Orange peppers...
I have made baby carrots a staple in my pigs´ diet 1. because they love them and 2. because I read that it helps keep their teeth worn down. And yes, my piggies are a bit spoiled. My vet actually told me to put them on a diet; but she said only cut back on the pellets, that they could have as much hay, fruits and veggies as they want. I´m starting to wonder if this is bad advice. Can anyone recommend a good reference book that addresses these kinds of things? I hear/read so many contradictory things.
The perfect diet would be this:
-all the grass hay (Tomothy, Meadow, Orchard, etc) they want, avalable at all times. Remember alfalfa is a legume and should not be a regular part of an adult pig´s diet.
-all the quality pellets they want. Stay away from the cheap ones and the ones with nuts, seeds and colorful bits in them.
-about a cup a day of various fruit and vegetables. HOWEVER, like Lynx said, you might want to go easy on fruit. Also, variety is the key, so try to offer many different kinds. Carrots are fine, as long as they are not part of the every day diet. Too much of it can lead to liver problems. A baby carrot every other day sounds ok to me, but I wouldn´t feed them to the pigs every day. As for carrots helping teeth getting worn down, it is not something specific to carrots. It applies to all crunchy foods and hay is usually what really does the job.
As for books, I am really not sure what to suggest you. I have many of those smaller, owner´s manuals and honnestly, there is not one I would suggest. Some have very good advice, but they all seem to also contain bad/dangerous advice as well as false information. My suggestion is to read this forum as well as Cavies Galore (where we used to be posting). At Guinea Lynx, we are fortunate to have several members with a lot of experience and even some with medical background like Joséphine. Basically, ask what you need to know and someone here probably has the answer or knows someone who could help you find it.
I don´t think your vet is giving you bad advice. Pellets is the only food you could reduce without causing them harm. However, I personally think that if your pigs are really too fat, you should try to give them more exercice before thinking of cutting back on food. But are your pigs really too fat? How much do thei weight? You know, pigs are supposed to be round and pudgy.
-all the grass hay (Tomothy, Meadow, Orchard, etc) they want, avalable at all times. Remember alfalfa is a legume and should not be a regular part of an adult pig´s diet.
-all the quality pellets they want. Stay away from the cheap ones and the ones with nuts, seeds and colorful bits in them.
-about a cup a day of various fruit and vegetables. HOWEVER, like Lynx said, you might want to go easy on fruit. Also, variety is the key, so try to offer many different kinds. Carrots are fine, as long as they are not part of the every day diet. Too much of it can lead to liver problems. A baby carrot every other day sounds ok to me, but I wouldn´t feed them to the pigs every day. As for carrots helping teeth getting worn down, it is not something specific to carrots. It applies to all crunchy foods and hay is usually what really does the job.
As for books, I am really not sure what to suggest you. I have many of those smaller, owner´s manuals and honnestly, there is not one I would suggest. Some have very good advice, but they all seem to also contain bad/dangerous advice as well as false information. My suggestion is to read this forum as well as Cavies Galore (where we used to be posting). At Guinea Lynx, we are fortunate to have several members with a lot of experience and even some with medical background like Joséphine. Basically, ask what you need to know and someone here probably has the answer or knows someone who could help you find it.
I don´t think your vet is giving you bad advice. Pellets is the only food you could reduce without causing them harm. However, I personally think that if your pigs are really too fat, you should try to give them more exercice before thinking of cutting back on food. But are your pigs really too fat? How much do thei weight? You know, pigs are supposed to be round and pudgy.
Last edited by Evangeline on Mon Feb 18, 2002 10:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Lynx
- Celebrate!!!
Oh, carrots are fattening, too. Alot of carbs for pigs. Oxbow Hay company´s timothy pellets contain less calcium and are less fattening than standard alfalfa based pellets too (theoretically, they will help keep a pig´s weight down). Evangeline is right on about hay being the best thing for teeth. I don´t know where anybody got the idea carrots helped at all. Hay they can chew all day.
Don´t forget fresh grass. It contains vitamin C and is a wonderful food source.
Don´t forget fresh grass. It contains vitamin C and is a wonderful food source.
Thanks for your reply Evangeline. I also have those small owner manuals and, like you said, some contain false information. I´ll take your advice and use the knowledge of the people of this forum.
Are my piggies really fat? It´s hard to say. They are certainly round and pudgy! I have a visit to the vet scheduled for later this week (getting toe-nails clipped) and will have them weighed then. Here is a picture of Spot and Fido when we first got Fido 6 months ago. Spot is about the same size, but Fido is now almost as big as Spot!!
Are my piggies really fat? It´s hard to say. They are certainly round and pudgy! I have a visit to the vet scheduled for later this week (getting toe-nails clipped) and will have them weighed then. Here is a picture of Spot and Fido when we first got Fido 6 months ago. Spot is about the same size, but Fido is now almost as big as Spot!!
You should really learn to clip their nails yourself. It is easy ad will save you a lot of time and money. I use a human nail clipper and can usually do all my pigs (eight, at the moment) within 30 minutes.
Also, I recommend you buy a small kitchen scale and weight your pigs weekly. You should also keep a log. Weight loss is usually the first sign of illness, often a few days before the pig starts acting sick. So keeping note of their weight can really put you ahead of the game. Kitchen scales can usually be bought at places like Walmart for about 10$. I prefer the ones with a bowl that sits on it. That way, I can put the pig in the bowl and it´s easier to weight him since he can´t move around much.
Unless your pigs have a real weight issue, I wouldn´t cut back on the pellets. Different pigs have different shapes. Kleenmama has a 4lbs boar who´s not overweight. He´s just a really big pig. My smallest pig is 1lbs 13oz and my biggest pig is 2lbs 8 oz.
Also, I recommend you buy a small kitchen scale and weight your pigs weekly. You should also keep a log. Weight loss is usually the first sign of illness, often a few days before the pig starts acting sick. So keeping note of their weight can really put you ahead of the game. Kitchen scales can usually be bought at places like Walmart for about 10$. I prefer the ones with a bowl that sits on it. That way, I can put the pig in the bowl and it´s easier to weight him since he can´t move around much.
Unless your pigs have a real weight issue, I wouldn´t cut back on the pellets. Different pigs have different shapes. Kleenmama has a 4lbs boar who´s not overweight. He´s just a really big pig. My smallest pig is 1lbs 13oz and my biggest pig is 2lbs 8 oz.
Last edited by Evangeline on Mon Feb 18, 2002 11:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
Evangeline - regarding clipping toenails. I´m afraid to do this myself because my pigs squeal horribly when the vet does it. I even leave the room because they look at me like, "How can you let her do this to us?" It breaks my heart. She charges $10 for a trimming so it´s not that bad... but I can see how that wouldn´t be an option with eight pigs (where DO you find the time?)
Sounds like the scale would be a good investment, thanks.
Lynx - where do you find grass? I live in Salt Lake City, Utah, and all the grass in my yard is either dead or covered in snow.
Sounds like the scale would be a good investment, thanks.
Lynx - where do you find grass? I live in Salt Lake City, Utah, and all the grass in my yard is either dead or covered in snow.
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RavenShade
- Thanks for the Memories
I find that trying to keep them as level as possible helps in trimming nails. They prefer having their feet on a steady surface. Or try Pinta´s handfeeding hold. With Steve, sometimes I do just one foot and go back to it later. But even he´s pretty good about it.
Weighed the pigs at the vet today. Spot weighs 3lbs and Fido weighs 2lbs 8oz. So, according to evangeline´s last post on this thread, they probably aren´t overweight. My vet again exclaimed "My gosh, they are fat pigs." She´s any exotics vet and used to raise guinea pigs so she is certainly experienced. I´ve cut back a bit on the fruit but have been giving the same amount of pellets/hay and veggies. They seem happy enough with that.
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