Nature's Touch food

[Qpigs]

My MIL has bought most of the supplies for our new piggies and she bought this food:

https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/natures-touch-guinea-pig-145kg

Is this an ok food for them? It doesn't look pellet-y so I'm a little confused. I thought carrot was an occasional treat. It also has alfalfa which I wasn't sure they needed.

Having browsed the posts on here, I was looking at ordering the Piggie Parcel Pellets.

Is the Nature's Touch ok to start, or should I go straight for Piggie Pellets?

 

[Piggies&buns]

It’s lovely that she is buying things for you!

However I’m afraid that food is not suitable - the ingredients are not things you would want piggies to be eating.
It’s a muesli which isn’t recommended due to the fact they cause selective feeding and they contain inappropriate ingredients.
If she has the receipt then you could look to return it.

I will highly recommend Piggie Parcels pellets!

Its recommended to transition them to a new pellet slowly - over around the course of two weeks - so ideally would find out what pellet they are currently being fed and buy that first to feed to them and then gradually transition them over to a better pellet/pellet of your choice.
The issue is that depending on what they are currently on, you may won’t want them on that original pellet for long (depending what it is) so you would not finish the bag. If it is an ok pellet that they are currently being fed, then you can use a bag of that first and then transition them over to a different pellet towards the end of the bag so nothing gets wasted.

Where are you getting your piggies from?

Pellets Or Muesli / Dry Mix?

 

[Qpigs]

It’s lovely that she is buying things for you!

However I’m afraid that food is not suitable - the ingredients are not things you would want piggies to be eating.
It’s a muesli which isn’t recommended due to the fact they cause selective feeding and they contain inappropriate ingredients.
If she has the receipt then you could look to return it.

I will highly recommend Piggie Parcels pellets!

Its recommended to transition them to a new pellet slowly - over around the course of two weeks - so ideally would find out what pellet they are currently being fed and buy that first to feed to them and then gradually transition them over to a better pellet/pellet of your choice.
The issue is that depending on what they are currently on, you may won’t want them on that original pellet for long (depending what it is) so you would not finish the bag. If it is an ok pellet that they are currently being fed, then you can use a bag of that first and then transition them over to a different pellet towards the end of the bag so nothing gets wasted.

Where are you getting your piggies from?

Pellets Or Muesli / Dry Mix?

Thank you, I thought as much. They are coming from one of my MIL's friends, who had an accidental litter. They haven't had any pellets yet. Would I need to introduce pellets slowly?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thank you, I thought as much. They are coming from one of my MIL's friends, who had an accidental litter. They haven't had any pellets yet. Would I need to introduce pellets slowly?

How old are they?
Have they been properly sexed and separated appropriately (if they are at 3 weeks of age)?

What sex piggies are you getting?

What is their diet as of right now?
Pellets can be fed from birth - they slowly transition over to eating normal hay and veg quite quickly before they are weaned at 3 weeks of age - but pellets are the one part of the diet which actually isn’t needed but you would need to ensure suitable nutrition is being fully provided through a small amount of veg and forage.

Yes you would still need to introduce them slowly - any new food items needs to be introduced slowly to allow their digestion to adjust.

 

[Qpigs]

Thanks for all this. MIL is arranging all this for us, which is wonderful, but she's owned lots of animals over the years, and is not as rigorous as I'm being (I've never had small pets and am generally an over-researcher!).

They are approximately 11 weeks, definitely both girls, and separated appropriately. They just eat hay and a selection of veg from what I know.

I feel more comfortable with the idea of feeding them a small amount of pellets just to ensure they get everything they need, alongside the essential hay and veggies.

There's so much to learn!

 

[Piggies&buns]

That’s great.

A no pellet diet is fine, but you do need to make sure the veg and forage part is covering their needs. Pellets provide that safety net. Mine only get pellets three times a week and have forage on the other days instead.
Yes, introduce pellets slowly to them. At least you don’t have to go through the transition from one brand to another and you can pick a good one from the beginning. As I say, I would recommend Piggie Parcels, they are just grass and are concentrated so you only need a very small amount.