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Piggies going off most veggies

weepweeps

weepweeps

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Hi everyone

I have a question about what to feed by two boars. They are 10 weeks and 33 weeks. They seem to be going off their fresh veggies and I’m running out of ideas of what to give them because everything they like has to be fed once a week. All they are eating daily at the moment is cucumber, grass, black kale, coriander. But they LOVE spinach, carrots, basil, parsley, grapes, apple. All of which they shouldn’t have. They HATE peppers, lettuce, tomatoes. Which they should have! Fussy boars. They eat lots of hay, nuggets, dried peas, dried dandilions and are good weights. They also don’t drink water. 🤨

Thanks for any ideas
 
How much they drink is different for every pig. Remember there is water in veg so I wouldn’t worry too much about their water intake. If they need it they will drink.

Kale is high in calcium so I wouldn’t feed more than once a week, and a very small portion at that. What lettuce have you tried them on, and what colour peppers? It doesn’t matter if they hate tomatoes. They’re not something that should be fed regularly due to the acidity (can cause myth sores).

Sometimes it’s a case of persistence. As an example, my girls didn’t like celery when they moved in with us. But I persisted, leaving a little slice in their cage every day. They eventually started eating it.

Pellets should also be kept to a tablespoon a day, with hay making up the largest part of their diet. It’s good they can get grass though! Do you grow it indoors?
 
My piggy does the water from veg thing, very worrying for me but he does go for a drink now and then, vet said it was fine.

Purple gem is loved by my piggy you could try that as he never liked the green one, kale is a one day a week for sure as said above and tomatoes are kinda the same but i give a cherry one once a fortnight, i wet the celery cut it and leave till dinner time and he loves it.

Its a trial and error thing with piggies as it took me just over 6 months just to get what they liked and on a good diet, just as long as they eat their hay i'm sure they will be fine.
 
I agree with Siikibam and whitetop - I rehomed my two boars and all they would eat were pellets / hay/ slice of cabbage - gradually over time I’ve introduced everything - now they adore gem lettuce ,coriander, bell pepper, cucumber, green beans as regular food and eat sprouts, celery, spinach,watercress etc as occasional weekly veg. They don’t eat many pellets now but are good steady weights. They wheel for their veg !
 
Thank you so much for the reassuring replies. I do worry about them not drinking but I’m trying to get over it. They have two bottles and a bowl of water available. They must be getting enough water as they pee a lot. I live next to a field so can cut grass for them daily until the weather turns colder. I’ve tried red peppers and romain lettuce. They do like red and green baby leaf and chard. Is that ok daily? Thanks again
 
Wow they’re beautiful ! I know exactly what you mean weepweeps - I was paranoid when I got my boys ! I put a pen line on the water bottles when they were filled and it always was lower the next morning so my little rascals were drinking without me knowing. Are you using filtered water ? That may help to reduce the risk of calcium stones - They will get lots of water from the veg. Just make sure the grass is safe ie no risks of dogs using it or it being sprayed with chemicals. You can forage for plants .... mine love dandelions - lots of info on here about foraged foods and you can ‘dry’ your own. Just cut nettles / herbs etc and hang up to dry for about 2 weeks. You will find as the weeks go by you will become more chilled. Have fun with those gorgeous piggies 🥰
 
If they are eating fresh veg and grass everyday you really don't need to worry about them not drinking much. All veg contains a lot of water as does grass.
You are lucky to live next to a field. Grass is the very best food there is.for them because it is what they evolved to eat. It is made of the cellulose they need to keep their teeth worn down and guts moving and is rich in vitamin C. Most piggies prefer it to all types of veg, so if your boys are getting it daily that might explain why they are fussy about their veg, so again there is nothing to worry about, in fact if they get plenty of grass they don't need veg at all.
 
When I first took Caspy on he would only eat carrots, I persevered giving little bits of other veg daily and he soon started eating more variety, he now eats everything on offer! I remember when I first got Spike and Peanut they wouldn't touch peppers, it took 10 months before they ate them.
 
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