Overweight or Underweight

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*SRH*

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Is it better for a sow to be overweight or underweight? Sorrel(the boss) is just right. Hazel is slightley overweight and Rosemary used to be under weight but is now the same size as Sorrel. We need to keep on feeding up Rosemary because in the summer she came back from a major operation on her ear.
 
Have a look at this link; it will hopefully answer most of your questions:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38805

Guinea pigs that have lost weight after an operation should be encouraged to put it back on; sometimes that can be difficult or never happens to the full measure.

There are rarely any "overweight" piggies, unless they have been on a long term bad diet by overindulgent owners (usually too many sugary/fatty treats and pellets each day). There are huge variations in weight within the piggy population, though, that can still be classed as normal! Like in humans, you get stouter figures and leaner ones - same size piggies do not need necessarily weigh the same and still be both healthy and normal!
 
Thank you. Every day they have their pellets topped up, fresh hay and water. Sometimes they have some carrot for a treat and they always have unlimited grass. Hazel is lossing her weight gradualy. When Rosenary had her operation we think Hazel ate her share!
 
*SRH* said:
Thank you. Every day they have their pellets topped up, fresh hay and water. Sometimes they have some carrot for a treat and they always have unlimited grass. Hazel is lossing her weight gradualy. When Rosenary had her operation we think Hazel ate her share!
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Guinea pigs should have their pellets topped up only until they are about 6-9 months old; adults profit from a limited portion of 1/2 - 1 handful a day.
 
I give them fresh pellets everyday and about two handfulls between the three of them. Is that ok?
 
We used to give them lots of carrot and veggies but then when Hazel went to the vets, she was told to cut down on veggies. Now they have them as treats. They have lots of grass though.
 
*SRH* said:
We used to give them lots of carrot and veggies but then when Hazel went to the vets, she was told to cut down on veggies. Now they have them as treats. They have lots of grass though.
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I was always under the impression they needed fresh veggies, but I could be wrong, maybe grass is enough, but I'm not sure :(, Does anyone else know?
 
That was the advice I was given by the vet. In the winter they have veggies as treats and they are scattered about so they can play to find them.
 
i thought piggies had to have veggies daily (varied) with some things like carrots being given only once weekly, things like ros/rommaine lettuce and peppers should be given daily? piggies need their vit c from veg dont they?
 
If a guinea pig is overweight, you should rather cut down on pellets than on veg; veg are more important than pellets in a piggy's diet!

You are giving the right amount of pellets, but you guinea pigs could profit from more veg. Was there a specific reason why your vet recommended not to give any veg?
 
In an ideal world, grass would be the main aspect of the diet.

I have heard many times that fresh fruit and veg are an alternative to grass - however I am inclined to feel that grass should not replace veg altogether. Even if you only give one or two types of fresh fruit/veg a day alongside lots of grass, I feel it's better than no fruit/veg at all.

In direct answer to your question, SRH, it's preferable for a piggie to be on the chunkier side. I worry about my smaller (under 1kg) pigs as they're likely to be "harder hit" with any weight loss when ill.
 
Thank you:). They have there veggies often. However, the pellets we give them contain added vitamin C. They had some carrot this morning. The reason why we cut down on veggies was because Hazel was very fat. She was overweight. Now she is back to a good weight, they have unlimited hay and grass as well as veggies and pellets.

What veggies do not contain fats and sugars?
 
Most vegetables do not contain lots of fat. Cabbages are best in terms of not containing sugar.

Peppers and parsley are particularly good, because they are rich in vitamin C.

On those occasions when I had to cut out pellets because of Nerys' cystitis problem, my chunkier piggies have been losing weight quite nicely, whereas my smaller piggies have been keeping theirs.
 
PS: Please do not give cabbage (broccoli, sweetheart, spring greens, cauliflower leaves) only - it could lead to bloat. I give cabbages only as a part of a mix of veg.

Laura has been so good and tried to translate the recommendations on guinealynx (best medical website for guinea pigs) into a useable diet:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=37030
 
Can they have any colour of peppers or can they not have some? Thank you:)
 
*SRH* said:
Can they have any colour of peppers or can they not have some? Thank you:)
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Any colour of pepper! Do not introduce more than new veg at any given time and repeat some days later if not eaten - a bit like getting children to eat healthy green stuff! inbreeding

Herbs are also a good addition to a piggy diet for trace minerals and vitamins - coriander, parsley, dill, basil, mint...
The dried herbs should be given only in small quantities, as they contain a high concentration of calcium, but they can be given as well. I prefer fresh ones whenever possible.
 
On the back of the pellets bag, on the feeding plan it says give veggies two oe three times a week as they contain added vitamin C. Is it ok to give them veggies at that often?
 
What pellets do you feed? Most brands tend to advise feeding veg daily, it's been a while since I heard of one recommending that veg only be given every few days.

Veg doesn't really play much part at all in weight, it's the pellets that are usually the root of excessive gains. Pellets should only make up around 5% of the diet, a fair few pigs go completely without pellets and are perfectly happy and healthy. The hay and the fresh fruit/veg are the important elements of the piggie diet.
 
Just wanted to share my experince about not feeding veg.

When i first had my first pig Joey a year ago he was badly neglected and wasnt fed hay or veg only dried food, only newspaper in his cage, long nails and was covered in his own urine from hiding away in his hidey house. He had hair loss and was underweight he was also quite small for his age, he had dry skin and his fur was dull and rough. I then introduced a small amount of veg and gradually increased the veg and he put on weight gradually and is now a healthy weight and weighs 1.6kg he is 22 months old now and yes he has grown but is still slightly smaller than my other Gizmo. His fur is soft and shiny and no dry skin.

The first time i put hay into his cage he gobbled it up so fast ive never seen a pig eat that fast before, also they put vitamin C drops in his water and i could see he hadn't drank properly because of the taste. He now happily drinks his water and loves eating the veg and hay. I must say that mine prefer to eat there veg and hay first and only seem to eat their dried food at night.

I would definalty recommend feeding veg and i seen a BIG difference in Joey and cant believe that the owners neglected him so much.

I'm am in no way saying your neglecting your piggys as i can see you love them and they have a lovely grass run. :)) I just wanted to share my experince of the benefits of veg.

I also follow Laura's carefully devised veg list and my boys love it. :))
 
Laura-CCC4 said:
What pellets do you feed?

I feed them pets at home nuggets. When Hazel became a little overweight they said that it was probaly the carrot as they were having a lot of carrots. Now it is winter I will give them more veggies such as pepper.
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Thankyou to everybody who has said something in this thread as it has really helped me see some more veggie ideas for Sorrel Rosmary and Hazel.:))
 
I have divised a little feeding plan for them taking into account the calcium range and vitamin C range:

Red Pepper,
Brussles Sprouts
Broccoli
Red cabbage.
 
Be careful with Broccoli, it should only be given occasionally one - two times a week as can cause Bloat, so I would vary the diet abit more. Currently I am trying to work out my veg diet for my piggies. It's a nightmare :))

Cabbage and brussel sprouts are also gassy so should be used sparingly!

The info here is very helpful:

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=30297&page=3
 
Thank you. I was also thinking of using things such as mint,spring greens, basil and coliflower leaves.

Are Blackberries and raspberries acidic. We have to be careful with apples becasue Rosemary got a fungal infection from an apple.
 
I have given them their first small dossage of pepper. I am now going to build up on their amount untill they have wide variation of veggies.:))
 
It sounds like you're going along the right lines with upping the veg, and you're right to introduce new veg carefully in small amounts until they are used to them.

I wouldn't recommend feeding cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts and spring greens all on one day though. Spring greens is usually a type of cabbage. All of those foods are fairly 'gassy' and can aggravate bloat in those piggies susceptible to such digestive problems.

You can still feed all of the above, just in small amounts, as part of a good variety, and not all on the same day. Maybe cabbage, pepper and something else as a menu for one day?
 
Laura-CCC4 said:
It sounds like you're going along the right lines with upping the veg, and you're right to introduce new veg carefully in small amounts until they are used to them.

I wouldn't recommend feeding cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts and spring greens all on one day though. Spring greens is usually a type of cabbage. All of those foods are fairly 'gassy' and can aggravate bloat in those piggies susceptible to such digestive problems.

You can still feed all of the above, just in small amounts, as part of a good variety, and not all on the same day. Maybe cabbage, pepper and something else as a menu for one day?
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Laura can I ask how much of each veg you feed per pig? Obviously not the above but for instance, If I feed pepper I read somewere I should give 100grams of each veg this sounds like alot per pig? What do you think?
 
I gave them a little pepper at lunch time today and mabey a little more at dinner as a gave them a few slices. At dinner would it be fine to give them so carrot as they have had that before or should I give them a little celery which they have not tried before?
 
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