Oats

[John4216]

I am just curious about Oats. I give my pigs Oat hay on a regular basis and as a treat (about once or twice a month) I will give them a handful of oats. Thats a handful total for 7 of them. And they love them and love to play in the empty containers.

I am wondering if I can give them oats more often, say once a week or should I just keep it like it is?

[aqh88]

Don't overfeed oats. Some would say not to feed them at all. Excess grains can lead to bloat which can become lifethreatening. It will also throw off the Ca:P ratio of their diet if they start eating fewer pellets because they have oats to eat instead. Oat hay is fine as a treat so long as the oat heads aren't too mature. If the hay has mature oats and is starting to turn more straw colored I wouldn't use it at all. Otherwise I give mine some weekly in the fall and it could probably be fed in moderate amounts daily. When cut before oat production it has the same values as grass hay. I do also give mine straight whole oats on occasion but it's only 2-3 maybe 5 oats max per pig handfed to them as a treat and not everyday. Probably only 1 or 2 times a month. Handfeeding a few makes the pigs friendlier than dumping a pile in the cage anyway.

[John4216]

Yes thanks for the advice on the oat hay. I make sure that I only feed them Oxbow's Oat Hay which is the immature hay:

Oxbow Pet Products | Oat Hay

[Ly&Pigs]

Originally Posted by Aqh88

Don't overfeed oats. Some would say not to feed them at all. Excess grains can lead to bloat which can become lifethreatening.

I am one of those that doesn't recommend oats in a pigs diet due to the bloat factor and due to the fact that cavies don't digest grains very well.