Best way to feed large number of piggies

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mikikkin

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I have 32 piggies and I am trying to work out the most cost effective way to feed them all....

They are outdoor piggies in a very warm climate, we are entering into summer and our grass is already all used up for the season and we are entering into a drought so grass is currently off the menu! I wanted to sow more grass seed to last them through the summer but we had sudden water restrictions applied so that isn't possible now unfortunately.

I'm looking for any improvements I could make or ways to make it more cost effective (i.e. cheaper) if I can!

This is what they currently get daily:

* 2 handfuls of hay for eating (and an additional 2 handfulS for burrowing that ends up soiled - they have a HUGE outdoor area and so this kind of helps with minimizing hay wastage as they aren't in a small cage where the hay gets lots of pee and poop on it). I buy meadow hay from a farmer to save money, it's $20 a bale and we currently go through about 2 bales a week.
* 1 handful each of Timothy chaff ( I buy this from the horse feed shop in giant 20kg bags to save money)
* 1/2 cup each of Timothy pellets (these do not have Vit C added, I also buy this in 20kg from the horse feed shop which is why it has no Vit C)
* 1/8th of a capsicum each (currently buying from the supermarket but will have plenty of lovely organic ones growing in my garden very soon!)
* 3/4 cup of different colours and types of lettuce (I grow this in my garden to save money, when I add 1/8th of capsicum each to this it equals about 1 cup of veges)
* A tiny sprinkle of herbs ( mostly parsley and coriander)
* 1/2 teaspoon each of lupin flakes (pea flakes in 20kg bag also from horse feed shop but I think this might go "bad" before I can finish the whole bag!)
* 1 teaspoon each of wholegrain oats (I buy this in bulk from the health food store, I was told by a guinea pig rescue place that it helps them gain weight quickly)

They get "treats" twice a week - a small amount of apples, carrots, beetroot, purple cabbage, collard leaves, spinach or sorrel (not all at once!)

Does this sound appropriate? Are there any changes I can make to ensure the best health of my piggies? Or any changes I can make to make it more cost effective?

A lot of my piggies have come to me as "rescues" from situations where the owners just weren't interested in them anymore (they were small children's pets) and most of them were grossly underweight when they arrived and I am working on fattening them up!

Thank you in advance for any suggestions!
 
The diet should be one tablespoon of pellets per piggy.
So by giving half a cup per piggy which converts (according to an online conversion, we don’t use cup measures in the UK) to 8 tablespoons each it is hugely over feeding them.
I appreciate the rescue/underweight situation and wanting to feed them up but the best way to do that is with unlimited hay. They can have a small amount of oats to also help.
Cutting pellets right down would be hugely beneficial to the piggies but also to how much you go through.
Veg per piggy is one cup of veg per day.
A lettuce leaf or two, coriander, chunk of cucumber, thin slice of bell pepper and coriander are all safe to be given daily.
All veg wise it sounds ok except I would not give parsley, collard greens, spinach more than once a week due to the fact they are high calcium so should be kept limited.

Peaflakes are a treat, not something they need to have every day so you could stop with those if you wanted to.

The guide below may help.
We do have members who have larger numbers of piggies who may also have some advice.
I have six animals myself - four piggies and two rabbits - so while not 32, I still also try to keep costs down by foraging for fresh weeds, feeding grass and growing my own veg in summer. I only give pellets 2-3 times a week and give only a bit less than a tablespoon per pig, so I can make even a small bag of pellets lasts for months.
I also buy hay in bulk bales as it is cheaper and easier.

Money crunch? - Practical saving tips for your guinea pig food bill
 
Hi, as said above, feeding less pellets will help reduce costs are not needed in the quantity you currently feed. As you already bulk buy there is not really anywhere to make further savings except to buy rolled oats from the horse feed shop, if they have them where you are, instead of from a health food store.
I hope your drought does not last long and you will have grass again soon
 
Piggies&buns said:
The diet should be one tablespoon of pellets per piggy.
So by giving half a cup per piggy which converts (according to an online conversion, we don’t use cup measures in the UK) to 8 tablespoons each it is hugely over feeding them.
I appreciate the rescue/underweight situation and wanting to feed them up but the best way to do that is with unlimited hay. They can have a small amount of oats to also help.
Cutting pellets right down would be hugely beneficial to the piggies but also to how much you go through.
Veg per piggy is one cup of veg per day.
A lettuce leaf or two, coriander, chunk of cucumber, thin slice of bell pepper and coriander are all safe to be given daily.
All veg wise it sounds ok except I would not give parsley, collard greens, spinach more than once a week due to the fact they are high calcium so should be kept limited.

Peaflakes are a treat, not something they need to have every day so you could stop with those if you wanted to.

The guide below may help.
We do have members who have larger numbers of piggies who may also have some advice.
I have six animals myself - four piggies and two rabbits - so while not 32, I still also try to keep costs down by foraging for fresh weeds, feeding grass and growing my own veg in summer. I only give pellets 2-3 times a week and give only a bit less than a tablespoon per pig, so I can make even a small bag of pellets lasts for months.
I also buy hay in bulk bales as it is cheaper and easier.

Money crunch? - Practical saving tips for your guinea pig food bill
Click to expand...
The pellets are pelletised timothy grass with absolutely no other ingredients at all. The company makes a horse variety (with no extra ingrdients) and a guinea pig version (with added Vit C). The guinea pig version costs 3 times the amount so to save money I buy the horse one and get Vit C from vegies instead. The company advises that since it is literally just grass the piggies can have an unlimited amount of them daily - whether it's the Vit C version or not. I know that pellet recommendations are usually a tablespoon to 1/4 cup daily depending on the type of pellet - do you still think it's overfeeding them considering it's just pelleted grass? It would be good to cut this down financially but I don't want the piggies to suffer because of it.
 
mikikkin said:
I have 32 piggies and I am trying to work out the most cost effective way to feed them all....

They are outdoor piggies in a very warm climate, we are entering into summer and our grass is already all used up for the season and we are entering into a drought so grass is currently off the menu! I wanted to sow more grass seed to last them through the summer but we had sudden water restrictions applied so that isn't possible now unfortunately.

I'm looking for any improvements I could make or ways to make it more cost effective (i.e. cheaper) if I can!

This is what they currently get daily:

* 2 handfuls of hay for eating (and an additional 2 handfulS for burrowing that ends up soiled - they have a HUGE outdoor area and so this kind of helps with minimizing hay wastage as they aren't in a small cage where the hay gets lots of pee and poop on it). I buy meadow hay from a farmer to save money, it's $20 a bale and we currently go through about 2 bales a week.
* 1 handful each of Timothy chaff ( I buy this from the horse feed shop in giant 20kg bags to save money)
* 1/2 cup each of Timothy pellets (these do not have Vit C added, I also buy this in 20kg from the horse feed shop which is why it has no Vit C)
* 1/8th of a capsicum each (currently buying from the supermarket but will have plenty of lovely organic ones growing in my garden very soon!)
* 3/4 cup of different colours and types of lettuce (I grow this in my garden to save money, when I add 1/8th of capsicum each to this it equals about 1 cup of veges)
* A tiny sprinkle of herbs ( mostly parsley and coriander)
* 1/2 teaspoon each of lupin flakes (pea flakes in 20kg bag also from horse feed shop but I think this might go "bad" before I can finish the whole bag!)
* 1 teaspoon each of wholegrain oats (I buy this in bulk from the health food store, I was told by a guinea pig rescue place that it helps them gain weight quickly)

They get "treats" twice a week - a small amount of apples, carrots, beetroot, purple cabbage, collard leaves, spinach or sorrel (not all at once!)

Does this sound appropriate? Are there any changes I can make to ensure the best health of my piggies? Or any changes I can make to make it more cost effective?

A lot of my piggies have come to me as "rescues" from situations where the owners just weren't interested in them anymore (they were small children's pets) and most of them were grossly underweight when they arrived and I am working on fattening them up!

Thank you in advance for any suggestions!
Click to expand...
Oh gosh! I made an error, not 1/2 cup timothy grass pellets, it's 1/4 cup. Although everyone seems to agree this is still too much! It is literally pelletised grass and the company advises that it can be feed in unlimited amounts - it's not like oxbow pellets or similar. It has no other ingredients. But perhaps this is the area I could cut back and save money as long as it doesn't hurt the piggies health!
 
Even though it has no other ingredients, the main part of the diet should be hay as it helps keep the teeth in shape too. The more pellets you feed, the less inclined piggies are to eat hay. You may find cutting this down and upping the available hay useful, especially whilst there is no grass
 
It isn’t going to hurt their health to reduce it - it will be of benefit to do so.

I feed a grass pellet (but it is vit c fortified) and still stick to less than a tablespoon per piggy and give 2-3 times a week. I would never allow unlimited amounts

Pellets don’t wear their teeth and don’t have the fibre content so by allowing them to fill up with too many pellets you run the risk of their hay intake decreasing and consequently dental and gut health can have issues
 
Piggies&buns said:
It isn’t going to hurt their health to reduce it - it will be of benefit to do so.

I feed a grass pellet (but it is vit c fortified) and still stick to less than a tablespoon per piggy and give 2-3 times a week. I would never allow unlimited amounts

Pellets don’t wear their teeth and don’t have the fibre content so by allowing them to fill up with too many pellets you run the risk of their hay intake decreasing and consequently dental and gut health can have issues
Click to expand...
Very good point that they will consume less hay.... I would have thought that the fibre content of the pelleted grass would have the same fibre content as fresh grass and therefore be good for them - is fibre content lost in the pelleting process?

I definitely don't want their teeth overgrowing though so I will cut back pellets to encourage more hay consumption. Stupidly I didn't consider that the company might be recommending "unlimited amounts" because then you will buy more and they will profit! I trusted they have the piggies best interest at heart but I realise now that was probably a bit naïve!
 
I feel a few handfuls of hay for 32 guinea pigs does not sound enough at all. Hay should be the main food source for a guinea pig in terms of fibre, gut health and keeping their teeth healthy.
personally I would be having huge piles of hay that I would take out and change every 2-3 days while topping up daily with fresh.
Everything else sounds cost effective with you buying in bulk, I too buy bales hay from a feed store and find it the best way to feed multiple pigs.
:nod:
 
Hannah_xx said:
I feel a few handfuls of hay for 32 guinea pigs does not sound enough at all. Hay should be the main food source for a guinea pig in terms of fibre, gut health and keeping their teeth healthy.
personally I would be having huge piles of hay that I would take out and change every 2-3 days while topping up daily with fresh.
Everything else sounds cost effective with you buying in bulk, I too buy bales hay from a feed store and find it the best way to feed multiple pigs.
:nod:
Click to expand...
I took them to mean a few handfuls for each piggy and are using two bales a week which is plenty for 32 piggies🙂
 
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