Is this normal?

[Meerschweinchen_Blackforest]

Is it normal for my 3 little piggies to blast through nearly a kilo of hay a day? It seems a bit excessive, especially as they are getting a cup of vegetables per piggie each evening too.

I haven't even bothered replacing pellets as they haven't shown a slightest bit of interested in them (cries in how expensive they were ).

They only thing I can think of is that they are comfort eating now that the stress of the rescue is gone?

Your wonderful help is as always greatly appreciated.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Yes - The more hay they eat, the better!

 

[Wiebke]

Is it normal for my 3 little piggies to blast through nearly a kilo of hay a day? It seems a bit excessive, especially as they are getting a cup of vegetables per piggie each evening too.

I haven't even bothered replacing pellets as they haven't shown a slightest bit of interested in them (cries in how expensive they were ).

They only thing I can think of is that they are comfort eating now that the stress of the rescue is gone?

Your wonderful help is as always greatly appreciated.

Yes, that is not uncommon - feel blessed; you obviously offer some great hay and they are very healthy.

Things will hopefully settle down again a little more after the initial excitement; even more when the grass starts growing and you can gradually introduce that to take some of the heat off the hay. You need to give the gut microbiome about week to gradually build up to cope with increasingly larger daily amounts of dog pee free grass if you want to avoid diarrhoea or potentially fatal bloating. Softer poos are acceptable during that time. Rich fresh grass counts half as a hay and half as veg since it is more nutritious and it is also high in vitamin C.
Feeding Grass And Preparing Your Piggies For Lawn Time

I would recommend that you look for cheaper (but soft) hay for the romping area because some of it will get inevitably soiled.

 

[Meerschweinchen_Blackforest]

Yes, that is not uncommon - feel blessed; you obviously offer some great hay and they are very healthy.

Things will hopefully settle down again a little more after the initial excitement; even more when the grass starts growing and you can gradually introduce that to take some of the heat off the hay. You need to give the gut microbiome about week to gradually build up to cope with increasingly larger daily amounts of dog pee free grass if you want to avoid diarrhoea or potentially fatal bloating. Softer poos are acceptable during that time. Rich fresh grass counts half as a hay and half as veg since it is more nutritious and it is also high in vitamin C.
Feeding Grass And Preparing Your Piggies For Lawn Time

I would recommend that you look for cheaper (but soft) hay for the romping area because some of it will get inevitably soiled.

I am planning on introducing forage and grass as it starts to come into season. I've purposely planted 1000 dandelion seeds in my garden (to make tea) but they will also obviously be getting some of those along with my homegrown herbs.

As an aside, do you know if they can eat hops or will it make them sleepy? I haven't found any reliable info online.

 

[Wiebke]

I am planning on introducing forage and grass as it starts to come into season. I've purposely planted 1000 dandelion seeds in my garden (to make tea) but they will also obviously be getting some of those along with my homegrown herbs.

As an aside, do you know if they can eat hops or will it make them sleepy? I haven't found any reliable info online.

Sorry, I cannot help you on that one. If in doubt, please leave it off.