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Post by truecolours on Jan 21, 2018 12:13:18 GMT
We are continually looking for really neat, All Natural products that we can offer to our customers for their piggies and bunnies that are not processed and are not the general offerings that you find in most chain type pet stores
So far we have apple sticks, twigs and chunks. Dried okra pods. Dehydrated pea flakes. Loofah discs and rolls. Dried apple rings. Gourmet Hay with 12 different botanicals on it plus freeze dried strawberries, raspberries, cranberries, blueberries, apple rings and 2 different kinds of pine cones. Large and small heat treated pine cones.
I have found a supplier of yucca chunks and hope to have those in shortly - has anyone tried them before? If so - how were they accepted by your piggies?
These are some items I am now looking to bring in to sell in small treat sized packages - would really love to have some input on whether anyone has tried any of them before and what your piggies (or bunnies!) thought of them ... 
Aronia berries Freeze dried banana Birch Bark Blue Cornflower Dried Carrot Chamomile Flowers Coneflower (echinachea) Dandelion Leaf Dandelion Root Hibiscus petals Marigold Flowers Parsley Root Plantain Leaves Banana Leaves Rose Petals Strawberry Leaf Sunflower Petals Willow Bark Willow sticks and twigs
The line of Peters Products from Australia - the parsley huts, the veggie and fruits bowls
Sweet Potato dehydrated fries
Would love your comments and input on what you have tried before, and which of these you would try if they were available in your area
Thank you so much! |
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Post by Bean on Jan 22, 2018 9:29:35 GMT
I've not tried any of the fruity things as I prefer not to give them that kind of stuff. They do get occasional and small amounts of fresh fruit, but I feel like dried fruit is too sugary and not so good for their teeth or blood sugar levels. My whole feeling about treats with pets is that there's so much healthy stuff they go mad over that's really good for them, that I don't need to venture into anything less healthy to make them happy. The main things I'd get are different types of dried grasses as you can see they really enjoy the different flavours and textures.
Mine love the willow tunnels - one of my couples can demolish one in a couple of days! They like the balls too, but tend to ignore plain twigs.
We get pine cones from the woods and dry them ourselves. They love nibbling the little leaves, so I bet they'll be popular.
Do you have fenugreek crunchies? My lots love those as an occasional treat. It's a good bribe for when you need them to sit still for nail cutting etc!
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Post by truecolours on Jan 23, 2018 14:40:54 GMT
The fruit items that we offer are all either air dried or freeze dried with no sugar or honey added - they are just straight, 100% fruit and that's it. Much harder to find for sure - but they do exist - you just need to dig for them to find them!
I am looking at bringing in the Fenugreek Crunchies. Have had a lot of interest in them so they should be available sometime in February
We are just launching the new "Cool de Sacs" in Veggie and Fruit varieties and those will have 100% dried veggies or fruits with no sugars, salt, anything added to them. Just 2nd Cut Orchard Grass hay and the veggie or fruit combinations with botanicals added in as well and they can either eat the sac or their Moms can rescue it before they do and stuff it full of hay and snackies for them to nibble on and forage for!
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Post by Bean on Jan 24, 2018 10:08:24 GMT
The bags look fun. Mine love having tasty snacks put inside things they can chew!
Sorry, I was just talking about the natural sugars in fruit, not added sugars. The sugars in dried fruit are naturally more concentrated due to the water being removed, so even a small piece can be high in sugar, and it's recommended we keep them to a minimum in a guinea pig's diet.
Added to that, the texture becomes denser and stickier, so they're far worse for their teeth than fresh fruit. Whatever nutrition/ fibre/ tastiness factor that's in dried fruit is better delivered through fresh vegetables and hays.
I only even feed fresh fruit very occasionally, but I'd not give them anything with dried fruit in.
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Post by truecolours on Jan 24, 2018 10:46:39 GMT
^^^ Gotcha! That makes sense! The fruit we use in the Gourmet Hay and will be using in the "Cool de Sac's" is freeze dried and not air dried so its bone dry and not sticky with any residue at all and you wouldn't get the sugar concentration like you would with air or sun dried fruits ...
Thank you so much for your input and comments! We are learning more about piggies and bunnies than we ever thought possible and meeting some wonderful people along the way ...
Could a little wheeker be in our future?!  |
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Post by 3piggles on Jan 25, 2018 19:30:40 GMT
It all sounds very interesting. I keep the hay and veggies as natural as possible, and rarely give them any fruit. Since drying of any kind concentrates the sugars, I prefer not to use fruits dried in any way. If anything, my pigs get a blueberry now and again, or a piece of cantaloupe or watermelon, in season. However, those are just my preferences, and they seem to work well for my guinea pigs. It's always good to have sources, so our members can have options |
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