How much food?

[Odella]

I have been wondering about this for a while now, but never thought of asking.
This is what I give my 3 gp's every day:

Morning (around 6 o'clock)

A handful of long grass from the backyard

Lunch (around 12 o'clock)

Romaine sallad (3 "leaves")
Apple (3/4 of an apple)
2 carrots
10 slices of cucumber

Afternoon (around 6 o'clock)

More grass

At bedtime (around 11 o'clock)

Grass + 2-3 liter of hay or cucumber/romaine + 2-3 liter of hay

Is this too much, is this normal or should I be feeding them more?

[cavy-cool-crazy]

That sounds about the right amount, but I would suggest a few changes.

1. Cut down the apple to just one quarter per pig every few days.

2. Add in some more lettuces; these can be any type apart from iceberg.

3. Cut down on the cucumber to a 1 inch slice every 2-4 days.

4. Try just 1 baby carrot a day for each pig.

Some other good daily foods to try are:

Chard (not sure if this is available in Sweden)
1-2 Cherry tomatoes per pig
Small handful of coriander/cilantro
Peppers (all colours, no seeds)

Also they need unlimited hay at all times - basically just put in quite a bit more than they will eat and put in fresh hay every morning. And are you offering plain pellets too? They should ideally have between one quarter and one half of a cup each per day.

[Odella]

I think I'll switch some of the carrot and all of the apple to baby tomatoes, the like those a lot Hay is always there, in unlimited amounts, I just fill it up in the evenings. I have pellets, but they are not too fond of it. I might have to try another brand. Thanks for the help, CCC

[pennick]

As cavy stated, cut out all that cucumber, no nutrtional value and replace with more varried lettuces. Tomatoes are okay occassionaly, they are very acidic and should be fed in moderation.

I don't think you are feeding them enough veggies. They should be getting a cup per pig per day at least. Cilantro, endive, ridichio, red leaf, etc. LIVE IT UP!

[Odella]

Yes, I realize that pennick, but also understand that I live in a small town which hasn't got that much to offer in sallads. They had romaine, which I was surprised to find, but I'm not sure about the other kinds you mentioned. Besides, I'm on a tight budget since I've just finished school and haven't gotten a job yet, so I can't really go to another city just to pick up some sallad. Why can't I use only the romaine as the sallad to give them if that has a high nutritional value?

[cavy-cool-crazy]

You can use just romaine but the more variety there is the better. I just remembered courgette/zucchini is another good daily.