looking for an advice about hay for picky guinea pig

[Fluffycavies]

hi, i have two guineas which are the sisters, but one had some problems with eating habbit -picky with foods- so she didnt eat well, the other one is way bigger than her.
both of them are 5-6 months old now, big one is 573g, small one is 405g. smaller one is struggle to eat-mostly looking for what she likes/wants-.

i tried most of main hay, Timothy- horse grade SP, Primium, second type and third type also but all failed, and i changed the main hay with oats(special primium grade) but it doesnt work also. she's eager to eat only the fresh lecttus and grass from my small terras garden, its not enough to i can give her everyday forever. what can i do for her?

 

[Siikibam]

Is there another hay you could try, maybe meadow? When you weigh them every week, is she putting on weight? That’s your key indicator as to whether she is eating enough hay.

 

[Fluffycavies]

Is there another hay you could try, maybe meadow? When you weigh them every week, is she putting on weight? That’s your key indicator as to whether she is eating enough hay.

thanks for reply, my country is hard to get that one, so Those hays that i wrote on the thread is my best that i could find in here.and yes, smaller one was getting heavier than before but still its strange for me they are born in same day but that size difference. i'm little bit worrying about it.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Does the smaller piggy put on weight each week? If so then that is good. It means she is eating enough.
Have you checked her heft to see if she is a good size for herself?
You cannot compare her weight to your other piggy as each piggy will be different. I have four piggies - two 5 year olds and two 10 month olds.
My oldest piggies were 300g different in weight in their prime - one weighing 1500g, the other weighing 1200g - but they both ate the same diet and gained/maintained their weight well.
My two 10 month olds currently have about a 100g weight difference between them.
There is no issue between them, they are just different.

Do you see her eat hay?
Piggies will forage through hay and pick out the nicest bits. That is totally normal.
Again, if she is gaining weight each week, then she is eating enough.

How do you serve their hay? Do you use racks or do you just put hay in piles on the floor.
Using piles on the floor can really encourage extra hay intake as they can forage freely and play amongst it (hay is also fun for them, it’s not just food).

What else do you feed them?

Weight Monitoring and Management

 

[Fluffycavies]

Does the smaller piggy put on weight each week? If so then that is good. It means she is eating enough.
Have you checked her heft to see if she is a good size for herself?
You cannot compare her weight to your other piggy as each piggy will be different. I have four piggies - two 5 year olds and two 10 month olds.
My oldest piggies were 300g different in weight in their prime - one weighing 1500g, the other weighing 1200g - but they both ate the same diet and gained/maintained their weight well.
My two 10 month olds currently have about a 100g weight difference between them.
There is no issue between them, they are just different.

Do you see her eat hay?
Piggies will forage through hay and pick out the nicest bits. That is totally normal.
Again, if she is gaining weight each week, then she is eating enough.

How do you serve their hay? Do you use racks or do you just put hay in piles on the floor.
Using piles on the floor can really encourage extra hay intake as they can forage freely and play amongst it (hay is also fun for them, it’s not just food).

What else do you feed them?

Weight Monitoring and Management

thanks for reply, i always give the hay on the cage's floor, spread it enough, if it looks dirty, clean them and add new one.
i'm pretty sure that hay doesnt have any issue, because big one aways munch it and finish it clear, like dish washer. smaller one is always look softer, delicious one for her and kinda picky and eat less than the other one so i gave additional fresh vegies for them then she really loves it. but as i told, i cannot give the fresh vegies whole meal everyday/forever, i think its kinda bad habbit for her also. i was thinking about to give them the hay based pellet dry food for main.

 

[Piggies&buns]

thanks for reply, i always give the hay on the cage's floor, spread it enough, if it looks dirty, clean them and add new one.
i'm pretty sure that hay doesnt have any issue, because big one aways munch it and finish it clear, like dish washer. smaller one is always look softer, delicious one for her and kinda picky and eat less than the other one so i gave additional fresh vegies for them then she really loves it. but as i told, i cannot give the fresh vegies whole meal everyday/forever, i think its kinda bad habbit for her also. i was thinking about to give them the hay based pellet dry food for main.

No, a pellet dry food is never the main food. Hay and grass is always the main food. Hay is essential for keeping their teeth wearing evenly to prevent dental problems. It is also essential for gut health.
You should only ever give one tablespoon per pig per day if a pellet food. A commercial pellet food will not wear teeth, can cause obesity if overfed and can contribute too much calcium into the diet which can result in bladder problems.
Simply make sure you serve a lot of hay so there is always some available for your smaller piggy.
They can have one cup of veg per pig per day.

Please do answer our questions about her weight - what are her routine weekly weight checks telling you? Is she gaining weight each week?
That is essential information to know whether she is eating enough hay.

 

[Fluffycavies]

No, a pellet dry food is never the main food. Hay is always the main food intake.
You should only ever give one tablespoon per pig per day if a pellet food.
Simply make sure you serve a lot of hay so there is always some available for your smaller piggy.
They can have one cup of veg per pig per day.

Please do tell us answer our questions about her weight - what are her routine weekly weight checks telling you? Is she gaining weight each week?
That is essential information to know whether she is eating enough hay.

i already put its weight for today on the main tread.
it had a surgery a month ago. so i went to vet every 10 days and get its weight, 350 - 383 - 405g(today.) it keep going up. but every forum said 'hay should be the main food'. she really doesnt eat her hay even during her surgery care. only looking for the vegies.

 

[Piggies&buns]

i already put its weight for today on the main tread.
it had a surgery a month ago. so i went to vet every 10 days and get its weight, 350 - 383 - 405g(today.) it keep going up. but every forum said 'hay should be the main food'. she really doesnt eat her hay even during her surgery care. only looking for the vegies.

So those three weight checks are each 10 days apart? Meaning she has gained 50g in 20 days.

We needed the background of her weight record every week to know whether she is gaining weight, and she is.

Do you weigh her yourself each week at home? Don’t just rely on the vets weight checks every 10 days. You need to weigh her yourself at home each week. However if she is recovering from surgery she needs to be weighed every day during the recovery period.
Did you need to supplement her with any syringe feed during her recovery?
What surgery did she have? Again, this is also important information to know what might be going on.

Are you feeding the recommended one cup of veg per day? If so then she must be eating some hay as well.

 

[Fluffycavies]

So those three weight checks are each 10 days apart? Meaning she has gained 50g in 20 days.

We needed the background of her weight record every week to know whether she is gaining weight, and she is.

Do you weigh her yourself each week at home? Don’t just rely on the vets weight checks every 10 days. You need to weigh her yourself at home each week. However if she is recovering from surgery she needs to be weighed every day during the recovery period.
Did you need to supplement her with any syringe feed during her recovery?
What surgery did she have? Again, this is also important information to know what might be going on.

Are you feeding the recommended one cup of veg per day? If so then she must be eating some hay as well.

her leg was broken, totally. vet said we need to rejected off that part, so i decided. she didnt eat with. still looking for her favorite part in the hay, during the care i gave her whole meal with fresh vegies that i bought from the shop everyday and her favorite fruite as a snack also. i want her to eat more and being healthy. of course i'm always giving them enough fresh vegies everyday also.

 

[Piggies&buns]

her leg was broken, totally. vet said we need to rejected off that part, so i decided. she didnt eat with. still looking for her favorite part in the hay, during the care i gave her whole meal with fresh vegies that i bought from the shop everyday and her favorite fruite as a snack also. i want her to eat more and being healthy. of course i'm always giving them enough fresh vegies everyday also.

Was she on a good dose of painkillers after her surgery?
Being in pain can stop then from wanting to eat.
Normally piggies are syringe fed a fibre rich recovery feed such as Oxbow Critical Care, as a support while they are recovering from an illness or surgery. I appreciate you may not be able to get that in your country though.

It is normal for them to forage through the hay and find the favourite bits. If that is what she is doing then there isn’t necessarily a problem, particularly if she is gaining weight.
All my four piggies forage through bay and pick out the nicest bits. The rest gets left and I throw it away and replace it with fresh every day.

My point is that if you are giving her the one cup of veg per day, then that on its own is not enough food for a piggy to gain weight. As your piggy is gaining weight (and you are making sure not to overfeed veg), then she must be eating hay independently because she is gaining weight.
If she was not eating enough hay, then the one cup of veg on its own is not enough food in a day so she would be losing weight.

Dont feed fruit often. One very small piece as an occasional treat (no more than once a week) is ok, but fruit doesn’t need to be in their diet due to the sugars.