Chew sticks?

[couchon]

My piggy has unlimited hay, and this is NOT to wear down her teeth. However, she has been going through a rough time these past 5 months with sever, yet-to-be-diagnosed digestive issues. She is separated by grids from her cage mate (so I can monitor her output), so sometimes she chews on the bars. She chews a lot when she is bloated or uncomfortable. Also, I think she misses her pellets (I am trying to introduce them back, but we have to stabilize her gut first, because right now they are just making her gi issues worse). In any case, she has always been a chewer, but for these and other reasons, she is even more of a chewer now.

I would like to get her something nice (AND SAFE) to chew on.

My vet recommended this website as another place to get hay: http://www.farmerdave.biz/servlet/the-- ... Categories

There, I saw the chew sticks that they have. They have them from pear, apple, and wild raspberry trees (or bushes in case of raspberry). Does anyone have any experience with chew sticks for pigs? Do they prefer certain trees to other trees?

Most importantly, are they safe, especially for a piggy with digestive issues.

If you have your own chew stick or chew toy favorites, I would love to hear about those!

[Jessie]

I've tried little sticks of safe woods (sold as nibble sticks from burgess excel). My girls pay them no attention at all. I drilled a hole in the end and hung them from the cage ceiling and they still aren't fussed.

I bought some corn dollies (for small animals). They chewed the corn husk skirts. I got them the corn husk veg patch and it was dismantled in a day and had to be thrown out.

We tried willow balls. They chew them like crazy for a few days, then leave them for a while, then find them again and go on a chewing fest.

One thing that has gone down really well is compressed hay discs. The girls love them, and love to move them out of the kitchen onto the fleece where they can make a super mess.

[bpatters]

I've tried three different flavors of wood sticks -- apple, pear and something else I can't remember. Neither pig took a single bite of any one of them.

[ErinP]

I tried apple wood sticks, my boys just walked right over them and paid them no mind. I did buy them a hideaway made of twigs though (safe for small animals) and the first one I gave them they chewed through half of it! The new one I got them, they've not destroyed it anywhere near what they did with the last one, and don't chew it as much, but they do still chew on it some.

[Quiet Wren]

My pigs love toilet paper tubes. Not paper towel tubes though! Just toilet paper.

It does seem that they swallow the bits that they chew off. I don't see little bits of chewed off cardboard on the fleece, so I assume it must be going somewhere. That might be a concern for a piggy that already has problems. I don't worry about it for my boys at this time.

[wheeke]

I think the wood has to be fresh. We have apple and pears trees and the branches cut from them always have the bark stripped by the piggies.

The ones that are sold are probably too old.

I bought a willow tunnel once though and that was chewed up nicely by all my piggies.