Abi_nurse
Adult Guinea Pig
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2010
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- Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire.
This thread is designed to give you some more ideas of a more natural diet for your piggies. As always hays and grasses should make up 80-90% of your piggies food intake but as we all know we also often feed restricted amounts of pellets and vegetables.
A great way to mix up your piggies diet and keep things interesting and enriching (and much more natural) is to add in wild weeds and plants in place of supermarket bought vegetables. Of course this is obviously not always viable for everyone to do depending on your circumstances or living arrangements. And a good variety of veg is perfectly acceptable to be feeding piggies. Wild foraging however is a great way to get out into nature and identify plants and enjoy the fresh air (with a dog if you have one too). You can also bring back and dry many of these plants for use over the winter. They are free and will save you money too, so a win win. Many of the following plants will grow on waste land so can be found throughout the uk. The best places to go foraging are -
- public footpaths/bridleways (if frequented by dogs then pick from off the beaten track if you can)
- road verges (avoid busy roads and only ideally pick from quiet country lanes)
- paddocks/fields (with owners permission)
- allotments (with owners permission)
- wastelands (providing not trespassing, also ensure the local council does not use pesticides on)
The golden rules about picking wild plants are, ensue you can identify the plant and are happy, don't uproot plants, don't pick rare plants and avoid picking too much if there isn't much of the plant around.
Alternatively, if you cannot get out, consider growing pots on your windowsills or garden. Here's a few websites which sell live plants and seeds of weeds and grasses safe for piggies.
Galens garden - Galens Garden
Herbiseed - Home
Meadow mania - We supply Wildflower Seed, Plugs & Bulbs for Meadows - Meadow Mania
And a couple of good books also worth investing in if your interested in wild foraging and growing:
Foraging for Rabbits by Twigs Way | Rabbit Welfare Shop
Greenfoods for Rabbits and Cavies - Fur and Feather
The following posts will include some photos of wild plants (and those which you can grow yourself), in no particular order. It will be updated as I collect more photos of wild plants to add.
It is down to you to be able to identify the plants, I take no responsibility for identification but hope this thread helps you find a new way to feed your piggies and a great way to enjoy the natural world.
x
A great way to mix up your piggies diet and keep things interesting and enriching (and much more natural) is to add in wild weeds and plants in place of supermarket bought vegetables. Of course this is obviously not always viable for everyone to do depending on your circumstances or living arrangements. And a good variety of veg is perfectly acceptable to be feeding piggies. Wild foraging however is a great way to get out into nature and identify plants and enjoy the fresh air (with a dog if you have one too). You can also bring back and dry many of these plants for use over the winter. They are free and will save you money too, so a win win. Many of the following plants will grow on waste land so can be found throughout the uk. The best places to go foraging are -
- public footpaths/bridleways (if frequented by dogs then pick from off the beaten track if you can)
- road verges (avoid busy roads and only ideally pick from quiet country lanes)
- paddocks/fields (with owners permission)
- allotments (with owners permission)
- wastelands (providing not trespassing, also ensure the local council does not use pesticides on)
The golden rules about picking wild plants are, ensue you can identify the plant and are happy, don't uproot plants, don't pick rare plants and avoid picking too much if there isn't much of the plant around.
Alternatively, if you cannot get out, consider growing pots on your windowsills or garden. Here's a few websites which sell live plants and seeds of weeds and grasses safe for piggies.
Galens garden - Galens Garden
Herbiseed - Home
Meadow mania - We supply Wildflower Seed, Plugs & Bulbs for Meadows - Meadow Mania
And a couple of good books also worth investing in if your interested in wild foraging and growing:
Foraging for Rabbits by Twigs Way | Rabbit Welfare Shop
Greenfoods for Rabbits and Cavies - Fur and Feather
The following posts will include some photos of wild plants (and those which you can grow yourself), in no particular order. It will be updated as I collect more photos of wild plants to add.
It is down to you to be able to identify the plants, I take no responsibility for identification but hope this thread helps you find a new way to feed your piggies and a great way to enjoy the natural world.
x
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