Veggie problem.....

[PrincessAngel]

This weekend we moved, and we have a brand new fridge that is completely awesome. Saturday morning I went to feed the pigs and grabbed their veggies only to find that they were half frozen!Has anyone else ever experienced their fridge freezing the veggies?Is it still ok to feed them the veggie though.I mean the veggies are soild but they have ice on them. I just thought it was the weirdest thing ever. Help is apperiated. By the way we did turn down the fride temp. some but I don't think it helped much. Thanks.

[PhoenixFeather]

Don't feed the frozen veggies. If there are portions of the vegetable that didn't freeze, you can cut off the frozen part and feed the other part. But the part that froze will be damaged to the point that it is like a rotten vegetable and should not be eaten. (When it thaws, it will be limp and mushy. The water molecules in the cells expand when they freeze, bursting cell membranes and ruining the vegetable.)

Even properly frozen vegetables should not be frozen:
http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...zen+vegetables
According to the above thread, enzymes important to the digestion of the vegetable can be damaged when it freezes.

You may find that certain portions of your fridge are colder than others, and you can store your veggies in a warmer portion. But try getting a fridge thermometer so you can turn it down to the correct temperature (40 degrees)

[TrekkiePiggies]

I had some escarole get "frostbitten," and the pigs wouldn't touch it. They were smarter than me!

[wickedrodent]

Oops. I fed veggies that got frozen then thawed once. I need to write that on my 'no-no' list for next time. My fridge goes wacky sometimes.

[PhoenixFeather]

Originally Posted by PhoenixFeather

Even properly frozen vegetables should not be frozen:

Uh, that should say "Even properly frozen veggies should not be fed"

[Maisiepaisie]

I don't think its good for them to eat veg straight from the fridge anyway, I'm sure I read that somewhere. I take out the veg and leave it at room temperature for at least half an hour.

[Ly&Pigs]

There are a couple exceptions to the frozen rule. You can freeze watermelon and canteloupe rind and then thaw slightly and give to the pigs on hot days. But that's about it. Things other than leafy veggies that get frozen slightly in the fridge are usually ok to go ahead and feed like bell pepper, carrot, etc. As long as they weren't completely frozen or remain frozen. Leafy veggies that get slightly frozen, well you can cut off the frozen parts and if the rest hasn't been damaged by ice, it could be fed as well. But I wouldn't feed any leafy parts that had been frozen.

As far as feeding straight from the fridge, that's fine to do. Leaving some things like lettuces at room temp for a while then putting them in the cage can make the lettuces wilt faster if the pigs don't eat it right away.

[PrincessAngel]

Th lettuce was slightly frozen but it wasn't like soild.On the other hand the bell pepper I had to saw with the knife to cut.I think that the fridge just got to about 32 degrees and some things started to freeze while others stayed normal. It's like my science teacher is trying to get it in my head that things freezing temp is the same as the melting temp. Oh well the veggies should still be fine I haven't heard the pigs complaining.

[Ledasmom]

I've found that I can't leave leafy greens on the top shelf of my fridge, as they will freeze there although they're fine in the drawers on the bottom shelf. Carrots, by the way, can be very cold and still perfectly good; when my father used to have carrots in his garden, we'd go hack them out of the ground in the middle of a Massachusetts winter - the air temperature might be ten above zero, but the carrots were beautifully crisp and tasty.