fighting for food?

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skrikopanik

skrikopanik

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Mine have started headbutting and whining at mealtime. They get a small handful of pellets each day and they go completely crazy over it. First I gave it in a bowl but quickly gave up on that and just started spreading it over the clean fleece.

Bo just positions himself right over it and blocks the others off. I tried three bowls but they always seem interested in the same bowl, oddly... It's almost as though they just WANT to bicker! Is this ok behaviour? Should I separate them for mealtime to make sure they all get some? Of course Bo is the one who needs pellets the least...

Can this be something starting and should I watch out so it doesn't get worse or could it just be something temporary?
 
I have no experience of multiple boars, but could you spread the pellets around in more than one pile, so that even if one of them positions his body over the pile, there are at least two other piles for the others?
 
These are a neutered boy and two girls. I have tried multiple piles/bowls but they all seem to fight for the same one anyway!

Should they always have access to pellets? Maybe they go to crazy over it because it's a rare treat? The rescue I adopted from believes pellets are for underweight, old or sick pigs only but lots of your pigs seem to have a bowl of food in their cage all the time and they are obviously fine...
 
A large bowl with them in all the time (: If you notice too big an increase in weight then you should start spreading them around the floor etc. Otherwise i think they'll be fine (:.
 
i thought that piggies needed to have access to food all the time so they could graze through out the day.mine always have their dried food available
 
I will call the rescue lady tomorrow to discuss with her... I'm just worried they would eat themselves sick if I put a big bowl there all day. They are meant to eat 80% hay, for their digestive system and teeth, I don't think mine would be to excited about hay if they had the option of pellets (kinda like me on the broccoli-chips kinda thing...). And also, how different from their wild relatives are domesticated guinea pigs? I mean, wild ones would not get pellets?
 
I'm assuming pellets are everything in a block instead of musli?

Wild Guineas wouldnt have pellets but they would have a supple of the food that they eat. My guineas never had problems with this, but then its purely up to you as the owner. Just as some people decide against musli as it gives them a chance to pick out their favourite bits. (:
 
skrikopanik said:
I mean, wild ones would not get pellets?
Click to expand...

That is true, but wild ones would be able to forage on loads of different plants (not just grasses) to get everything they need. Wild guinea-pigs are probably also good at searching out a particular food that contains something they need.

TBH wild ones would live short, brutal lives, pregnant with back-to-back pregnancies from puberty to an early grave and be riddled with parasites. You, however, want your piggies to live long and happy lives. :)

You don't have to feed pellets, but unless you can give your piggies access to a very wide variety of grasses and wild plants, I wouldn't risk it. I have considered not feeding pellets in the summer, but after noticing how much my boar's coat and general condition improved as soon as he was given pellets, I'm not sure now. I feed pellets, just in case there's something missing from their diet.
 
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