Peaflakes

[Chettsgenie]

Hi,

Does anyone else have a piggie who loves peaflakes more than any other food?!?

I got a new boar at the start of March and it's taken a little while to get to know what he likes veggie-wise. He'll try almost anything, but he loves lettuce and carrot the most.

They get a small amount of veggies twice a day, their pellet bowls get filled once a day, and their hay is topped up three times a day so they always have plenty to eat.

Anyway, I used to give my boars a few peaflakes every now and then, but when I gave this new boy some he immediately started going mad chewing the bars for more. He now does this at all feeding times, and he will only stop if I give him peaflakes or if I leave the room (which is a pain because I work in their room!). Nothing else gets him doing this, only peaflakes. My other boy copies him now and he used to hardly ever take more than a single peaflake but now he'll take as many as my new boy does!

Any hints or tips on getting this behaviour under control? I'm also not sure how many peaflakes are too many?

I've tried small pet select healthy snackers and hay cubes as alternative healthier snacks but they don't get a reaction. Also, they get some Basil, Mint etc. as treats but he wants and will take peaflakes over any other treat! I do also class carrots as a treat, which he definitely likes, but he will still chew the bars waiting to see if he will get given peaflakes instead or along with anything else.

Thanks in advance! The blond texel in the pic is the peaflake addict

 

[Siikibam]

The only way to stop the behaviour (eventually) is to not give in and offer a pea flake every time. They now know if they do, they get what they want. You’ll just have to be strong and ignore. Or perhaps fluff up their hay.

The other thing (and I know you didn’t ask about it) is that pellets should be fed sparsely. Each pig should only get one tablespoon a day. If they fill up on pellets then they won’t be eating enough hay.

 

[Betsy]

My piggies get 3 peaflakes and 3 pieces of dried apple each every night for supper just before I go to bed. They may want more but they don't get it. Maybe you could switch to peaflakes at Supper time? Then you wouldn't hear them biting on the bars asking for more.

 

[AidaB]

Our Hamish is currently a bar biter.
Hamish is exactly like a toddler, when you give him food while he is biting the bars he does it more. So to break the cycle we give no food while he is bar biting. If we approach our guinea pigs with food and he starts biting the bars we walk away, and ignore him(yes its hard!). Sometimes he just can’t stop so we add a handful of hay and try to distract him. Once he stops we give him his food. Sometimes we have to be quick! By ensuring he is not bar biting when we give him food, he disassociates bar biting with food coming. Slowly he forgets about bar biting again. Unfortunately he will still do so occasionally and we have to do it all again! Luckily we get a few weeks break in-between the incessant bar biting. So it does help to ignore it/walk away.

(Billy,our other guinea pig, arrived with us a bar biter and re-taught Hamish all about about bar biting and Billy promptly stopped when he received no food straight way, he now leaves that job to Hamish and looks annoyed when we walk away, because Hamish is biting the bars.)

Our boys looove peaflakes, but they are a treat. Like Betsy we offer one or two at bedtime, that is it. I am sure if we offered them the whole box, they would eat the lot!

Good luck.

Edited….
While spell checking my post I was late, according to Hamish, with his medicine and he decided to bite the bars.

 

[Cheekypigs]

I would stop with the pea flakes altogether and tough it out (with noise cancelling headphones perhaps?). Unfortunately it seems like he can't enjoy them in moderation!

Also, if you have an open-top cage, try to always give food in through the top and not through the bars. I think that can help to reduce bar-biting, as they don't associate the bars with food. Unfortunately, if your cage has a closed top, there's no way to stop that association building up!

 

[AidaB]

Also, if you have an open-top cage, try to always give food in through the top and not through the bars. I think that can help to reduce bar-biting, as they don't associate the bars with food. Unfortunately, if your cage has a closed top, there's no way to stop that association building up!

Forever telling my OH not to give food through the bars, but reach over.

 

[Chettsgenie]

The only way to stop the behaviour (eventually) is to not give in and offer a pea flake every time. They now know if they do, they get what they want. You’ll just have to be strong and ignore. Or perhaps fluff up their hay.

The other thing (and I know you didn’t ask about it) is that pellets should be fed sparsely. Each pig should only get one tablespoon a day. If they fill up on pellets then they won’t be eating enough hay.

I've been ignoring for the most part but he's showing no signs of stopping! I will just have to persevere, thanks. Lol. I thought he was quite a calm piggy until I discovered how much he loves peaflakes. Yeah, I know about the pellets, their bowls aren't 'full' when they're filled and I only add them once a day so when they're gone they're gone until the next day.

 

[Chettsgenie]

My piggies get 3 peaflakes and 3 pieces of dried apple each every night for supper just before I go to bed. They may want more but they don't get it. Maybe you could switch to peaflakes at Supper time? Then you wouldn't hear them biting on the bars asking for more.

I will try this, thanks. He's running up to the bars to bite them every time I get up from my desk now but I'm ignoring it, hoping he'll learn it's not going to work.

 

[Betsy]

I will try this, thanks. He's running up to the bars to bite them every time I get up from my desk now but I'm ignoring it, hoping he'll learn it's not going to work.

He will do eventually. It's very hard not to feed them as they are appetites with fur but you really must harden your heart and not give in.

 

[Chettsgenie]

Our Hamish is currently a bar biter.
Hamish is exactly like a toddler, when you give him food while he is biting the bars he does it more. So to break the cycle we give no food while he is bar biting. If we approach our guinea pigs with food and he starts biting the bars we walk away, and ignore him(yes its hard!). Sometimes he just can’t stop so we add a handful of hay and try to distract him. Once he stops we give him his food. Sometimes we have to be quick! By ensuring he is not bar biting when we give him food, he disassociates bar biting with food coming. Slowly he forgets about bar biting again. Unfortunately he will still do so occasionally and we have to do it all again! Luckily we get a few weeks break in-between the incessant bar biting. So it does help to ignore it/walk away.

(Billy,our other guinea pig, arrived with us a bar biter and re-taught Hamish all about about bar biting and Billy promptly stopped when he received no food straight way, he now leaves that job to Hamish and looks annoyed when we walk away, because Hamish is biting the bars.)

Our boys looove peaflakes, but they are a treat. Like Betsy we offer one or two at bedtime, that is it. I am sure if we offered them the whole box, they would eat the lot!

Good luck.

Edited….
While spell checking my post I was late, according to Hamish, with his medicine and he decided to bite the bars.

I've been trying to wait for him to stop before I give any food but he's still doing it so far. I'm guessing it may take a while to work. Yeah I am going to just start giving them a couple at the end of the day now, think that will be best. Thanks

 

[Chettsgenie]

I would stop with the pea flakes altogether and tough it out (with noise cancelling headphones perhaps?). Unfortunately it seems like he can't enjoy them in moderation!

Also, if you have an open-top cage, try to always give food in through the top and not through the bars. I think that can help to reduce bar-biting, as they don't associate the bars with food. Unfortunately, if your cage has a closed top, there's no way to stop that association building up!

They're in an open top C&C cage and I don't usually feed through the bars but I might have done this with the peaflakes so maybe that's been a mistake then. I'll watch out for that in future, thanks.

 

[Betsy]

Do you let them know what you're going to do before you do it? I let mine know. Every morning I say "Morning girls, Run time!" which means either Bramble and Misty get time in the run or Thea gets time in the run depending on who's turn it is. Then "Breakfast time" means time for pellets (they get 1 tablespoon of pellets per piggy per day). I have a different phrase for everything I do, before I do it, throughout the day.

I adopted Misty and Bramble a few weeks ago and they are starting to know what each phrase means.

Thea lives in Betsy Towers (the hutch) whereas Misty and Bramble live in a Ferplast 120 cage next to Betsy Towers and the run is on the floor next to both the cage and the hutch. (Thea has made it quite clear at 6 and a half that she prefers her own company).