Does this substitute for pellets?

[Tonisita]

Hi everyone! I need to pick your brains again! My boys are running out of pellets and I ordered this online, believing it to be pellets. It does seem to have pellets in it but it clearly isn't what I wanted. Can I feed it to my boys instead of pellets and can anyone suggest the best pellets, please? They seem to prefer pellets to nuggets too.

 

[Spaghetti & Noodles]

I would say not instead of, I would use sparingly as a treat, the ingredients seem to list things I don't think they need every day and there is a long list of additives.
We use science selective pig food, but they only have a tbsp each pig per day. I can't find a pic of the ingredients.

 

[Piggies&buns]

That’s a muesli mix which shouldn’t be fed.
If you wish, you can pick out the pellets to feed them.

Pellets and nuggets are actually the same thing - just a different word. They come in different shapes and sizes depending on brand but they are still the same thing.

I use Piggie Parcels pellets, but mine only get them two or three times a week. If I run out then they just go without - sometimes for weeks at a time!

 

[Tonisita]

That's really helpful! I was giving them a bit each day - so I'll stop that right away! So glad I asked I'll check out your suggestion. Many thanks and have a good day!

 

[Piggies&buns]

These seems to be the ingredients for it:

Hay, bran, dehydrated alfalfa, puffed wheat enriched with vitamin C, straw, sunflower, wheat, beetroot pulp, nettle (Urtica dioica l.}, dehydrated carrot (Daucus carota), Hibiscus (Hibiscus L.) birch (Betula l.}, cane molasses, barley and soybean oil.

The only decent thing in it is the hay. Bran isn’t terrible for them (can sometimes be given to help boost/fatten up poorly piggies) and the nettle and birch is ok as a forage. But the rest of it you wouldn’t want them eating.

 

[Tonisita]

That’s a muesli mix which shouldn’t be fed.
If you wish, you can pick out the pellets to feed them.

Pellets and nuggets are actually the same thing - just a different word. They come in different shapes and sizes depending on brand but they are still the same thing.

I use Piggie Parcels pellets, but mine only get them two or three times a week. If I run out then they just go without - sometimes for weeks at a time!

That's interesting! Why should they not have museli mix? I can't see me picking out the pellets! I'll look at Piggie Parcels. Two good suggestions to follow up now!

 

[Tonisita]

I've been buying hibiscus and dried carrot as treats! If I stick to fresh veggies, hay, a good pellets brand and pea flakes, am I on the right track?

 

[Piggies&buns]

That's interesting! Why should they not have museli mix? I can't see me picking out the pellets! I'll look at Piggie Parcels. Two good suggestions to follow up now!

They contain ingredients they shouldn’t be eating - grains and sweet things. They can often contain seeds (although this one doesn’t seem to) which can cause choking and break teeth.

The issue then becomes that they selective feed - they pick out all the sweet, nice tasting things meaning they get a lot of sugar which can cause dysbiosis.

Pellets Or Muesli / Dry Mix?

I've been buying hibiscus and dried carrot as treats! If I stick to fresh veggies, hay, a good pellets brand and pea flakes, am I on the right track?

Hibiscus and dried carrot are ok as occasional treats. A forage to mix into hay.
I use forage daily which I also get from
Piggie parcels. I use forage each day instead of giving pellets

Yes.
Hay is the most important part. One cup of veggies per day and one tablespoon of pellets per day.
They can have peaflakes as a treat also if you wish.

 

[Tonisita]

Where would I be without you guys! The pet shops seem to sell so much my babies would be better off without!

 

[Pantalaimon]

Please can someone correct me if I’m wrong, but are the ingredients of these pellets (not the mix as a whole) not actually better than those of the science selective pellets?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Please can someone correct me if I’m wrong, but are the ingredients of these pellets (not the mix as a whole) not actually better than those of the science selective pellets?

It depends what part makes the ingredients of the pellets

Hay and the bran would be ok
If the pellets also contain the alfalfa, wheat and straw I personally wouldn’t want to feed it. I do tend to avoid commercial items/pellets though.
But, they possibly contain more real ingredients than some of the other brands

 

[Piggies&buns]

Where would I be without you guys! The pet shops seem to sell so much my babies would be better off without!

I don’t buy pet shop things. Piggie parcels is my go to for occasional pellets and forage.
Otherwise treats for my lot are their veggies or and any fresh forage I can get from round the garden

 

[Pantalaimon]

It depends what part makes the ingredients of the pellets

Hay and the bran would be ok
If the pellets also contain the alfalfa, wheat and straw I personally wouldn’t want to feed it. I do tend to avoid commercial items/pellets though.
But, they possibly contain more real ingredients than some of the other brands

I see, so it’s just down to personal decision.
To me, wheat, alfalfa and straw are all grasses (or parts of them) so are more natural than the soy bean hulls that the science selective seems to be made largely of.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I see, so it’s just down to personal decision.
To me, wheat, alfalfa and straw are all grasses (or parts of them) so are more natural than the soy bean hulls that the science selective seems to be made largely of.

Except piggies shouldn’t eat alfalfa (its not a grass, it’s a legume and is too high in calcium) and straw has absolutely no nutritional value (it’s just the dried stems of grain plants and is very different to hay which is dried grass).
Wheat grains should be avoided.

Whatever pellet is fed it needs to be kept to a minimum (one tablespoon per day) but finding one with ingredients you are happy with is important. This is why I don’t feed commercial pellets.