Feeding the guinea pigs at TEAS

PigglePuggle said:
Its true that many people get too hung up on exact ratios and amounts, and although rough guidelines are useful for new owners there's no one-size-fits all approach to feeding that suits everyone and everypig.
I feel that we feed a bit more hay and a bit less veg than some people because it suits bloaty Puggle better, she hasnt bloated in over a year now and has gained 200g since her last bloaty episode since we feed more hay and a bit less veg, but that is just for a herd where the slimmest piggy is a bloaty girl and not for everyone!
Just as a matter of interest last night after a post on another thread querying food intake I roughly calculated what mine eat over a month- looks like we feed 75% hay, 22% veg and 3% pellets.
Not that I've ever weighed or measured daily feeds and I dont intend to start doing now, but dividing what we buy in a month by the number of piggies and number of days thats roughly what they must eat! Which isnt 80% hay and isnt 50g of veg per day either, but they are still all quite hefty and in good health :)
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I find hay such a difficult thing to measure. My two get 2 or 3 huge lumps each day in their hay barn area, some of it is definitely eaten but other bits are trampled into the base layer. I like to fill the hay barn area to a foot high and see them burrow inside it. All you can see sometimes is little twitches from the hay, they disappear 🤣
We buy a huge bale from the local organic farmer about every 2/3 months, it’s great hay and has a mixture of wild flowers and different grasses too
 
Bill & Ted said:
I find hay such a difficult thing to measure. My two get 2 or 3 huge lumps each day in their hay barn area, some of it is definitely eaten but other bits are trampled into the base layer. I like to fill the hay barn area to a foot high and see them burrow inside it. All you can see sometimes is little twitches from the hay, they disappear 🤣
We buy a huge bale from the local organic farmer about every 2/3 months, it’s great hay and has a mixture of wild flowers and different grasses too
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Yes we never measure hay either, we buy 20kg of haybox every 4 weeks plus a 3kg bag of pillow wad meadow for when we start running low and I just throw some in! The hay trays and hay loft and any hay filled cardboard boxes or hay cubes get topped up with meadow hay twice a day, and I plonk a big pile on timothy hay on the hay room floor twice a day with or after every veggie meal- I just roughly calculated 23kg hay divided by 8 piggies divided by 28 days is about 100g of hay each per day, but I've never measured it at all, I just know we use 20-23kg hay and less than a 1.5kg bag of pellets every month. And the piggies definitely arent starving despite the outraged wheeking greedy snouts begging at the bars whenever we open the fridge or rustle a bag :)
 
In my case, it's easy to know if they are eating hay coz I have to refill the hay racks everyday. They have 2 hay racks screwed on walls of 2nd floor hutch (this I always refill every day), 1 hay rack screwed on the wall of bottom floor hutch, and then 2 hay racks on c&c at the floor. They also have meadow hay on top of puppy pads on the floor (changed every 2 days). Most of the hay eaten are located at their other area under the ratan chair. I mainly put meadow hay there and have to refill/replace the meadow hay there every night during cleaning time.

I always make sure wherever they stay in the living room (they are free running piggies), there are hay areas where they can eat and/or sleep. I don't really measure how much hay they eat but with the amount of cleaning/changing/refilling I do every day, I'm certain they eat loads of it.
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
It’s all about what works for the piggies and for us too! I also think they’re capable of knowing what they need and what’s good for them. I find some avoid larger amounts of certain foods, even if put in their cage and maybe eat it over a longer period of time.
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I have noticed before, if we feed lots of veg, the pigs do leave some until later, and will munch on hay, so they must know hay helps digest food because of the fibre. Obviously they don't know why, they just know to do it. Problem is Dot most the time, she goes on a rampage for Bernies bits he's saved, and then puffs up to defend it. She has never once even when sick, gone off food much, not with bloat, not with a uterine tumour
 
I am so glad I read this thread. I've found it super helpful! We have only had our piggies for a couple of weeks, and I have been going into a bit of information overwhelm lately. All these ratios and measurements etc were just starting to seem a little too much to master completely. Don't get me wrong, all the guidelines and charts to get an idea of what vege is high in what and which can be fed more often than others, are SUPER helpful and I will continue to reference them and take things into account as needed...but I feel like this thread has also reminded me of the importance of paying attention to my unique piggies and what works for them too...because so far they do seem to be thriving, even though I have not yet managed to get their diet "perfect". As mentioned by others, I have also noticed them eating what they want and leaving the rest for later. Even when we have given them an occasional berry, they have devoured the first part of it with great gusto and then simply left the rest for later. So I do agree that they seem to know what works for themselves too. So much food for thought. I love this forum and all the amazing insights shared😍
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
This was last nights dinner!

View attachment 129771
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Lucky piggies!
I’ll have to do the same for myself in a couple of days, going back to being a healthy vegetarian and not a lazy meat eater! :)) This thread’s so interesting, my cats are eating much more meat than dry food as they’re older and I’d read on a cat forum much better for the kidneys etc. Had never thought about the pigs with such a dry diet but can definitely understand how it’d help.
Hope the pigs enjoyed their greenery :D
 
alpacasqueak said:
Lucky piggies!
I’ll have to do the same for myself in a couple of days, going back to being a healthy vegetarian and not a lazy meat eater! :)) This thread’s so interesting, my cats are eating much more meat than dry food as they’re older and I’d read on a cat forum much better for the kidneys etc. Had never thought about the pigs with such a dry diet but can definitely understand how it’d help.
Hope the pigs enjoyed their greenery :D
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My cat has never eaten wet food. This is her choice and in fact I was told she wouldn't even eat it as a small kitten either. She does drink well though and demands I turn on the outdoor tap for her, so she can drink (and shower) from it!

A few years ago I took in some guinea pigs that had belonged to a friend, who had sadly passed away. One of her guinea pigs had been suffering from bladder issues all of her life. After she came to live with me, she never had another UTI, so I do truly believe that the fact that I feed such a wet diet is very beneficial to health and particularly bladder health.
 
Piggy_Trio said:
I am so glad I read this thread. I've found it super helpful! We have only had our piggies for a couple of weeks, and I have been going into a bit of information overwhelm lately. All these ratios and measurements etc were just starting to seem a little too much to master completely. Don't get me wrong, all the guidelines and charts to get an idea of what vege is high in what and which can be fed more often than others, are SUPER helpful and I will continue to reference them and take things into account as needed...but I feel like this thread has also reminded me of the importance of paying attention to my unique piggies and what works for them too...because so far they do seem to be thriving, even though I have not yet managed to get their diet "perfect". As mentioned by others, I have also noticed them eating what they want and leaving the rest for later. Even when we have given them an occasional berry, they have devoured the first part of it with great gusto and then simply left the rest for later. So I do agree that they seem to know what works for themselves too. So much food for thought. I love this forum and all the amazing insights shared😍
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Yes do not stress yourself over it all. I don't think the perfect diet exists but we can try and as long as the piggies are happy and healthy then that's what really matters. Mine get a veg portion between 4 and each have their own favourites so I'm sure that one of them will eat at least two piggies share (if not all 4's share) of one particular veg but it's really not worth stressing over.
 
Looking at that basin of veg makes me think I may be greatly overdoing veg for my lot 😂 mine get 2 large mixing bowls heaped full between 14.
 
There seems to be two ways of feeding veg to avoid calcium stones, and that is go for alot of wet veg to flush out their bladders, or cut back on veg and get the ratio spot on
 
Eriathwen said:
Looking at that basin of veg makes me think I may be greatly overdoing veg for my lot 😂 mine get 2 large mixing bowls heaped full between 14.
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It’s a huge washing up bowl, not a basin, so really deep. Ours have a huge amount of veg.
 
SkyPipDotBernie said:
There seems to be two ways of feeding veg to avoid calcium stones, and that is go for alot of wet veg to flush out their bladders, or cut back on veg and get the ratio spot on
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They need water in their diet. Who made up the ratio? Where did the figures come from?
 
Eriathwen said:
Oh Lord.. so it is 🤣 I can see it now. I've been up all night so I'm going to blame it on being tired lol
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I just chuck it all in...swish it around with my hand and then handfuls get put into each cage. It means some get more of a certain thing than others, but over time it all levels out!
 
SkyPipDotBernie said:
I just fed my two a big pile of fresh grass. They almost gave up their souls for it
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They would've loved that! I am so passionate about allowing animals to exhibit normal, species specific behaviour, as much as possible!
 
I do feed grass more in summer, but it looks OK out, I got to be careful though because there are wild fungwi and mushrooms growing in the shaded parts. But il def not pick any by mistake in the grass
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
At this time of year, when they aren't getting out on the grass, I also feed a handful of readigrass per pair of pigs, per day!
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I gave up feeding Readigrass with Rupert’s bladder stones and became a paranoid piggy owner! He’s the only pig I’ve had with them/bladder issues though, never had problems with anyone else and when I helped at R&GP Welfare they had it every other day in autumn/winter when not so much grass. My first older boys never had issues and at the rescue over 18months. Think a purchase in order! Love the smell! 😍
 
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