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Wheat Middlings, Soy And Molasses

G

gicogico

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I'm currently giving my guinea pigs Oxbow pellets, but the main ingredients are Wheat Middlings, Soy and Molasses, which worries me. I feel like there is no way these things DONT interfere in some way with their digestive/urinary health. I was thinking about switching them to something more natural without these things and the only brand I found is Sherwood Adult Guinea Pig food. However, the first ingredient is alfalfa hay, followed by timothy hay (its a 50/50) and is grain & soy free, has Vitamin C, and and the ingredients list is much shorter. I know everyone is super against alfalfa for adult piggies, because of calcium, but I feel like it would be a decent trade off for more natural pellets. I would probably stop giving them calcium rich veggies like parsley if I did switch.

thoughts?
 
I believe if piggies have sensitive digestion,eg prone to bloat,calcium stones,it is thought to be better to go with a grainless pellet.a you tuber has done a comparrison between the pellets you are referring to,it is interesting. if you are in the uk the other pellets are very expensive at £56.00 for 2.5 kgs and that is not any taxes added on ! i think it depends on your budget,piggies,and where you are in the world.@Flutterby has a comparison chart aimed at uk availability which has some grainless pellets highlighted.:)
 
:agr:

Also, first off, I'd need to know where abouts you are located so I can try to tailor the advice to your area.
 
I've been in contact with Sherwood about their pellets being supplied in the UK as I was hoping to try them for Bramble with her dodgy stomach I felt they would benefit her, they are looking at selling the pellets on Amazon UK (current stockists are not actually Sherwood and selling at a far higher price than should be!) They also advised me to contact as many suppliers that I use as possible, so far The Hay Experts are the only ones to reply to me about the possibility of stocking it as due to Brexit supplying from the US is apparently more expensive but they said they would contact Sherwood and get back to me.

With regards to alfalfa..I'm not sure it is as big of an evil as it's made out to be, I feed my lot a huge variety of pellets from alfalfa based, Timothy based, grain free and grain including, 100% hay or grass to ones with more fillers. These are fed alongside some calcium rich veg because again I like to feed a very large variety and I have never encountered sludge or stones. I do make sure alfalfa based pellets are not the main bulk of the mix of various pellets I use, but I think I've got at least 2 brands up there that contain it.

That being said, I'd be interested to hear what someone with more knowledge on pellets has to say about it, I've basically added or removed things from the diet as I go and eventually got to where I am with my pigs where I've got no issues, but of course that's not to say it would work for everyone and their pigs!
 
the fact that just Oxbow uses bad ingredients thanks to the great name of its firm is something which gets on my nerves. And if you make a sum of the single percentage of nutricional values (proteins, fats, ashes, fibres, etc.) you will find a number which is not 100% and actually it is less than 50%. Once at a meeting I asked the nutritionist doctor (more seller than doctor) of Oxbow what the rest is made of and he changed the colour of his face...
Unfortunately there are no good brands and pellets need molasses or other starch or sugars for being done...
But Oxbow should feel ashamed...
 
My guinea pigs eat oxbow, it's either that or the other 4-5 brands that all have alfalfa in them. It's so hard trying to find a suitable brand of pellets, I think most of them have at least something in them that is highly suspect. I would do away with the pellets if it wasn't for the fact the piggies are eating a massive amount of hay this month but next month they will pick at it like maybe it's poison and the grass around here is like a gross burnt brown colour and is hardly fit to feed my guinea pigs. What would they eat except their veg when they are in their picky moods.

Still on pellets, I bought some oat pellets from a farm that they reckon is made up of 100% oat hay and no fillers or binders, they make them themselves just with a press. Should I believe them? Patchy and Coco abso love them but so far I have been only been giving them as a treat twice a week sparingly.
 
@Flutterby I am based in the UK and would like to try soya and grain free pellets, would be really interested in seeing your comparison chart. Do you have a link to it please?
 
@Adelle i just found an old post you made about Sherwood pellets and wondered how you had found them longer term and if you'd tried any other grain free options?
Thanks
 
Clara Kirby said:
@Flutterby I am based in the UK and would like to try soya and grain free pellets, would be really interested in seeing your comparison chart. Do you have a link to it please?
Click to expand...

Here is the link to the chart. It doesn't show anything Soya free, but does have grain free foods highlighted and also shows the main ingredient of each food.

Nugget Comparison Chart
 
My own piggies are on grain free diet. We use a mix of Selective grain free and Versele Laga. They are both being tolerated well by my 4 ladies.
 
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