Too much hay?

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Poppy'sMum

Poppy'sMum

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Dear old Blighty UK
Can piggies have too much hay?

The reason I ask is because mine have hay 24/7 available to them, & I weighed Chubbs tonight & she is becoming a giant piggy :red

Am I giving them too much? The youngsters (around 7 months old) are around 900g now & Chubbs (nearly 2) is erm quite a lot more lol I'm worried I'm overfeeding them.

I was going to cut back their veg a bit but my reasoning is there can't be too many calories in veg/salad stuff, they don't get unlimited pellets now (Chubbs was lying by the bowl scoffing her face!) just about a tablespoon & a bit each a day (ok as per instructions on bag of pellets) so I really want their diet to consist of mainly hay with two veggie feeds a day & the allowed pellet amount.

So that leaves the hay, could that be causing her to pile on the grams?

Is there a piggy equivalent of Weigh Watchers? rolleyes
 
Short answer: No!

Long answer: They should have access to an unlimited quantity of good quality hay. At least 80% of their diet should be hay.

If you're concerned that they're getting porky, the best thing to reduce is their commercial dry food. How much of this are you feeding daily? They don't actually need the dry food in their diet if you make good veg choices.
 
Amanda1801 said:
Short answer: No!

Long answer: They should have access to an unlimited quantity of good quality hay. At least 80% of their diet should be hay.

If you're concerned that they're getting porky, the best thing to reduce is their commercial dry food. How much of this are you feeding daily? They don't actually need the dry food in their diet if you make good veg choices.
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Thanks Amanda, they get 2 tablespoonfuls in the morning after they have had their veggies, then 2 tablespoons after their evening veggies (between all three of them) Just weighed what I give them & it's around 10-15g per tablespoon. On the bag (Wagg Optimum) it says 30-50 g per pig a day! I would say they get around 60g between the three of them a day, so they get less than the recommended amount really rolleyes
 
Poppy'sMum said:
Thanks Amanda, they get 2 tablespoonfuls in the morning after they have had their veggies, then 2 tablespoons after their evening veggies (between all three of them) Just weighed what I give them & it's around 10-15g per tablespoon. On the bag (Wagg Optimum) it says 30-50 g per pig a day! I would say they get around 60g between the three of them a day, so they get less than the recommended amount really rolleyes
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It is just that - a recommended amount.

Jeff and Cameo are relatively porky. What I do with their pellets, is scatter a small amount in their hay, so they forage for it, it takes them longer to eat it, they don't get as much, they have to move for it, but they still get some :)
 
Amanda1801 said:
It is just that - a recommended amount.

Jeff and Cameo are relatively porky. What I do with their pellets, is scatter a small amount in their hay, so they forage for it, it takes them longer to eat it, they don't get as much, they have to move for it, but they still get some :)
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That's a good plan :) I may do that, although mostly they have their hay in a rack & in bowls as I am a little paranoid about eye pokes rolleyes I could put some in the loo rolls with some hay they might enjoy that too.

Thanks! :)
 
Poppy'sMum said:
That's a good plan :) I may do that, although mostly they have their hay in a rack & in bowls as I am a little paranoid about eye pokes rolleyes I could put some in the loo rolls with some hay they might enjoy that too.

Thanks! :)
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Putting some pellets inside a toilet roll and plug the ends with hay sounds like a great idea!

Also, what about a treat ball? [ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trixie-618865-Snack-Ball/dp/B0009586P2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1329949506&sr=8-2"]Snack Ball: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies[/ame]
or a small animal kong [ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kong-Small-Animal-Toy-3/dp/B0002AR19G/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1329949538&sr=1-1"]Kong Small Animal Toy 3": Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies[/ame]

If you're concerned about hay pokes, you could use some soft hay meadow for the foraging purpose - I use this and it's lovely stuff http://www.pet-supermarket.co.uk/products-Supreme-Choice-Hay_CN199007.htm
 
Some piggies are also naturally more big boned than others, I have an aging peruvian boar who is quite a chunk and weighs just under 1450g! His son (I didn't breed them) is 9 months and weighs nearly 1200g, I think it must be in their genes that they are that bit heavier than my other boars. Also, I wouldn't think that hay was particularly fattening, my guess would be the pellets that are helping her to pile on the pounds lol. Does she exercise a lot? Because if she's a lazy wee lassie that couldn't be helping matters :p Gotta love a cuddly, chunk of a pig though :))
 
Amanda1801 said:
Putting some pellets inside a toilet roll and plug the ends with hay sounds like a great idea!

Also, what about a treat ball? Snack Ball: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies
or a small animal kong Kong Small Animal Toy 3": Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies

If you're concerned about hay pokes, you could use some soft hay meadow for the foraging purpose - I use this and it's lovely stuff http://www.pet-supermarket.co.uk/products-Supreme-Choice-Hay_CN199007.htm
Click to expand...

I've got the treat ball they're scared of it lol rolleyes I might persevere with it though! Thanks for the hay link too.
 
Pigglywinks said:
Some piggies are also naturally more big boned than others, I have an aging peruvian boar who is quite a chunk and weighs just under 1450g! His son (I didn't breed them) is 9 months and weighs nearly 1200g, I think it must be in their genes that they are that bit heavier than my other boars. Also, I wouldn't think that hay was particularly fattening, my guess would be the pellets that are helping her to pile on the pounds lol. Does she exercise a lot? Because if she's a lazy wee lassie that couldn't be helping matters :p Gotta love a cuddly, chunk of a pig though :))
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Oh yes she is cuddly alright! She is a Rex & they are usually slightly bigger than normal lol! I think you are right about the exercise though she needs a treadmill :))
 
Too much hay !

piggiesonhay.jpg


Nope ;)
 
As far as my girls are concerned, Moonpig is 1100g and she's actually a bit underweight for her frame, she was averaging around 1200 - 1250g before her ovarian cysts started playing her up. Olivia on the other hand is tiny, I'll be weighing her for the first time this week. The boys are completely different as well.
They're all different, you'll be able to see if they look fat or if they're in proportion.
I don't give my lot more than a dessertspoonful of nuggets each per day and they don't eat all of them.
 
AndreaJane said:
As far as my girls are concerned, Moonpig is 1100g and she's actually a bit underweight for her frame, she was averaging around 1200 - 1250g before her ovarian cysts started playing her up. Olivia on the other hand is tiny, I'll be weighing her for the first time this week. The boys are completely different as well.
They're all different, you'll be able to see if they look fat or if they're in proportion.
I don't give my lot more than a dessertspoonful of nuggets each per day and they don't eat all of them.
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Well Chubbs has a very large body with these little legs, she can run fast when she sees me coming though rolleyes

Of course I can't guarantee when my back's turned or I go off to work that Chubbs isn't getting more than her fair share rolleyes
 
AndreaJane said:
As far as my girls are concerned, Moonpig is 1100g and she's actually a bit underweight for her frame, she was averaging around 1200 - 1250g before her ovarian cysts started playing her up. Olivia on the other hand is tiny, I'll be weighing her for the first time this week. The boys are completely different as well.
They're all different, you'll be able to see if they look fat or if they're in proportion.
I don't give my lot more than a dessertspoonful of nuggets each per day and they don't eat all of them.
Click to expand...

Sorry, just been looking at their bowls I'd say it's more like a tablespoonful of nuggets per piggie each day ( a bit more for the boys who are unfillable).
 
I usually feed an egg cup of pellets per piggie per day, and ive just weighed that, its 32g of pellets. :) I think this is a fine amount, they are maintaining a perfectly healthy weight... anyway, my point is that if you want to cut down on anything, make it pellets :)
 
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