Least Fattening Pellets!?

[Florrieberry]

Can anybody tell me if there are any pellets less fattening than others please? (they won't eat Vitakraft or JR). They will eat Harringtons, Science Selective, Burgess with blackcurrant and Mr Johnson.
There are 5 living together and they get a max of 200g per day, split into 2 bowls, half am and half pm. If a bowl is still half full I don't top it up, so that is only average of a max 40g per piggy. 2 piggies are quite big and 1 slowly gaining ( the 14 month old still gaining, now 1300g and 2 year old rescue now steady 1200g) the other 3 are average, except our little 15 month old cystic piggy (now spayed) who is now 920g. They don't get junk treats, maybe odd extra slice of cucumber when out in pen at night . Any ideas please?

 

[sport_billy]

Don't really know the fat content of pellets will do wome digging in old threads tomorrow for you, sure there was a pellet comparison done at some point...

 

[ghostbusterbunny]

The weights of your piggies aren't immediately concerning in my opinion. I've got several girls that are at 1200-1350g, and a boar that's a whopping 1500g. Only one of my girls is what I'd consider to be 'fat' - and she was an ex breeder piggy who after having several litters of babies never slimmed back down after her last litter. Her daughter is a big girl, too, so whether they're just genetically 'bigger' girls or not I'm not sure.

I've had totally healthy sows at anywhere from 800g to 1400g, and boars from about 900g-1500g. I'd only consider them to have a problem if they got to a point where their size/weight is clearly impeding their ability to be guinea pigs, which has never happened to any of mine! Even my 'fat' piggy can stick it to the rest of them when she's doing zoomies round the shed!

Piggies can 'grow' (fill out) up to around 15 months though, so I wouldn't be worried that your 14 month old is still gaining a little bit, I'd expect that to stop very soon! If it continues, lower the amount of pellets (the type probably doesn't make that much difference between the brands you've listed that they like) ever so slightly and have them eating more hay - but I definitely wouldn't take those weights as indication that they've got weight problems!

 

[Florrieberry]

The weights of your piggies aren't immediately concerning in my opinion. I've got several girls that are at 1200-1350g, and a boar that's a whopping 1500g. Only one of my girls is what I'd consider to be 'fat' - and she was an ex breeder piggy who after having several litters of babies never slimmed back down after her last litter. Her daughter is a big girl, too, so whether they're just genetically 'bigger' girls or not I'm not sure.

I've had totally healthy sows at anywhere from 800g to 1400g, and boars from about 900g-1500g. I'd only consider them to have a problem if they got to a point where their size/weight is clearly impeding their ability to be guinea pigs, which has never happened to any of mine! Even my 'fat' piggy can stick it to the rest of them when she's doing zoomies round the shed!

Piggies can 'grow' (fill out) up to around 15 months though, so I wouldn't be worried that your 14 month old is still gaining a little bit, I'd expect that to stop very soon! If it continues, lower the amount of pellets (the type probably doesn't make that much difference between the brands you've listed that they like) ever so slightly and have them eating more hay - but I definitely wouldn't take those weights as indication that they've got weight problems!

Thanks that's comforting!
They couldn't possibly eat more hay though, 3 big hay trays which get changed twice daily and often excess thrown away. Always have nice hay, lucky they're not fussy, so I get different types for pen time as a treat and a nice bale (or dust free) for the cage.
Thanks

 

[ghostbusterbunny]

Thanks that's comforting!
They couldn't possibly eat more hay though, 3 big hay trays which get changed twice daily and often excess thrown away. Always have nice hay, lucky they're not fussy, so I get different types for pen time as a treat and a nice bale (or dust free) for the cage.
Thanks

That's great then, I think you're spot on with what you're giving them! You can drop the pellets a little (although personally at this time of year I don't do that) if you think in a couple of months that they're still gaining weight, but keep doing what you're doing. I bet you've got some very healthy and happy piggies!

 

[Stewybus]

The first 3 that you listed are definitely the best. Just look for the sugar content & fat content on the packets & you'll be able to work out which is the lowest of them. Usuall piggy owners are more bothered about calcium content being low because of possible stones in later life if on a high calcium diet x

 

[Florrieberry]

The first 3 that you listed are definitely the best. Just look for the sugar content & fat content on the packets & you'll be able to work out which is the lowest of them. Usuall piggy owners are more bothered about calcium content being low because of possible stones in later life if on a high calcium diet x

LOL! When I first got them i agonised over the calcium after reading stuff on here and ended up blinded by science! The current batches are in huge tupperware boxes and I threw the bags out but I guess I can check online thanks. Only tried Mr J cos they were on offer in Wilks. As for the healthy Vitakraft they resisted to the bitter end, leaving half chewed lumps all over the vet bed so they went to the rescue! (the food not the piggies!)

 

[Stewybus]

I know what you mean about tthem not liking the best. I got mine some of the German brand, confusingly called Bunny. These are supposed to be the lowest calcium pellets & very expensive but my piggies won't touch them x

 

[Florrieberry]

I know what you mean about tthem not liking the best. I got mine some of the German brand, confusingly called Bunny. These are supposed to be the lowest calcium pellets & very expensive but my piggies won't touch them x

Little tinkers aren't they