby carrot while cuddling and he went off....he seriously sounded like a siren going off!
 
Hey,

My guinea pigs love red and orange bell peppers, I was told by the vet once that they arn't overly keen on green ones, not sure why though?

Cauliflower leaves is also a good choice too. I also pick dandilion leaves from the garden.

I dont think it would be anything to worry about though. As long as they are eating everything else. When they dont eat anything it could be a problem. :)
 
I almost picked up a red bell pepper today! grrrr :))

I'll be making some stir fry in the next few days so I'll try some cauliflower leaves when I buy some for the stir fry!

I have tried the dandelion leaves......out of all of them none of mine appreciate it! I picked some odd ones :)) but I love 'them all! :(|)
 
It is generally easier to get young piggies to eat new things than it is old ones, I do like to introduce them to a wide range when young and new so they're not too fussy when older. But of course there will be the odd exception to the usual, as you have found!

My usual advice is:

- Leave them alone to eat their food, don't hang around watching them and waiting for them to eat;
- Try the same food every day for 3 days. If they don't touch it, forget that food for a bit and try something else, then come back to the food again after a week or two;
- Don't give them the foods they do like at the same time you're trying the new food - give them the food they like at a different time. An example would be to give them the new food only at breakfast, and the food they like at dinner;
- Leave the food with them as long as possible - obviously remove it when it starts to spoil/wilt, but give them as much of a chance as possible to eat it.

Will they eat grass? Are you supplementing Vit. C? Might be worth considering if they're not eating anything high in Vit. C.
I'd be inclined to keep trying with parsley and strawberries - if there's nothing else they'll eat, at least they will get plenty of C from even a small amount of either food.

Why do piggies have to be so fussy and stubborn!? :))
 
I feed them Cavy Cuisine, which they love. I have Vitamin C tablets, however I wasn't exactly sure how to serve them, and the vet seemed to think I was being hasty when I told her they wouldn't touch their veggies and wanted to supplement.

I always leave anything I give them in there plenty of time, my others tend to be nibblers, they'll eat a little and then finish it off over the course of an hour or two. At night I leave it in the cage over night (I feed them at 11PM and go to bed) and in the morning everything is still untouched.

Lila (the adult) is always curious when I am serving the others in the next door cage and she wheeks at me until I offer her some from my hand, sometimes she will take a bite and that is it or she sniffs it and goes along to her pellets or hay.

They will eat the grass that I grow for them (not sure what animals use my back yard as a potty or if/what my landlord has sprayed!)

:)) they sure are set in their ways!
 
I think people aren't sure of a new taste until it's been eaten five times...which is quite a lot really. So five separate tastes on five separate occasions may be needed to get them to start eating a certain veg - which is a lot of patience on your part. That's assuming their taste preferences work in the same way as ours....quite a big leap to make.

I am always amused by the way they initially feel threatened by perfectly good food - just like a child creating when you try to feed them something different! I can just picture Shotzie the siren...was he doing the front foot pushing it away as well?
 
It's not that much of a bother to keep trying, honestly. I'll just be persistent then. I have been giving them parsley for the last 2 days already, I actually tried to manipulate them like I did with the corn on the cob and put it in their hay they weren't interested :p

No, Shotzie actually was trying to burrow under a blanket to get away from it all while he was piercing my eardrums :)) I literally had to throw the carrot into the kitchen from the couch to get it away from him. I imagined it looked like something from a sitcom! :p :))
 
Update

Oddly enough, I put a piece of Romaine Lettuce in with Poppie and Lila last night while I was feeding the others and they decided to try it and ate the entire piece! I gave them another piece this morning to see if it was a fluke, but no, they ate it again! Then I gave Shotzie a piece and he tried it also :) What a breakthrough! :)) now on to try other things, but slowly, don't wanna upset any stomachs :(|)
 
When I first got my pigs they would only eat lettuce, carrot and tomato. Several binfuls of spoiled veg later the only thing they refuse now is courgette. My latest victory was celery. If you're patient and don't give them too many new things at once they will try it eventually and all it needs is for one of them to like it to convince the others that it's the best tasting thing ever and it to be the new favourite thing. :))

Good luck!
 
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