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Picky Eaters

Seeshell

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Hi guys, I’ve got my first two little piggies who are 8 weeks old. I’m finding them to be quite picky with their veggies. The only one they will gobble up is kale! I’ve tried a few other leaves but they seem to eat a little bit then don’t go back to it. They also have their hay and piggy pellets. Any thoughts?
 
It takes them time to learn what they like! They will get there but persistence is sometimes needed. They will learn from each other
Don’t let them have kale too often - kale, parsley and spinach are high in calcium and need to be kept limited to a small amount once per week only. (Too much calcium, most of which comes from overfeeding pellets and unfiltered drinking water, can lead to sludge in the bladder and stone formation)

As long as they eat lots of hay then they will be fine. Hay is required with 24/7 constant access, one cup/ 50g of veg per day and just one tablespoon of pellets (equates to around 6 grams) per pig per day (pellets should always be limited as they are the least important and least healthy part of their diet), also filter their drinking water. The guide below will help

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Edible And Forbidden Veg And Fruit List With Vitamin C Grading
 
Thanks for your reply. Do you know about spring greens? They seem to be eating them. What’s the best greens to give them?
 
Thanks for your reply. Do you know about spring greens? They seem to be eating them. What’s the best greens to give them?
Lettuce (not iceberg) is a good one for them to eat. Or a salad mix as well. You could also try them on bell pepper (any colour), cucumber and coriander
 
Sometimes it can take a few tries for a pig to realise something it tasty, so don't give up on the first try!
 
They wouldn’t eat the pepper at all, not too bad with cucumber. I’ll persevere with mayb spring greens and lettuce. It’s so difficult as one web site says one thing and another one says the opposite x
 
They wouldn’t eat the pepper at all, not too bad with cucumber. I’ll persevere with mayb spring greens and lettuce. It’s so difficult as one web site says one thing and another one says the opposite x
You may just have to be persistent and keep trying. Put it in their cage and if they don’t eat it then take out and throw away. Rinse and repeat. Issue is they’re so young and it’s at this stage when they’re learning what’s safe to eat from their elders. If they were separated quite early on or their mum/elder piggies they lived with didn’t eat veg then it makes it hard for them as well.
 
The guides I linked into the thread earlier, are very good and useful.
I feed spring greens to my two. I give it to them a few times a week so they have variety
 
My girls are also fussy. I feed spring greens, Kale, carrot, broccoli, sweet potato and tomato. They won't eat strawberry or pepper.
Also I find that if I feed too many nuggets, they just leave them and if I feed too little, they are still hungry and squeaking for more.
 
You may just have to be persistent and keep trying. Put it in their cage and if they don’t eat it then take out and throw away. Rinse and repeat. Issue is they’re so young and it’s at this stage when they’re learning what’s safe to eat from their elders. If they were separated quite early on or their mum/elder piggies they lived with didn’t eat veg then it makes it hard for them as well.
Luna and Trixie learnt a bit off Daisy before she died. Nutmeg and Bandit didn't know what veggies were before Luna and Trixie taught them
 
My girls are also fussy. I feed spring greens, Kale, carrot, broccoli, sweet potato and tomato. They won't eat strawberry or pepper.
Also I find that if I feed too many nuggets, they just leave them and if I feed too little, they are still hungry and squeaking for more.

That’s called having you trained! They won’t be hungry if they always have hay, don’t fall for it!
 
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