Why Not Frozen/cooked Food?

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Sarah.aJones15

Sarah.aJones15

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Before I start, let me reassure you that I do not give my piggies frozen or cooked food. Now your mind's at rest, let's have a chat about that:

If some food retains more of its nutrients by freezing, compared to being a few days old when fresh in the supermarket, why can't GPs have it?
I assume shop-bought pellets are cooked/dried so what is the scientific reason not to allow GPs cooked food?
What about things like biscuits? I recently challenged someone for giving their GP a tiny bit of digestive biccy but, to be honest, am not 100% sure of the reasons.
Someone else scatters a few raw porridge oats in the hay for a forage-party. Hmmm... is that OK?

All discussion welcome :)
 
Frozen food carries bacteria that would upset a guinea pigs digestive system. They can only tolerate food in its natural state which is raw. Biscuits contain flour and sugar which are unhealthy foods for guinea pigs. When food is cooked it changes its natural state which would harm a guinea pigs digestive system. Personally, I would never feed oats as I believe they cause bloat. I hope I answered your questions.
 
Thanks piggyfan. Can we have a chat about freezing causing bacteria please? I'm not being confrontational or anything, I just have the inquisitive brain of a 5 year old and really love to get to the bottom of things, especially when it comes to my piggy obsession, lol.

I've just had a wander 'round on t'internet & all sources I've found (some more credible than others) say the same thing that's summarised below. Actually there were some other interesting things in those myths that I didn't know - you live and learn!

Myth #3: Freezing Kills Bacteria
Freezing foods renders bacteria inactive but doesn’t actually kill anything. That means if your food went into the freezer contaminated, once thawed it will still harbor the same harmful bacteria. Cooking it to the recommended temperature is the only way to ensure that your food is safe.

Also, are the pellets we give them raw? They look & feel cooked (and I was tempted to taste one the other day. I stopped myself!)
 
As @piggyfan says all vegetables either frozen or fresh carry bacteria, Its the defrosting that carries the risk, as the veg defrosts, bacteria multiply very quickly and can reach a level of toxicity which can cause illness in piggies. As you say @Sarah.aJones15 cooking is the only way to kill the bacteria, but removes most of the essential nutrients making it unfit for piggy consumption.

We are tagging @Pebble for you, who may be able to give you a more scientific explanation on why it's not good to feed piggies defrosted frozen veg...

Lisa & Ali.. x
 
There are two issues here:
a) Herbivore gut dynamics
The most important thing to remember is that guinea pigs are herbivores, they rely on un-procesed fresh hay/grass/natural fibre...and their guts and digestive system have specifically evolved to deal with this type of diet.

Frozen/thawed veg has already been blanched in boiling water. Cooked veg from fresh has again similarly been subject to processes that destroy/change the natural fibre and complex carbohydrates content and as a result increases the sugar/fibre ratio.

Guinea pigs don't "do" processed food because of it's resulting higher sugar/reduced coarse fibre content causes the normal bacteria in their gut to over-ferment...leading to bloat. (Hence why mixing critical care/mushed pellets with baby food for sick piggies is not without risk and not recommended for piggies that already have gas issues)

b) Bacterial contamination/Food hygiene
The risk of ingesting harmful pathogenic bacteria is greatly increased for any mammal If you don;t properly reheat/re-cook any frozen product...but you are processing the veg way beyond what the piggie's gut can cope with (see (a) above)

Bottom line
Do't feed thawed frozen veg
Don;t feed cooked veg from whatever source
Only feed raw fresh veg that has been suitably washed
 
My Alfie was offered biscuit by the vets! When recovering from complications following neutering! I thought it was a bit strange!
 
Really!? Surely then, it must have been a piggy-friendly biccy. I kinda pictured a custard cream or something, lol
 
It was a bit of digestive! They just wanted him to eat, there was some pear and cucumber as well.

Even so, I'd never change my vets, they are 100% better than my last.
 
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