Why can't piggies have frozen veg?

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KimberleysWheekers

KimberleysWheekers

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Hi

I've done a search through the forums on frozen veg and they all say the same, to never feed frozen or tinned veg. Does any one know the reasons why?

I've always been led to believe that frozen veg 'locks in' the goodness and because it is frozen pretty much straight away, they are sometimes 'fresher' than the fresh stuff in the supermarkets.

I know that everywhere does frozen brocolli and I know that Asda do bags of frozen sliced peppers both at very good prices. So if the days portion was left to defrost, would this not be the same as raw veg?

Thanks in advance!

:)p
 
OOH good question! I'd like the answer to that myself.

I personally aren't a big fan of frozen veg it tastes a bit different (except peas - gotta be frozen peas).
 
I didn't know they where not to eat frozen veg.I have been feeding mine frozen Veg.And they love it.Just make sure it is just plain veggies. Mine love it when i give them some i don't give them alot it is just as a treat.They still get fresh veggies too.
 
Iv always wondered too!

would be much cheaper buying them frozen then fresh!

 
Maybe you aren't supposed to feed frozen veg while it's still frozen? Other than the change is consistency in defrosted veg, which might put some piggies off, I can't imagine why it would be a problem.

I was reading an article today which said that tinned and frozen veg often has higher vitamin content than 'fresh' bought veg because of the time the fresh stuff has sat travelling, on shelf at the supermarket and in the fridge at home. Obviously the freshly picked stuff is best of all.
 
Well I'm glad it wasn't a silly question! Hehe :)) I just hope someone knows why!

I end up throwing a lot of food out, I've been buying those value range peppers, you know the big big packs, but there are usually a couple of dud ones in there etc.

Hope someone comes along soon with the answer.

:)p
 
GinnyLover said:
I didn't know they where not to eat frozen veg.I have been feeding mine frozen Veg.And they love it.Just make sure it is just plain veggies. Mine love it when i give them some i don't give them alot it is just as a treat.They still get fresh veggies too.
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I've just read you post amongst the others - So, there are some piggies who do like it!

I'd still buy some fresh, like cucumber etc, the ones that you can't get frozen. But then, you can also get frozen fruit too, blueberries/raspberries etc. and it is all so much cheaper than fresh off of the shelves...

Someone must know!
 
I've just been doing some research about this and haven't been able to get an answer. If I was guessing, I'd say that people imagine that frozen and tinned stuff is low in Vitamin C and therefore not great for piggies, despite this not always being the case.

I also guess that the tinned thing is because canned goods are often mixed veg and frequently have added salt or sugar, so again, not good for pigs.

I'd always just assumed that they wouldn't eat it because it would be mushy. Of course if they're softer they won't aid teeth wear, but there are other things piggies can chew to keep teeth down.

Maybe like so many things it's become a blanket rule rather than a guideline, but if you choose what you feed carefully and feed a variety of fresh foods as well it's not a problem?

I certainly haven't been able to find any scientific justification for the rule so far.
 
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I can't post the direct link to what I have found, so will have to summarise, but the therories go that...

- Vegetables are rarely frozen raw, most are precooked or parboiled;
- Some frozen veg are blanched to retain their colour, but this causes them to lose nutrients;
- Vegetables contain enzymes that are destroyed when freezing, leading to loss of nutrients;
- Bacteria (which were not killed, only slowed down, when frozen) begin to multiply rapidly upon thawing.

I have no idea of the science or truth of any of this, so don't take it as fact, but the forum I summarised from is reliable in their advice.

It is not dangerous to feed frozen veg (once thawed or lightly cooked). A few pigs enjoy it.

However the water content, taste and texture of the food is nothing like that of fresh foods.
 
Also, don't use a microwave to defrost veg - sit it in the fridge to thaw out. Only thaw one portion at a time. If you're wanting to feed them before they are thoroughly defrosted, sit them in a ziplock bag in a jug of warm water to speed up the process!

And canned veggies tend to have preservatives of some kind, as well as usually being precooked.
 
Thanks for that Laura - I too was wondering why not! That makes sense, I know when my mum grew her own produce she had to blanch it quickly to freeze it or else it looked and tasted odd, so that would sound about right.
 
Laura you missed one thing ;)

Frozen or canned food may contain sugars and/or salts as well as other ingredients that are not very good for your guinea pig(s). So always read the lable.

Also when you freeze raw veggies, the cells start to turn into ice icles, they can brust while freezing or when thawed, when they do that they lose alot of their goodness. So its always better just to give them raw, but I think in a pinch frozen might work.

And if you have a piggie thats sick and eating mushed pellets you coult add in mushed frozen veggies to help them pick up weight.
 
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