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Post by wyvernsmile on Apr 22, 2016 16:48:01 GMT
Two food questions. First, do you feed your piggies fruits? It seems from the guinea pig food list that most fruits are really high in sugar and not a good idea. My two guys HATE strawberries. Of course. Second, what brand of hay do you feed? And do you just put it into the cage? Or in a special container? Here are some pics of my two boys eating lunch.   |
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Whimsy
Bronze Member
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Post by Whimsy on Apr 23, 2016 0:46:58 GMT
Cute little guys :-) I feed mine some fruit as a treat once in a while, but definitely not every day. I feed him a small piece of apple, orange, pear and in the summer he really likes water melon. As you say though, there's a lot of sugar in fruits and it's not really good for the piggies, so I would just give it to them occasionally.
I use Kaytee Timothy hay, but I think a lot of people prefer Oxbow. I have a special container for it - kind of a little basket hanging on the cage. I used to just put in in a little box in the cage, but I wasted too much that way, so I changed it up. If I can find a picture, I'll post it later.
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Post by jolovespiggies on Apr 23, 2016 20:02:06 GMT
What super cuties love, thank you for showing them to us. I give fruit as a treat, grapes being among their favourites. When the soft summer fruits are out like peaches and nectarines they probably have more than they should as they love them and they are not in season for long. They also adore cherries but they have been in quite short supply over the recent years and expensive.
Hugs
Jo xx
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Post by 3piggles on Apr 23, 2016 23:32:12 GMT
They are so cute! I usually give them a piece of whatever I'm eating, if I'm eating it in front of them, so they don't get very much, or very often. They love watermelon, but any other fruit is hit or miss. Guinea pigs have very weak intestinal muscles, so need to eat a lot of hay to push the food through their innards. Western Timothy has been found to provide the most effect for the least amount of hay. I bought Oxbow Western Timothy for a long time, but it is expensive. Of the Western Timothy in the US, it's one of the best, with Kleenmama (KMS Hayloft) being the best. What I found is that pigs love hay for everything, including eating. I tried and endless array of hay holders, trying to save money and not waste hay. None of them worked, and most of them attracted pigs who just had to fit their fat little bodies into those hay lofts  When I used a high-sided kitty litter box with doors cut in each end, they would run in one door and bulldoze the hay out the other door. So in general, there's no good way to keep the hay where you want it, and for them to enjoy the hay all they want to. I started buying huge bags of field hay from the rescue where I've gotten my babies for years, for $4. For that price, I can afford to waste all the hay I want, and the pigs love having hay everywhere. I actually roll up the hay from one end of the cage to the other, clean out the poos, replace it and add fresh hay in the kitchen area, so they always have fresh hay. They tunnel in it, make nests, bulldoze it, stay in their pigloos and eat it through the door, chase each other around in it, and generally have a grand time. I have them in a carpeted room right now, but purposely put lino in the room where they'll be living at our new house, just so they could have the hay, and I can clean it up easily. If you don't mind it getting a bit messy, I'd just pile the hay in the cage and let them enjoy it |
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Post by jolovespiggies on Apr 24, 2016 20:29:58 GMT
That is what we do for ours Piggles love3, as you know they are in a pen in the living room an they have a huge pile of hay to play in, they love it. It serves as a bed, dinner, somewhere to play, somewhere to have disagreements and somewhere to burrow. I love watching them.
Hugs
Jo xx
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Post by wyvernsmile on Apr 25, 2016 0:39:04 GMT
Thanks everyone. I think I'm going to just put a big pile of hay in both cages. I tried it today for Flint and he seemed to like it much better than a loft. Charcoal had me scared he was getting the sniffles back! But I think he was getting too much hay dust in his nose from the trough. Silly boy! I think I'll put his in a pile too.
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Post by 3piggles on Apr 25, 2016 12:19:39 GMT
If they get the sniffles or runny noses, always have them checked by a vet, but pigs do have allergies. I've had two pigs with allergies, and generally keep a mixture of Chlor-trimeton on hand to give them. No allergy pigs right now, I'm happy to say, as they are totally enjoying having a cage full of hay |
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Food time
Apr 27, 2016 1:03:09 GMT
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Post by wyvernsmile on Apr 27, 2016 1:03:09 GMT
Yep. I spoke to soon. :/ Poor Charcoal was getting sick again and woke up yucky yesterday. Soooo heartbroken.
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Post by 3piggles on Apr 27, 2016 12:31:52 GMT
Don't be heartbroken. I got a piggy through pneumonia. It's doable, though it takes time and a effort. As long as you are willing to do what you need to do, he's likely to be with you for a good, long time  |
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Post by jolovespiggies on Apr 27, 2016 19:37:34 GMT
I am so sorry to hear this sweetie, lots of loving healing vibes are on their way.
Hugs
Jo xx
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Post by wyvernsmile on Apr 28, 2016 1:56:24 GMT
Thank you so much for the good thoughts guys. Thankfully my little guy is back home and I can spoil him rotten. |
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Post by 3piggles on Apr 28, 2016 13:47:49 GMT
That's excellent news |
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sadyandmrsk
Tin Member
2 Rescue Piggies On a better road to a better life with me :)
Posts: 67 
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Post by sadyandmrsk on Apr 28, 2016 14:04:45 GMT
My piggies favourite Fruit is apple, but i don't feed it often (only as a treat) because of sugar. I recommend Oxbow hay. I find that it is quite cheap, and my piggies love it!!
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Post by bazookagoof on Apr 29, 2016 1:53:14 GMT
I keep fruits to a minimum for my guys- one of them tends to not like fruit too much anyway. An occasional treat, but I don't want to overdo it.
Also, I buy Oxbow brand hay. I was using another brand (I forget which) but since Oxbow is supposed to be the healthiest, I go with that. Oscar loves the hay, and I put a pile of it about the size of him in his cage.
Theodore likes it not quite as much, so I give him a pile not quite as large as him. He prefers his pellets, so he gets more of that.
I suppose I could just throw huge amounts in their cages, but it gets messy and they don't seem to play with it, although I've seen Theodore use his hay as a pillow on occasion. I tend to stick to regular feeding schedules, so that seems to work for them.
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Post by 3piggles on Apr 29, 2016 12:06:34 GMT
Each of your boys is alone in his cage, so he has no one to play with. I think playing in hay is best done with a friend or friends. I can't remember my lone pigs playing in the hay as much as they played in the hay holders. My herds have always played in the hay, and even slept together in it. I just went back through years of photos, and my pigs are always together in whatever hay set up I have:  I think it's the most natural thing for piggies, as in the wild, they would live in grasslands, where they could get a lot of dried grasses, and they would have burrows of safe places to live. Have some hideys in a whole lot of hay, or hay in a secure setting, and they are really happy. |
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Post by epigs on Apr 29, 2016 19:34:41 GMT
I feed my two pigs oranges and bananas, one small slice each, once per week. I use Small Pet Select (smallpetselect.com), second-cutting Timothy Hay. I buy the 10 lb box about every 1.5 months or so. Shipping is usually free, the service is great, and the pigs LOVE the hay.
We built a coroplast hay loft (it's a 2'x1' space that's 4" above the enclosure with a small ramp) and I line it with newspaper and put the hay on a small tray in the middle. I typically end up re-filling the tray in the morning and evening. The nice thing about the loft is that the hay stays up there and doesn't end up in the 'main living' area.
I've tried multiple hay racks and hay sacks and whatnot, but setting it low on the ground seems to work best for us. They don't waste too much, although it does get dragged onto the loft floor and they play in it. Every once in awhile I'll dump a bunch in the entire loft and they'll bury themselves in it. It's a waste of hay but it makes them happy!
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Food time
Apr 30, 2016 3:21:36 GMT
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Post by wyvernsmile on Apr 30, 2016 3:21:36 GMT
I switched to Oxbow hay and what a difference! Charcoal has (almost) stopped sneezing and the runny nose is gone. Flint loves this hay muuuuch better too as he was hardly touching the cheaper brand. Hopefully they will be cage mates before long and jumping through the hay together. We let them play together for a bit each day. |
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Food time
Apr 30, 2016 3:23:00 GMT
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Post by wyvernsmile on Apr 30, 2016 3:23:00 GMT
3piggles, I love that pic of all your piggies together! How cute! Did it take them awhile to get so close with each other?
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Post by 3piggles on May 1, 2016 22:55:57 GMT
Not really, wyversmile. It seems to be a cage type that gets them together. They have plenty of space to be apart if they want That was a great picture of them, and of my beautiful Teddy girl, Molly. She was such a sweet girl Small Pet Select is a great source of hay and pellets. You can give pigs a piece of a segment of orange daily, about a thumbnails worth, and it will give them some Vitamin C. Bananas have a lot of sugar, so feeding those sparingly is a great idea, epigs |
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When I used a high-sided kitty litter box with doors cut in each end, they would run in one door and bulldoze the hay out the other door. So in general, there's no good way to keep the hay where you want it, and for them to enjoy the hay all they want to.
