Grass from a field

Little Ones

Little Ones

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Our piggy BB isn’t doing too well at the minute due to his bowel disease and doesn’t want to eat anything but grass. Our lawn was mowed only a couple of days ago so we don’t have a good amount we can give him.
We decided to go pick some grass from a nearby field so that we had some but wanted to get some opinions before we actually decide to give it.
We have 2 parks and a field by us so plenty of options for dog walkers, the field seemed our best bet because of this. Dogs do still go on the field, however. The grass is hit and miss in places on the field, so some odd spots have good grass and other spots don’t (probably from wear and tear of people walking). We thought the space was big so perhaps not a lot of dog pee would be around in any one area - if that makes sense.
Anyway, if we soak the grass in water for an hour and then give it a thorough rinse over after that, would this be okay to give? Or would you still advise against it just in case? We don’t want to harm him accidentally, as we’re giving him grass to help him!
Any advice and opinions would be appreciated :)
 
I give my guinea pigs grass all of the time. When the weather permits, I put the guinea pigs outside in the garden in their secure playpen so they can graze in the mountainous grass. Personally, I would just rinse the grass. Before rinsing it though, smell it just in case, because if you can smell any bad stuff on it, then you can tell it is definitely not suitable. I would not soak it in case it makes it go limp or change the taste, but that is purely opinion. I hope BB gets better soon 😊
 
I forage grass ànd other plants from our local country park all the time. I try to avoid the heavy trafficked areas, so avoid grass near the path and instead look further away. Washing the grass carefully is another safety measure. I think that would be fine. I agree with @futurefame that there's no need to do anything more than wash it. No need to soak it.

Your piggies will love it! Mine are very pleased that after about 2 or 3 months when there's been no fresh grass or it's been under snow etc, daily grass deliveries have resumed. :)
 
When Meg was very ill last year she couldn't manage hay and would only eat grass. When I had run out of grass in my garden to give her, I went on the Heath (5 mins walk away) and got her lots of lovely grass which I rinsed off thoroughly in a bucket of water and gave to her. She is still here to wheek the tale.
 
I give daily grass from a field by me. I know there are a lot of dog walkers in the area too. So I rinse it lots of times. At least 7. I don’t know why 7. Just a lucky number I guess 😁. Never had a problem.
 
Hope I don’t hijack this thread - only given my boys grass once because we have so many stray cats here I’m scared to give them cat pee grass, also have a lot of dog walkers. Is it ok to give it to them washed thoroughly? Never wanted to risk them getting poorly
 
Thanks all. I was nervous as I’ve never collected grass from anywhere but the garden before. There are dogs who go to all the grassy areas around us so I’m just apprehensive. But BB isn’t able to manage anything else apart from syringe food, and we want something to keep his teeth down but also Simon has said grass is the best thing for him. We gave it a good rinse a few times so hopefully it will be okay, I am a bit anxious though!
 
Rivervixen said:
Hope I don’t hijack this thread - only given my boys grass once because we have so many stray cats here I’m scared to give them cat pee grass, also have a lot of dog walkers. Is it ok to give it to them washed thoroughly? Never wanted to risk them getting poorly
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From what I’ve read from previous threads on here, only dog pee (maybe just fresh wee? Not sure) and fox pee is bad. I’ve never seen any mention of cat pee! We usually rinse all the grass we get from the garden because we get a lot of cats and have never had an issue.
 
Rivervixen said:
Hope I don’t hijack this thread - only given my boys grass once because we have so many stray cats here I’m scared to give them cat pee grass, also have a lot of dog walkers. Is it ok to give it to them washed thoroughly? Never wanted to risk them getting poorly
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There's lots of dogs that go on the Heath for walks and also there are foxes on the Heath. I went to places that I thought were out of the way.
 
Also, there are some brown blades of grass in with the green. I’ve never seen mouldy grass before - is that it? Or is mouldy grass something else? Lol, dumb question I know.
 
Posyrose said:
My lot are fussy, they won't eat anything brown so the quality control has to be excellent. People must think I'm mad. Not only do I walk around with grass hanging out of my pocket, but I'm seen sorting through grass picking out any brown bits :))
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That’s exactly what I do, I pick out all the brown or yellow bits and any root that comes up.
 
I think the grass will be fine, if you are worried about dog pee then rinse in a colander, when most of the water has dropped always put in a plastic bag with a sheet of kitchen roll and shake the bag, the kitchen roll will absorb the excess water
I keep my grass in the fridge for a couple of days
 
Bill & Ted said:
I think the grass will be fine, if you are worried about dog pee then rinse in a colander, when most of the water has dropped always put in a plastic bag with a sheet of kitchen roll and shake the bag, the kitchen roll will absorb the excess water
I keep my grass in the fridge for a couple of days
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Glad I'm not the only one with grass in the fridge!
 
Thanks everyone! I’ve never inspected grass as much as I have today! Mine aren’t fussy it seems so never had to do quality control, lol.
Bill & Ted said:
I think the grass will be fine, if you are worried about dog pee then rinse in a colander, when most of the water has dropped always put in a plastic bag with a sheet of kitchen roll and shake the bag, the kitchen roll will absorb the excess water
I keep my grass in the fridge for a couple of days
Click to expand...
Thanks for the bag tip! I’ve never thought to do that!
We also keep our grass in the fridge for a day or two. I like to have a good amount stocked up for the night. In the day I can manage to syringe feed when needed, encourage when needed, etc, but at night it’s easier if I can just put a pile of grass in the cage every 2/3 hours. That way I actually manage to get at least some sleep and not worry about anyone going hungry!
 
Posyrose said:
Not only do I walk around with grass hanging out of my pocket, but I'm seen sorting through grass picking out any brown bits
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Me too! And people come up and ask what I'm 'foraging'!

On flat ground it's tempting to go for the larger tussocks around fence/gate posts and taller clumps in the middle but bear in mind dogs will pee on anything big and obvious so the pong wafts around. You can often smell it! I'm going into the meadow today for a rummage for the first time and it's true that dogs can roam anywhere but people normally stick to a path and dogs will sniff and pee round that more often. If it's raining I don't bother washing it as nature does it for me - and there are amazingly far fewer dogs about when it's wet. Perhaps the owners keep them in for their own good because they dissolve in the rain? :D
 
... just as a follow up I saw a little Westie gambolling about in the meadow today. Most of the grass is still short - the only stand out item was a desolate dead stem left from last year, like a single stalk of old hay about 8 inches high in the middle of nowhere. And the little fellow went straight for it, cocked his leg and determinedly tried to coat the twiglet top to bottom with a tiny tinkle. He looked really pleased with himself after! His owner looked really embarrassed :roll:
 
Little Ones said:
Our piggy BB isn’t doing too well at the minute due to his bowel disease and doesn’t want to eat anything but grass. Our lawn was mowed only a couple of days ago so we don’t have a good amount we can give him.
We decided to go pick some grass from a nearby field so that we had some but wanted to get some opinions before we actually decide to give it.
We have 2 parks and a field by us so plenty of options for dog walkers, the field seemed our best bet because of this. Dogs do still go on the field, however. The grass is hit and miss in places on the field, so some odd spots have good grass and other spots don’t (probably from wear and tear of people walking). We thought the space was big so perhaps not a lot of dog pee would be around in any one area - if that makes sense.
Anyway, if we soak the grass in water for an hour and then give it a thorough rinse over after that, would this be okay to give? Or would you still advise against it just in case? We don’t want to harm him accidentally, as we’re giving him grass to help him!
Any advice and opinions would be appreciated :)
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Thank you for this post, I'm grateful for all the replies. I don't drive so I don't have access to any unwanted fields by people, dogs or Foxes. I went to a local park (a mixture of forest and fields) and got them loads of grass, I normally rinse it well and let I'd dry in the sun in a flat ot big round colander. I was scared in case the grass was peed on and they might get poorly but they have been fine. I also feed them clover, pineapple weed, dandelions and plantain plant leaves as they are safe. Sometimes the grass gets quite dry, almost hay like. They love it.
 
Free Ranger said:
... just as a follow up I saw a little Westie gambolling about in the meadow today. Most of the grass is still short - the only stand out item was a desolate dead stem left from last year, like a single stalk of old hay about 8 inches high in the middle of nowhere. And the little fellow went straight for it, cocked his leg and determinedly tried to coat the twiglet top to bottom with a tiny tinkle. He looked really pleased with himself after! His owner looked really embarrassed :roll:
Click to expand...
This comment made my evening ❤️ 🤣
 
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