wrong food

[amarallj]

Well, I checked the food I have been giving to my guinea pigs and it is not receommended. So I went out and I purchased the Oxbow Cavy Cuisine. Since I have two bowls for the two boars that I have I decided rather than going cold turkey to the right stuff I would wean them off the bad stuff. So I put some of the bad food in one bowl and the good stuff in the other. Well, they don't eat the Cavy Cuisine, they eat the other stuff. What should I do?

Thanks for your help.

Lisa

[Ly&Pigs]

That's not the proper way to wean them off. Normally you would mix some of the old with some of the new in both dishes. Otherwise they will do what you just said, eat the bad stuff and leave the good stuff. Have you tried just giving the Oxbow and not the other stuff at all?

If they have plenty of hay and a good variety of veggies, if they don't eat the oxbow right away that's ok. Pellets are the least part of the diet anyway.

[Jenah]

When I switched to Cavy Cuisine - I didn't have any problems. I just took out the old and started giving the new. No fuss - in fact they started paying MORE attention to their pellets than they did the old Kaytee plain.

I understand that folks recommend weaning. However with all of the hay and veggies I normally give - I didn't really do that. Just tossed out the crap food for the new good food. Color me surprised when the girls started to eat more pellets

[pignewton]

I made the switch cold-turkey too. No problems at all.

[Chaos&Order]

Actually, on the back of the Cavy Cuisine bag there's instructions for a 4 week transition.

I just got some Cavy Cuisine too. My piggies aren't fussy about pellets but I transitioned them over a week anyway.

[pink piggy lips]

When I made the switch last year to the Oxbow cavy cuisine, I had 6 piggies. I did around a 2 week transition.

I did have one boar who was hesitant, and would often pick out the crap food and leave the Oxbow in the same bowl. He did this for a while; but I think he realized that he was only eating half his food, and mommy wasn't going to give him extra crap food just cause he wanted it.

He adapted; and that's a good thing.

[JarBax]

I have done both transition mix - where the cavy-cuisine was the only thing left in the bowl - and 'cold turkey' - when introducing my two newer girls to my two older ones. They have always been so keen to eat virtually anything that is put in front of them, that they took to the quality pellets without any question of a doubt. However, as other have said, pellets make up a small proportion of their daily feed.

Mix the pellets with your old mixture in one bowl, and either using the suggestions on the cavy cuisine bag - or add a wee bit more cc each day in place of the mix (depending on if your pigs are touching it atall), after a couple of weeks, they should be off the mix altogether, and this will all be in the past!

[cavynut!!!]

My pigs are not very picky about there pellets so I find that you dont have to do the transition. They will eat any pellets bad or good.

[mommyoffive]

Originally Posted by amarallj

Well, I checked the food I have been giving to my guinea pigs and it is not receommended. So I went out and I purchased the Oxbow Cavy Cuisine. Since I have two bowls for the two boars that I have I decided rather than going cold turkey to the right stuff I would wean them off the bad stuff. So I put some of the bad food in one bowl and the good stuff in the other. Well, they don't eat the Cavy Cuisine, they eat the other stuff. What should I do?

Thanks for your help.

Lisa

Does your piggy have a seed mix guinea pig food, usually these types of foods, yet really bad, taste very good to guinea pigs, so when you put in healthy food they will not go for it. I'd say just go cold turkey, I did that with my kids and they had no problems. In fact, they love their oxbow!