Ic Diet

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Galaxy&nibbles

Galaxy&nibbles

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sorry I can't seem to find the ic diet anywhere.. Could I trouble someone for it please? I figure as boring as it looks for them at least they would be healthy.
 
Galaxy&nibbles said:
sorry I can't seem to find the ic diet anywhere.. Could I trouble someone for it please? I figure as boring as it looks for them at least they would be healthy.
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I'm switching my boys over to it too. I'll still give the odd occasional treat, such as a slice of carrot, but it'll be once every couple of weeks maybe even less than that, so they don't get poorly. Good luck with it!
 
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Thank you, my piggies tend to avoid spring greens and celery, shall I just keep offering it to them and hope they will eat it? My poor piggies won't know what's hit them when I start feeding them this instead lol. Can they still have the occasional treats or best to avoid?
 
Galaxy&nibbles said:
Thank you, my piggies tend to avoid spring greens and celery, shall I just keep offering it to them and hope they will eat it? My poor piggies won't know what's hit them when I start feeding them this instead lol. Can they still have the occasional treats or best to avoid?
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It is defeating the object giving other veg though as a treat isn't it?
See how they go. If they don't want it keep giving the normal veg along with it. My girls do not like green beans so I took it off the diet completely.
 
Mine don't eat green beans and rarely touch coriander, but I've only just started them on it, so I don't know whether they'll eat it eventually if that's all that's offered to them or whether they'll leave it. I guess you can only keep trying them with it and see how they go, and if they don't eat it then leave it out, or perhaps substitute it for something else with the same properties but seek advice first from people that know about it.
 
Mine seem to enjoy everything on the diet. I just have to be careful with the coriander. Mabel is like a little hoover once it enters the cage, so I have to hand feed it to them separately.
 
Yes I'm having similar issues with my dominant boar (Rohan) stealing food off the less dominant boar Paddy, I give the veg in two bowls, but he still steals it off him, naughty Rohan! Looks like I'm going to have to start hand feeding them both to make sure that they both get equal amounts of food.
 
What does IC stand for?

By the way, not necessary to keep pigs to strict diet like this unless they have a history of bladder sludge, grit or stones. Treat veg is fine for piggies without this history! Just be sensible with giving any high calcium veg.
 
Agreed with helen, fruit or honey sticks are very bad for guineas. Give a slice or two of carrot as a treat, or anything else yummy that isnt a daily veg.
 
gus+walter said:
The portions seem very small compared to the cup of veg they get. Is it enough? I'd be afraid of them starving and wheeking the whole house down in protest.
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The amount of food is enough, as the rest should be LOTS of hay. We have incorporated the IC diet in our diet recommendations - you can find it listed under "daily veg".
 
Amber is on this diet, but she's stopped eating the celery, doesn't like spring greens and doesn't like green beans.
I give her the occasional bit of carrot or different colored pepper, sometimes even a bowl of parsley instead. Amber was passing a lot of calcium deposits which is why I put her on it, they've become a lot less now so that's why I threat her. She also doesn't have a history of stones, sludge or grit so that's also a reason why I don't worry hugely giving her the off bit here and there.
You can see it as defeating the object of the diet... however a few bits here and there isn't going to matter hugely! especially with no history of anything bad etc.
 
A&T said:
Amber is on this diet, but she's stopped eating the celery, doesn't like spring greens and doesn't like green beans.
I give her the occasional bit of carrot or different colored pepper, sometimes even a bowl of parsley instead. Amber was passing a lot of calcium deposits which is why I put her on it, they've become a lot less now so that's why I threat her. She also doesn't have a history of stones, sludge or grit so that's also a reason why I don't worry hugely giving her the off bit here and there.
You can see it as defeating the object of the diet... however a few bits here and there isn't going to matter hugely! especially with no history of anything bad etc.
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My piggies are not on a full IC diet, but there haven't been any issues on a general low to medium calcium diet. I will consider it for any new bladder stone/sludge piggies, but so far, there haven't been any in over two years nor have there been any new cases of interstitial cystitis.
 
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Quoted from Wiebkes daily diet thread: "...you are aiming to achieve a sensible balance. By going on extreme diets like a very low calcium diet without medical reason, you may be in danger of depriving your guinea pigs of vital nutrients and instead of avoiding one problem you can create others in the long term."

Just feed them a sensible amount of veg and keep the high calcium and sugar ones to a minimum as a treat veg.
 
The IC diet is well balanced, the person who put it together put a great deal of time and effort into it, researching, speaking to vets and vet techs both here and in the US and testing it out on her own pigs who thrived on it. The veg in it has enough calcium just not excessive amounts.
 
Piggly said:
Quoted from Wiebkes daily diet thread: "...you are aiming to achieve a sensible balance. By going on extreme diets like a very low calcium diet without medical reason, you may be in danger of depriving your guinea pigs of vital nutrients and instead of avoiding one problem you can create others in the long term."

Just feed them a sensible amount of veg and keep the high calcium and sugar ones to a minimum as a treat veg.
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I agree with you BUT I have found the information about the IC diet has helped me enormously. I have basically been "killing with kindness". I have been adding "extras" to give my guinea pigs variety and overdone it. It has taken information from this forum and some stern words from the vet to remind me that my guinea pigs are better getting a " basic " healthy diet rather than lots of extras.
 
I tried feeding the ic diet but my piggies hated green, beans, celery and speing greens and my parents refused o buy all the different things and claimed that coriander, parsley and herbs were too expensive! :(
I might go back to the ic diet.
 
I find coriander cheap in my local Indian supermarket, it's at least a third cheaper, sometimes more. Parsley is not part of the IC plan, only coriander.
 
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