Other foods for piggys

[Mizzpigz]

I have been thinking about this for some time and after an interesting conversation today with a worker at Wood green where we were discussing foraged foods for guineas I just wonder what plants and wild flowers do you give your guineas.

We grow lot of fruit and veg and we have started to grow oregano for our chickens as it is known that this is a natural medicine for them to eat naturally, so I just wonder what safe foods do you either grow for your piggys or forage from the hedgerows?

As far as I know they can eat wild geranium, raspberry leaf, blackberry leaf, nasturtiums, yarrow, wild strawberry and plantain.

I've also just started to grow some guinea pig grass but again only give very small amounts in addition to veggies and hay.

Do any of you just feed completely wild foods rather than the pellets and vegetables? Would like to hear your ideas and opinions on this as I find the idea of my guineas on a completely natural diet an interesting idea.

 

[biscandmatt]

i've always been very interested in this aswell and would love to find out what they can eat that's natural. i occasionally give dried herbs to them from galens garden. also, rabbit nutrition sells seeds for lots of rabbit safe grasses and flowers, plants etc, and alot of them are suitable for piggies aswell, so you could email and ask. there is a site on ebay aswell called shelled warriors i think. it's mainly natural foods/seeds for tortoises, but again, alot are suitable for rabbits and guinea pigs.

it would be really good to have forage as part of their diets, maybe replacing one vegetable/herb each time. i asked a while back if forage would count as one of their veggies a day, or would be aswell as veggies but nobody seemed sure.

i keep meaning to ask the vet about it actually, as he is very into the no pellets, just leafy greens, hay and grass diets.

let me know if you find anything else out. i suppose it's foods like dandelion, and mine have had apple leaves before, apple twigs. they had pear leaves to try but didn't like those.

the rabbits have things like dandelion, hawthorn, willow branches and leaves, which people on the rabbit forum forage for, amongst other things, and feed.

due to my rabbits being very sensitive, they have no pellets and no veg at all. they have fresh herbs and then any natural foods like i mentioned above, along with hay and grass when it's dry. this has done them the world of good as they can't tolerate veggies at all. i guess alot of piggies might be the same. i know maisie can't tolerate any sugary veg very well.

 

[Amanda1801]

I'd be interested in knowing this; my tortoise is fed a purely weed based diet so I'm always out foraging when I walk the dogs...got a bumper crop of vetch today!

 

[zombieprincess]

Piggies can also have willow branches and leaves. They love mallow which looks like wild geranium/cransebill but with rounder leaves and similar flowers. Nepeta/catnips are popular with some piggies but they seem to like the fresh young leaves best, as it can be a strong flavour.
They can also have cow parsley which is in all the hedgerows at the moment, looks like yarrow. Again not all like the flavour, its related to chervil so is a bit aniseed like, and they prefer the leaves to flowers. Drying it and putting it in hay seems to be the most popular option. They can also be fed lamiums (dead nettles) a little round leaved nettle with purple flowers, and a taller more stinging nettle looking plant with white flowers (which are very sweet and sugary if you pick them off and suck them!)

 

[Alyy]

Not on the piggie level yet, but I have my outdoor pair of rabbits on a hay only diet They get forage, dandelion leaves and things. No veg though. They had a bout of excess poopers but they were healthy.. turns out the timothy & rye hay they had was a bit too fibrous for them. They're on ings now and their poos are fine I'm going to start introducing their pellets again soon though, maybe to about 5 SS a day each

 

[Mizzpigz]

It seems they can eat vetches aswell. I have read about nettles but not sure i would want to give these, however I'm sure they are very high in vitamins

 

[Piggie Life]

I'd be interested in knowing this; my tortoise is fed a purely weed based diet so I'm always out foraging when I walk the dogs...got a bumper crop of vetch today!

I'm a forager too. Sometimes I feel so tempted to climb into people's gardens when I see footlong dandelion leaves! |)

 

[lu_lu]

Do any of the natural foods mentioned above have to be dried or can they be fed fresh

 

[zombieprincess]

I think the only thing that needs to be dried prior to eating is stinging nettle, lamium nettles have no stinging hairs so can be fed fresh. Some things like plantain and cowparsley appear to be preferred dried but can be fed fresh to piggies. Mine also like sow thistles, and rose leaves from both wild and cultivated roses, the flower is edible too but I think bunnies like flowers more than pigs do.

 

[Mizzpigz]

I'm a forager too. Sometimes I feel so tempted to climb into people's gardens when I see footlong dandelion leaves! |)

Oh me too! How funny! Sometimes when I'm walking about I will go and grab a few leaves and here and there, I'm sure people don't mind as long as I take them by the root! Well unless they have rabbits and guineas that is!

 

[Amanda1801]

I'm a forager too. Sometimes I feel so tempted to climb into people's gardens when I see footlong dandelion leaves! |)

I nearly had words with my mum's neighbour, who very kindly mowed her front lawn for her...along with the 3000 dandelion seeds that I'd thrown there a few weeks ago that were starting to grow nicely!

 

[twiams]

I have a mini list i noted down when working at the vets the other day, sorry if anyone has already mentioned these but yeah ...

Acorn (not sure if this the actual nut or the sticks from the tree’s)
Alfalfa
Beech
Beechnuts
Chickweed
Clover
Coltsfoot
Comfrey
Corn Marigold
Corn Spurry
Cow Parsly
Daisy
Dnadelion
Fruit trees
Grounsel
Hawthorn Berries
Hazel
Hogweed
Knotted Persicaria
Ladys Thumb
Lucerne
Meadow Horsetail
Nettles
Oxete
Plantain
Rose
Shepherds Purse
Sow Thistle
Sunflower
Thistle
Vetch
Wheat
Barley
Willow
Tarrow
Young Oak Leaves.

 

[Mizzpigz]

Well..... So far so good with the piggys as they like nepeta (cat mint) pepper mint, oregano, lemon balm, wild geraniums whch is good as we have lots and radish.

Ive now started a piggy forage trough which is quite large that I have sown guinea pig grass seed, lettuce, rocket, wild geranium and chard. I think I will put this in their run so they can eat what they like as and when they feel like it. Can I ask can they eat the leaves and stem of sunflower or the flower itself? Also does anyone know if they can eat parsnip leaves.

Many thanks

 

[BlueDreamer]

Piggies can also have willow branches and leaves. They love mallow which looks like wild geranium/cransebill but with rounder leaves and similar flowers. Nepeta/catnips are popular with some piggies but they seem to like the fresh young leaves best, as it can be a strong flavour.
They can also have cow parsley which is in all the hedgerows at the moment, looks like yarrow. Again not all like the flavour, its related to chervil so is a bit aniseed like, and they prefer the leaves to flowers. Drying it and putting it in hay seems to be the most popular option. They can also be fed lamiums (dead nettles) a little round leaved nettle with purple flowers, and a taller more stinging nettle looking plant with white flowers (which are very sweet and sugary if you pick them off and suck them!)

With the lamiums and the nettle with white flowers on, do you have to dry them out first or can you give them fresh?

 

[Hermes]

With the lamiums and the nettle with white flowers on, do you have to dry them out first or can you give them fresh?

Both plants mentioned are lamiums aka dead nettles and can be fed fresh. They're called dead nettles because superficially they look like stinging nettles but they don't actually sting.