Cabbage - what sort?

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Mine eat greens and pointed cabbage as part of their 5 veg a day.

They prefer the green outer leaves, which makes the more compact cabbages less attractive.
 
Remember no red/purple cabbage because it has enzymes that can affect your piggie - so they are a big no no. And also, please don't feed too much green cabbage because it can leave your piggie bloated!

Hope this helped

xx
 
Red cabbage is on the safe list, I've fed it myself - I've not heard anything adverse about it! Can you give more info please, Pip? :)

Cabbage can lead to a buildup of gas in the most susceptible piggies, but the large majority of pigs are fine on a small amount (half a leaf at most) a day.

Some other names of cabbages include:

Greens
Spring Greens
Fresh Greens
Chinese Lettuce (it is actually cabbage!)

In terms of varieties, I've only fed sweetheart cabbage and savoy. My lot do prefer those advertised as "Fresh Greens", though - the greener, the better!

White cabbage, and the pale inner leaves of cabbages, tends to be much less enjoyed. As a basic rule, there's usually more nutrition the more colourful the food is.
 
Claire K said:
Hello - Does anyone else know what sort of cabbage is best for piggies or does it really not matter?

Claire
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go to the FOOD section, there is a SHOPPING LIST there....I use it as my guinea pig food bible! It has all sorts of do's and dont's.

Mine love the Radichio
 
My problem at the moment is that they are very picky eaters and despite trying them on new things, they will only touch cauli leaves, kale, carrots and parsley but I am worried that by only giving them these same few vegetables, they will get too much calcium and not enough vit c each day!

I have got some fresh greens and watercress to try them on but again, quite high in calcium foods!

I have tried tomato, sweetcorn, peppers, brussels, broccoli and grapes but they wont touch it !
 
I can certainly give you more info CCC4. :)

If you give your guineapig red cabbage, you are putting your guineapig at risk of having diarrhea, which can kill your guineapig in a single day. I guess that it depends how healthy your guinea is, or how much cabbage you give them.

Anyhow, I wouldn't risk it with my guineapig. :)
 
Excess amounts of any food can lead to diarrhea. As far as I am aware, there's nothing that red cabbage contains to suggest it would upset the gut flora enough to lead to diarrhea. Where did you get the information from? I'd like to follow this up as much as possible!
 
I appreciate the research you have done, and kudos to you on being so aware of what you are feeding your piggie.

The trouble is lots and lots of websites are either outdated, written by very young and relatively inexperienced people, or circulating entirely incorrect information. Very, very few guinea pig websites are up-to-date and contain mostly accurate information. Researching is smart and essential, but you have to look in the right places, and amongst so many guinea pig websites, a reputable one is not easy to find.

In terms of the red cabbage discussion, I read through each of the links you posted. None of those websites state that red cabbage is poisonous, and none mention anything about enzymes that can harm guinea pigs. They all list cabbages as "bad foods", suggest caution when feeding cabbage, or advise limiting the feeding of any cabbages due to the slight risk of it leading to gas in susceptible piggies. This does not mean cabbage, red or green, is unsafe for guinea pigs.
The claim that cabbage leads to bloat is inaccurate for the very large majority of piggies, it is not particularly widespread, and as such cabbage is not classified as a dangerous food. Most piggies eat it without a problem. A few piggies are sensitive to certain things, just the same as some humans are sensitive to certain things - this is where you have to try feeding a very small amount to start off with. As an aside, broccoli has just the same issues as cabbage, whether it is standard green broccoli or purple sprouting, but broccoli is listed as safe on most websites.

Most things on the safe list are perfectly suitable to feed frequently, provided you give plenty of variety and feed everything in moderation. Red cabbage, as with green cabbage and some other foods, should be fed in more strict moderation - but it doesn't mean piggies should never have it. Every single food has pros and cons. Stick with what you are sure is safe, what is recommended, and what you are comfortable feeding. Your decision not to feed red cabbage is absolutely fine, of course it is. I don't feed it either as I do have two pigs susceptible to gas and bloat and, frankly, I can't be bothered dishing up different dinners and separating the two pigs from their friends every mealtime! :))
 
My piggies go mad for cabbage, if pigs have a madness trait. They also love cucumber, green beans, carrots, spring onion a bit, stuff like that. They liked a bit of parsnip aswell but thats hard to come by in the summer. Any homegrown stuff that I get given seems to go down that little bit better, as if they know or it makes a difference to them somehow? I have notice stuff that they don't like a I generally don't force them into it. I leave the forcing for the kids. I read somewhere that they couldn't eat anything that came from a bulb (eg dafodill leaves etc) so I keep them away from the edge of the garden but fruit and veg comes in what ever looks nice down the market.
 
Yeh thanks but I'm young and I'm very particular! :))
 
Pipxxxx said:
LOTS AND LOOOTTTSSS of different websiteees on the internet - look on google! Honest! Here's some of the websites for you :

http://www.youpet.com/forums/forums/topics/threads/?forumtopicid=1664

http://www.freewebs.com/aaguineapigs/Diet.html

http://www.jackiesguineapiggies.com/fruitandveg.html

http://www.squidoo.com/guinea-pig-care-4

I guess we have our opinions though :)

I'm just very protective and safe with my piggie !

(Don't blame me :(|))
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I'm rather astonished and annoyed at this website in particular!

http://www.squidoo.com/guinea-pig-care-4

I have 8 boars and all together have had 11 piggies in my care! every single one of them has eaten cauliflour leaves and corn kernals(the very things that are stated as highly dangerous foods.
I have given small amounts of red & green cabbage also, and even with all of these apparent deadly unsafe foods i have not once had any problems and not once have they had diarrhea.
Everyone knows i dont give anything I'm unsure about to my pigs,i would be one of the stupidly fussy owners and i know there is nothing wrong with these foods,
If given in high amounts or to a piggy who has a delicate stomach then it can result in gas and sometimes bloat but most foods do come with risks just like calcium rich foods have to be fed in moderation,
I'm not meaning to have a dig at you at all i just wish these places/sites would get there facts straight before telling people the wrong things,and trust me if anyone knows food its Laura(CCC4).
xxxxxxxxxxx
 
I've changed my mind about this forum now.

I'm 14 years of age

What do you expect?

I was only trying to help

I do feel offended
 
Pipxxxx said:
I've changed my mind about this forum now.

I'm 14 years of age

What do you expect?

I was only trying to help

I do feel offended
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i was upset at the sites not you at all,its understandable that you care about your piggies health,i thought i stated it clearly that i was annoyed at them not anyone else,
all i was trying to do was stop people thinking they are bad foods when all the advice i have heard says otherwise,once again this is not a dig at you,i just set it straight thats allxx
 
It felt like you were digging at me :(

Ok I understand

I just want to help ") Cause my ambition is to be a vetinary nurse and I love researching things
 
Pipxxxx said:
It felt like you were digging at me :(

Ok I understand

I just want to help ") Cause my ambition is to be a vetinary nurse and I love researching things
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i do understand that and its a great thing to want to do but in any industry such as animals you have to be prepared of different opinions,
there are some members on here that have had GP's since before both you and i were born so we are always going to be corrected somewhere down the line;) xxxxxxxxxx
 
KingBoris&HisFollowers said:
i do understand that and its a great thing to want to do but in any industry such as animals you have to be prepared of different opinions,
there are some members on here that have had GP's since before both you and i were born so we are always going to be corrected somewhere down the line;) xxxxxxxxxx
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I understand completely :) xxxxx
 
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