Feeding 6 month old piggies

[LilyPops]

Now that our guinea pigs are indoors for the winter and not grazing, they are eating all their food overnight and squeaking at us a lot during the day! I top up the hay and they get some little extra veggie bits throughout the day but I'm worried they are getting hungry. I don't want to overfeed them but they are still growing. It looks like they are probably chomping through quite a bit of their bedding hay too. This is what they have in the evening...

 

[Piggies&buns]

They need hay, hay and more hay. You can never give them too much hay! Don’t be tempted to overfeed veggies or pellets - keep the recommended amounts of one tablespoon of pellets per pig per day and around 50g of veg per day. If they are hungry they will eat more hay.
Eating their bedding is absolutely fine and it is what they will do.

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

 

[LilyPops]

They need hay, hay and more hay. You can never give them too much hay! Don’t be tempted to overfeed veggies or pellets - keep the recommended amounts of one tablespoon of pellets per pig per day and around 50g of veg per day. If they are hungry they will eat more hay.
Eating their bedding is absolutely fine and it is what they will do.

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

Thank you. That's helpful. I will start measuring/ weighing out their food and give lots more of their eating hay. I was buying buying plain Timothy Hay but they currently have the greener readigrass. I assume they can't eat too much of this either?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thank you. That's helpful. I will start measuring/ weighing out their food and give lots more of their eating hay. I was buying buying plain Timothy Hay but they currently have the greener readigrass. I assume they can't eat too much of this either?

No I don’t think they should have readigrass constantly.
Just trying to look it up. I think it’s ok in addition to normal grass hay (meadow or Timothy) but not in replacement of

 

[Wiebke]

Now that our guinea pigs are indoors for the winter and not grazing, they are eating all their food overnight and squeaking at us a lot during the day! I top up the hay and they get some little extra veggie bits throughout the day but I'm worried they are getting hungry. I don't want to overfeed them but they are still growing. It looks like they are probably chomping through quite a bit of their bedding hay too. This is what they have in the evening... View attachment 125844

Hi and welcome

You have a lovely pair!

The more your piggies eat unlimited hay (it should make over 80%) the healthier they'll be and the more chance they have to reaching the upper end of the average life span rather than the lower end. The abrasive silica in hay will keep the crucial back teeth nicely ground down and the guts working optimally. Grass and therefore grass hay is high in vitamin C, which is the reason why guinea pigs have never had the need to make in their bodies.

A small but balanced selection of veg (ca. 10% - our sample diet picture in the guide link in @Piggies&buns ' post) and one tablespoon of pellets per piggy per day will round off the hay diet.


When moving your teenage boys, please follow the tips in this guide here in order to minimise any renewed hierarchy sort out in new territory: A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you. That's helpful. I will start measuring/ weighing out their food and give lots more of their eating hay. I was buying buying plain Timothy Hay but they currently have the greener readigrass. I assume they can't eat too much of this either?

Readigrass is too rich to eat in place of hay; please switch back to timothy. Readigrass is a treat.

 

[LilyPops]

Readigrass is too rich to eat in place of hay; please switch back to timothy. Readigrass is a treat.

I did wonder - my husband picked it for them

 

[LilyPops]

We have two girls that seem to get along well but I hadn't thought that moving them in could cause any problems. However, we've just moved their usual hutch inside and set up a run around it so hopefully this has made it easier for them. One has always been the biggest and most confident but I don't think our smaller one is stressed by her. I'm going to have a read about heirachy now...

Hi and welcome

You have a lovely pair!

The more your piggies eat unlimited hay (it should make over 80%) the healthier they'll be and the more chance they have to reaching the upper end of the average life span rather than the lower end. The abrasive silica in hay will keep the crucial back teeth nicely ground down and the guts working optimally. Grass and therefore grass hay is high in vitamin C, which is the reason why guinea pigs have never had the need to make in their bodies.

A small but balanced selection of veg (ca. 10% - our sample diet picture in the guide link in @Piggies&buns ' post) and one tablespoon of pellets per piggy per day will round off the hay diet.


When moving your teenage boys, please follow the tips in this guide here in order to minimise any renewed hierarchy sort out in new territory: A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

 

[Wiebke]

We have two girls that seem to get along well but I hadn't thought that moving them in could cause any problems. However, we've just moved their usual hutch inside and set up a run around it so hopefully this has made it easier for them. One has always been the biggest and most confident but I don't think our smaller one is stressed by her. I'm going to have a read about heirachy now...

A hierarchy is not so much a problem for sows who are wired to live in a small group, but more of a problem for boars, especially teenage boars who can be very territorial and hormonal during that time; but even an adult boar bond with some underlying issue can fall out on occasion. I didn't know which gender yours were; if they had been boys, they would have been at their all time hormone high.
Sows will re-establish their hierarchy too, but it is usually not a problem.