Treat hack for pigs on a diet

[Cheekypigs]

Our boys are very fat and we've been trying to keep it under control for a long time. That conflicts with our desire to give them little treats as we pass the cage, as those little treats add up!

So what we've started doing is to set aside a scoop of pellets from their daily ration in a bowl beside the cage, and we use those to hand feed them. The following day, any pellets left over go in the pellet balls and a new portion is set aside, so they don't go stale sitting out in the treat bowl.

We are happy as we love to hand feed them, and the pigs are happy, as they love to get treats and cannot count.

 

[Piggies&buns]

As long as the amount they are given doesn’t go to more than one tablespoon each per day then it is a good idea!

I usually scatter pellets into their hay to forage for but I do occasionally hand feed them (I’m more likely to hand feed veg than pellets though as my pigs only get 5-8 pellets each and even then they only get them twice a week)

 

[Cheekypigs]

Yes, they get a tablespoon each every day. Most of their pellets are served in treat balls to make them more active. They are lazy couch potatoes.

 

[Wiebke]

Our boys are very fat and we've been trying to keep it under control for a long time. That conflicts with our desire to give them little treats as we pass the cage, as those little treats add up!

So what we've started doing is to set aside a scoop of pellets from their daily ration in a bowl beside the cage, and we use those to hand feed them. The following day, any pellets left over go in the pellet balls and a new portion is set aside, so they don't go stale sitting out in the treat bowl.

We are happy as we love to hand feed them, and the pigs are happy, as they love to get treats and cannot count.

Use your tablespoon of pellets to make your boys exercise and come to you at different points of the cage for a pellet. Count out the pellets in the morning into a differently coloured little dish for each boy so you do not fall into the treat trap.

You can also make them move around for their veg. There is nothing that says that they have to have it served in the cage. Stay off any calorie veg like carrots, sweetcorn, beetroot or high sugar veg (like fruit).

Thread 'Weight - Monitoring and Management (Underweight & Overweight)'

Mar 11, 2019

1 Health monitoring: BMI, weighing, poo out and body changes
- The importance of the weekly health and grooming body check
- Different feedback from BMI, weight, poos and body changes
2 Regular weight monitoring
- How often should I weigh?
- Weighing tips
3 Guidelines for changes in weight
- Weight loss guidelines
- Sudden weight gain and fluctuations...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 4
• Forum: Grooming Care & Health Monitoring

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[Cheekypigs]

We always give them one each at the same time so one doesn't end up getting more.

We have studied all the info and done all the things, but these lads can get fat on air!

 

[Wiebke]

We always give them one each at the same time so one doesn't end up getting more.

We have studied all the info and done all the things, but these lads can get fat on air!

Piggies in the prime of their lives between 2-4 years will be naturally on the chunkier side and they are less likely to drop weight than at other ages.

As long as you see treats as part of their daily diet and factor them into your overall diet, then that is OK. A guinea pig diet consists basically of just two food groups - grass and hay in the main group that should be just over three quarters of the daily food intake and supplementary for everything else, replacing the role of wild forage in the original diet on which guinea pigs have evolved. How redistribute the nutrition within that group (veg, fresh and dry forage, pellets and treats) is basically up to you as long as the overall result still remains somewhat balanced and you remain in control of the calorie intake.