Overfeeding?

[jerbear]

Is it possible to overfeed a pig romaine? Mine go through a stalk a day (two pigs)

[Jennicat]

It is possible to overfeed guinea pigs on vegetables (which can cause diarrhea), but it doesn't sound like you're coming anywhere close to doing so. They should get approximately 1 cup of vegetables, per day, per pig.

[jerbear]

Holy God they eat a lot! The romaine on top of everything else! Stalk meaning a HEAD of romaine a day.

[pignewton]

Boy, that does seem like a lot. My two boys eat 2 leafs of romaine per day along with pellets, hay, bell peppers and a snack ( one of the following: baby carrot, piece of fruit, cilantro, etc). I know that they are supposed to get about a cup of veggies per day per pig.

[jerbear]

Every morning I do a carrot, a pepper half, assorted other things (parsley, cucumber, grape tomatoes) and a third to a half of a HEAD of romaine depending on how thick it is. At night they get the other part of romaine. Pellets are always available.

[fourbwabbys]

My 5 pigs go through a head of romaine a day. Try cutting down on the romaine and adding more variety in there. Try mixing some other lettuces with the romaine.

[jerbear]

They really do not seem to like any other kind of greens. In the summer it is easier because I can use fresh cut grasses and dandelion greens and such.

[cavyinhawaii]

I feed mind 3 leaves each of romaine, a baby carrot and a slice of green pepper( also one each). I let them munch on hay all day if they are hungary.

[jerbear]

I think mine would die on that diet! Hay is available all day also. *ponders WHY my pigs are, indeed, pigs*

[pignewton]

Now Im beginning to wonder if mine are getting enough LOL !

[muffin]

The reason (other than diarrhoea) that you should only feed each pig about a cup of veggies per day is that if they fill up on veggies they won't have room left for hay. They need the long fibres in hay for a healthy gut etc.

[Terekins]

I was wondering about overfeeding as well; I feed Oda and Sherman two salads a day (an extra one if I'm home during the day as a treat) plus hay and pellets and veggie treats here and there. The reason I was wondering about overfeeding is that they poop so much! I've never had guinea pigs before so I have no prior experience. It seems I can't keep up, I need to clean their cage almost everyday. I always spot clean everyday. They just poop and poop. The poop itself looks fine though. Is this normal?
Tere

[Mummy]

My pigs get 3 ounces each of wet mixed greens each day. If I gave them any less there would be mutiny!

I think they expect to be eating their evening salad for an hour. Any less and they feel shortchanged :-p

They have piles of hay all day long, and 1/4 cup each of KM pellets. This diet seems to work really well for all the rescue pigs - they almost all gain weight when they come in here.

[this_lil_piggy]

I can't say what I really feed per pig since it all just basically goes in a pile in each cage and is a free for all.

For 7 pigs fed twice a day it totals up to about 19 leafs of lettuce, 7 baby carrots, 1/2 large red pepper, 1/2 large green pepper, 1/2 bundle of cilantro per day. Then I have extra things that they eat that always changes. This week they are also getting corn husks and silks, green beans, strawberries, and either some apple or orange as a treat since I bought a mixed bag at a great price. The young pigs get some hand fed parsley and such snuck to them when the adults aren't watching.

They 7 of them also eat 4 hay racks of hay per day. They have KM timothy pellets in the their bowls, but they eat very little of those.

In a nutshell, my bunch eats a lot of veggies! But, I try to offer several different things and limit their lettuce because if it was up to them that is all they would eat. They always eat all the lettuce first, then the peppers, then the carrots, then all the other things. They always eat the cilantro last after it has sat in the cage for an hour or two on it's own--it is their least favorite.

I can't wait till summer when they can go back out for grass snackin. I will cut the lettuce back from 3 leafs each to 2 leafs each when summer is here and we have floor time outdoors.

[Slave to the Wheek]

jerber: If you are not doing so, you need to give your pigs unlimmited grass hay and cut back on fresh veggies a tad. Pigs need to have the hay or their teeth get overgrown and they end up with digestive problems. Hay is not fattening and neither are veggies for that matter. It's more a matter of nutrition and exercise that keeps pigs from getting fat.

Make sure you give them hay at all times and replace any that gets urinated or pooped on daily. Pigs will not willingly eat soiled hay unless they are starving, so even if you have hay left in the cage, don't force them to eat it. It's how they keep themselves from getting sick.

Not only does it help them physically, it's also a source of stress reduction. As chewing on it reduces tension.

Guinea Lynx :: A Medical and Care Guide for Your Guinea Pig go here and read up on the care guide on guinea pig diet.

The preferred method of feeding veggies is in small meals rather than a single pile. My boys get veggie treats all day. I hand them to them rather than pile them up. It gets my boys used to coming up to me for food and has tamed them very quickly. They even know the names of which veggies are which. But that's another thread.

[jerbear]

They do have unlimited hay. After reading all the replies, I am left to think they are doing fine and just...eat a lot of romaine! I ONLY feed them twice a day with the lettuce and a more varied salad in the morning. What a wonder they are though! No wonder they are called...pigs!

[confuzioncity]

All of mine have unlimited hay. Vegetables and fruit are kept to a minimum to reduce the chance of diarrhea. They are quite happy on the diet that I have them on. They're gaining weight normally.

That does sound like an awful a lot of lettuce!

Colleen

[Jennicat]

Originally Posted by confuzioncity

All of mine have unlimited hay. Vegetables and fruit are kept to a minimum to reduce the chance of diarrhea. They are quite happy on the diet that I have them on. They're gaining weight normally.

That does sound like an awful a lot of lettuce!

Guinea pigs do not need "a minimum of vegetables". They need more vegetables in their diet to ensure that they get their daily allowance of Vitamin C. I can assure you that 1 cup of vegetables per guinea pig does not give the average pig diarrhea.

[confuzioncity]

Originally Posted by Jennicat

Guinea pigs do not need "a minimum of vegetables". They need more vegetables in their diet to ensure that they get their daily allowance of Vitamin C. I can assure you that 1 cup of vegetables per guinea pig does not give the average pig diarrhea.

Sorry, what I meant was I don't feed them more than a cup of vegetables and fruits a day (per pig). That's what I meant when I said "minimum of vegetables".

I do give a lot of dried fruit treats when I'm handling them from time to time. I used to do that all the time until I started getting bit by Chloe when I didn't have treats! Trust me...I learned from my mistake! She's just now getting used to not having a treat every time I handle her!!!

Anyways, just wanted to take a moment to clarify what I meant by minimum!!

Colleen

[Jennicat]

Ah, sorry about the misunderstanding! It's sad how many people feed them vegetables ONLY as a treat, or something similar.