Turnip greens

[sagers2]

Why are turnip greens only to be given occasionally, I see that they are high in Vit C.

Thanks in advance,
Laurie

[Percy's Mom]

While turnip greens have a good amount of vitamin C, they are extremely high in calcium. Unless your pigs are very young, pregnant, or nursing, you want to keep calcium to a minimum to avoid bladder sludge and stones. It's a problem with most dark greens. Yes, they are great sources of C, but the calcium level is much too high for everyday feeding.

[sagers2]

Originally Posted by Percy's Mom

While turnip greens have a good amount of vitamin C, they are extremely high in calcium. Unless your pigs are very young, pregnant, or nursing, you want to keep calcium to a minimum to avoid bladder sludge and stones. It's a problem with most dark greens. Yes, they are great sources of C, but the calcium level is much too high for everyday feeding.

Oh ok, Thank you very much for your quick response. It can all get very confusing.

Laurie

[Percy's Mom]

I've found the nutrition charts that Ly put together to be extremely helpful when trying to figure out what nutrients different veggies contain. http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...on-charts.html

[Ly&Pigs]

When feeding veggies there are many things you have to look at in addition to the Vitamin C content. There is also calcium content, Vitamin A content, sugar content and oxalic acid. In my charts you will find that many veggies have high levels of one or more of these things which aren't good for pigs in large amounts on a daily basis thus is the reason they are categorized the way they are.

Too much calcium can lead to bladder sludge or stones.
Too much oxalic acid can bind with calcium and form oxalate stones.
Too much Vitamin A can lead to liver and/or kidney damage.
Too much sugar can lead to diabetes.