growing our own piggie grass!

piggiemummy03x

piggiemummy03x

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so i want to start growing our own little trays of grass for the girls so i know its all safe and clean to give them.. however i am completely clueless in the gardening department and so would appreciate some advice from anyone who knows / has done this for their own piggies before!

i was thinking about making a thread once i have done it to help inform others on how to do it and so no more questions have to be asked.

my first question is substrate, should i use top soil, compost or a mix of both? i am concerned about using the wrong thing and it possibly containing things it shouldn’t that may affect the grass? i have found the following and wondered if it was suitable? **PICTURE 1**

my second question is grass seed, what would be the best for pigs? is your average grass seed suitable **PICTURE 2** to use or should i be looking at buying a certain type? i have seen the following being recommended:
cat grass?
wheat grass?
timothy grass?
rye grass?
is one better than the other? is there any seed or things that should be avoided / to look out for when it comes to buying seeds?
i have found a mix of seeds being sold as ‘bunny grass’ and wondered if this would be suitable / better than seeds you buy in a shop? **PICTURE 3**

my last question is in regards to watering, should i use filtered water to water the grass or will tap water be okay because the guineas aren’t directly drinking it?


would appreciate advice from anyone who knows what they are talking about because i haven’t got a clue!🤣

thanks all, looking forward to sharing a ‘how to grow grass’ guide for everyone to benefit from❤️
 

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I grow my own wheatgrass (cat grass) for the piggies. I just used bog standard compost and it grows really quickly, I think we had our first little 'harvest' after about 3 weeks. The piggies absolutely love it. I bought the seeds on Amazon.
 
JosieK said:
I grow my own wheatgrass (cat grass) for the piggies. I just used bog standard compost and it grows really quickly, I think we had our first little 'harvest' after about 3 weeks. The piggies absolutely love it. I bought the seeds on Amazon.
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thankyou! do you have a link at all please?
 
I use two large seed trays , with peat free compost and put lawn turf on top.
I use tap water to water it and you need to do it regularly - it works well as you just cut it and it keeps growing
 

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I once grew grass in a glass bowl. It was quite good but not enough for four piggy bellies. Luckily my husband sorted out the lawn so now I grab some for them to enjoy with their dinner.

I think I bought the seeds from Wilkie though can’t remember which type I bought.

Be ready for the begging once you start them on it! I once went to give them dinner but didn’t plan to give them grass. Toffee wouldn’t go finish his veg, he stood near the door and even when I scratched him in his favourite spot, he was wheeking! Eventually got him quiet by giving them grass 🙄😍
 
Roselina said:
I use two large seed trays , with peat free compost and put lawn turf on top.
I use tap water to water it and you need to do it regularly - it works well as you just cut it and it keeps growing
Click to expand...

amazing thankyou!
 
Siikibam said:
I once grew grass in a glass bowl. It was quite good but not enough for four piggy bellies. Luckily my husband sorted out the lawn so now I grab some for them to enjoy with their dinner.

I think I bought the seeds from Wilkie though can’t remember which type I bought.

Be ready for the begging once you start them on it! I once went to give them dinner but didn’t plan to give them grass. Toffee wouldn’t go finish his veg, he stood near the door and even when I scratched him in his favourite spot, he was wheeking! Eventually got him quiet by giving them grass 🙄😍
Click to expand...

oh trust me we experience that on the daily now we give them grass, the girls where not happy yesterday when they didn’t get their usual grass pile after cleaning the cage (dogs had been on the grass previous day) i don’t really know what to do now we can’t use the garden!
 
piggiemummy03x said:
oh trust me we experience that on the daily now we give them grass, the girls where not happy yesterday when they didn’t get their usual grass pile after cleaning the cage (dogs had been on the grass previous day) i don’t really know what to do now we can’t use the garden!
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Could you block a section off where the dog’s can’t go and keep that for the piggies?
 
Siikibam said:
Could you block a section off where the dog’s can’t go and keep that for the piggies?
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the dogs are rarely round so it wasn’t too much of a problem.. i’m going to put up the outdoor run when i know they are visiting to have at least a little area of grass i can still pick that i know is safe.

how long would you wait till i can use the grass in the garden again? we hosed a patch down yesterday and will continue to do this but didn’t know how long to wait till it was safe again!
 
Siikibam said:
I once grew grass in a glass bowl. It was quite good but not enough for four piggy bellies. Luckily my husband sorted out the lawn so now I grab some for them to enjoy with their dinner.

I think I bought the seeds from Wilkie though can’t remember which type I bought.

Be ready for the begging once you start them on it! I once went to give them dinner but didn’t plan to give them grass. Toffee wouldn’t go finish his veg, he stood near the door and even when I scratched him in his favourite spot, he was wheeking! Eventually got him quiet by giving them grass 🙄😍
Click to expand...

also do you remember if you used soil or compost? i have googled it and it says do not use compost for grass seed however others have said to use it!
 
piggiemummy03x said:
also do you remember if you used soil or compost? i have googled it and it says do not use compost for grass seed however others have said to use it!
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Is that for a pot/tray though? My guess is do not use compost refers to laying a lawn (lack of structure in compost). You would not want compost to lay a lawn but in a pot is absolutely fine.

Equally though, it doesn’t actually matter whether you use soil or compost - it’ll work either way
 
Piggies&buns said:
Is that for a pot/tray though? My guess is do not use compost refers to laying a lawn (lack of structure in compost). You would not want compost to lay a lawn but in a pot is absolutely fine.

Equally though, it doesn’t actually matter whether you use soil or compost - it’ll work either way
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brilliant thanks so much!
 
Piggies&buns said:
Is that for a pot/tray though? My guess is do not use compost refers to laying a lawn (lack of structure in compost). You would not want compost to lay a lawn but in a pot is absolutely fine.

Equally though, it doesn’t actually matter whether you use soil or compost - it’ll work either way
Click to expand...

do you know if there’s anything i need to look out for? like how its treated or things added etc? i’m so worried about buying something that isn’t suitable! i was just looking at wilkos compost..
 
piggiemummy03x said:
also do you remember if you used soil or compost? i have googled it and it says do not use compost for grass seed however others have said to use it!
Click to expand...
I used a bog standard compost. I don’t think there’s anything particular to look for when choosing.
 
does anyone have recommendations for soil please? anything i should look out for / avoid? i’m worried about it being treated etc!
 
When I planted grass, I think I used compost. That worked for me.
 
I'm lucky my garden has decided to grow grass for the piggies all on it's own this year.

Anyone for a game of spot the path? There is one somewhere!

IMG_6995.webp
 
piggiemummy03x said:
i’m going to have them on a large tray of grass, almost like a lawn, and thought compost may smell?
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Compost doesn’t smell. I would mix topsoil in though.
If it’s going in a tray, then you would be well advised to drill holes in the bottom of the tray. Still add a layer of gravel though.
 
Piggies&buns said:
Compost doesn’t smell. I would mix topsoil in though.
If it’s going in a tray, then you would be well advised to drill holes in the bottom of the tray. Still add a layer of gravel though.
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oh fab! yes was going to do a mix.
yes we are going to get some corex and drill holes in x
 
Hi, I planted grass seed in trays to use for the piggies indoor running around space so they get some fresh grass. I wonder if anyone could advise me if I need to cut this several times before I give it to the pigs as it will be very nutrient rich from A) the seed and B) the compost. I was thinking my grass lawn that they go out on has been down a long time so it's likely to be less nutrient rich. The trays are about 12 x 8" (seed trays) and I wondered how much of a tray the two boys could have between them if it is say 1" long. I hope that makes sense.....
 
KK327 said:
Hi, I planted grass seed in trays to use for the piggies indoor running around space so they get some fresh grass. I wonder if anyone could advise me if I need to cut this several times before I give it to the pigs as it will be very nutrient rich from A) the seed and B) the compost. I was thinking my grass lawn that they go out on has been down a long time so it's likely to be less nutrient rich. The trays are about 12 x 8" (seed trays) and I wondered how much of a tray the two boys could have between them if it is say 1" long. I hope that makes sense.....
Click to expand...

Grass in lawns grows nutrient rich every year which is why they cannot go straight out in the lawn for hours on end in spring time until their digestion has got used to it.

I hand pick lawn grass each spring to feed to my lot to acclimatise them to grass after the winter before going out again. I would think that the whole of the tray you have between two is probably less than the handfuls I pick for mine. But you could perhaps give them half a tray to begin with and see how they go.
 
Piggies&buns said:
Grass in lawns grows nutrient rich every year which is why they cannot go straight out in the lawn for hours on end in spring time until their digestion has got used to it.

I hand pick lawn grass each spring to feed to my lot to acclimatise them to grass after the winter before going out again. I would think that the whole of the tray you have between two is probably less than the handfuls I pick for mine. But you could perhaps give them half a tray to begin with and see how they go.
Click to expand...
Hi Piggies&buns - thank you that's really helpful. I have only had my piggies 5 weeks today and Mandy's Rescue make sure their piggies get grass time acclimatisation so they love being out on the grass, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't going to give them a tummy ache - I shall make sure to take it out when they have munched half a tray. I intend to try and keep the grass growing in the greenhouse so it stays controlled moisture so they have some grass through the horrible months they can't get out. I can't believe how much I love these piggies - they are my first pigs and they have melted my heart completely. They are very very special. Thanks for the help.
 
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