Spring Greens

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pompypigs

pompypigs

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I've been trying to change my piggies diet to help with Truffle's ongoing bladder problems. I've cut out all fruit & cabbage and have now found that my calcium-phosphorus ratio is way too low.
I've just got some spring greens & the piggies love them but need to know if they are safe to give every day. I'm aware of the bloat issues etc & have only given a small amount per pig.
Also, are spring greens the same as collard greens?
 
I am not sure but after Connie's bladder problems, I cut down on spring greens and only fed a couple of times a week. However, I am just really paranoid now so don't give my two much calcium at all. May be 2 or 3 times a week in small quantities xx
 
Thanks Claire x
I was obsessed with the calcium too but now I'm worried that their diet is far too high in phosphorus - it's such a nightmare because they are so fussy & if something is not there that they are used to, they run off mallethead
 
i dont think you can give them everyday, I'm sure ive read that somewhere. i quite often buy my piggies it and they love it but i tend to alternate between spring greens and different lettuce
 
Spring greens = cabbage, last time I checked. Same with those sold as "fresh greens". :)

If the pigs tolerate them they can have them daily as part of a varied diet. As long as you remember variety and moderation there really isn't a wrong or right way to do things - make it work for your pigs. If they tolerate spring greens and enjoy them, they could be given half a small leaf a day, for example, along with at least 3-4 other veg. It's always good to have your staple foods that you feed day in, day out and I don't think cabbage is a great staple but that's not to say it can't be given daily for a while.

You'll find many opinions on what can/can't be fed daily and I've been through a lot of them and come to the above decision that variety and moderation is all it comes down to. There are people who feed cabbage, apple and carrots day after day with no trouble. There are people who claim this isn't good for guineas. Do your research by all means, but I prefer to look at the two widest views (and some in between) and try to find a middle ground of all of them, which not everyone will agree with but it's what I believe works and it's the best balance I can find between the newer diet plans and the older ones which have seen guineas fine in the past. You have to find what works for your own pigs.

I feed a herb and lettuce based diet now - the three staples are coriander, lettuces and peppers which add up to a lower ratio, so I give a sprig of parsley or dill each day as well. I prefer feeding herbs above other foods, although obviously they do get the lettuces and root veg/fruits daily as well.
 
Mine have had spring greens every day until very recently. I usually use 4 leaves (or 3 if they are huge) and slice them up removing any really thick storks. These 4 leaves get split between 10 guinea pigs.

Then they get lots of other things too - carrots, celery, coriander, dill, mint, parsley, peppers, cucumber, tomatoes, half a grape, melon, apple, brocolli, mini corn, green beans, lettuce - not all of this but a few of these fruit or veg daily with the greens.

I have found it hard to source greens lately so they are getting them very intermittently and aren't suffering not having them.
 
Mine get brocolli, cabbage, carrots, peppers most days, but I like to give them a change every so often, so they get a good mixture of strawberrys, rasberrys, melon, tomatoes, brussels, califlower, rocket, basil and a few other things that have slipped my mind.
 
Done some research re "spring greens" and "fresh greens". They are cabbage, they are closer to wild cabbages that 'domesticated' types and are genetically very similar to kale and collard greens.

Suzanne, based on that I'd be inclined to go back to listing the spring greens as collard greens in the GL calculator - so sorry to have to change my advice on that! mallethead

It seems that the brassica family of veg is the main one that can cause problems with bloat - most common piggie veg in there are cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, brussels sprouts. I have not tried rutabaga, turnip, mustards or chinese cabbage but based on the fact that half the brassica family can aggravate digestive conditions, I'm not going to risk feeding any of them at all!
 
Laura-CCC4 said:
Done some research re "spring greens" and "fresh greens". They are cabbage, they are closer to wild cabbages that 'domesticated' types and are genetically very similar to kale and collard greens.

Suzanne, based on that I'd be inclined to go back to listing the spring greens as collard greens in the GL calculator - so sorry to have to change my advice on that! mallethead

It seems that the brassica family of veg is the main one that can cause problems with bloat - most common piggie veg in there are cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, brussels sprouts. I have not tried rutabaga, turnip, mustards or chinese cabbage but based on the fact that half the brassica family can aggravate digestive conditions, I'm not going to risk feeding any of them at all!
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Thanks Laura xx
Why is it that my piggies only like food that can cause issues rolleyes They love spring greens & broccoli.
I'm trying to move to a more lettuce based diet to see if that helps with anything x
 
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