diet for baby pigs

[scarymonster742]

I posted in the nutrition thread, but thought more people may see it here. I have two young pigs, 6-8 weeks old. The chart is for adult pigs, so do I need to cut down the servings? By how much? As they grow, how often and how much should I increase until hitting the recommended amount?

[Jenni_Feathers]

I'm not sure about cutting down on servings, but I'm sure Ly or someone else will know. But they should be getting alfalfa hay and alfalfa pellets instead of timothy. And also they can have more parsley than what the chart says, because of there age.

[Ly&Pigs]

I answered this question where you first posted it, on the nutrition charts discussion thread. Please don't crosspost questions. Thanks.

[Percy's Mom]

Originally Posted by Jenni_Feathers

But they should be getting alfalfa hay and alfalfa pellets instead of timothy.

Wrong. I know Ly answered the main parts of the original question, but I wanted to clear this up. Baby pigs, and pregnant/nursing sows should have alfalfa hay and/or pellets in ADDITION to timothy or another grass hay. Throughout his/her life, a guinea pig should ALWAYS have unlimited grass hay.

[aaronmeister]

Yes, a baby or nursing guinea pig should have unlimited Timothy Hay (or any grass hay) and in addition should have either Alfalfa hay, or alfalfa pellets.

Currently my 10 week old pigs have 1/4 cup of Cavy Cuisine everyday, a large pile of Timothy and a handful of Alfalfa hay. They go through the alfalfa hay quickly but they play in the Timothy Hay the most.

[Ly&Pigs]

Thanks PM. I read the posts here before I replied but missed where it said But they should be getting alfalfa hay and alfalfa pellets instead of timothy.

The thing is though that you don't even have to supplement with alfalfa hay or pellets, it's an optional thing. You can just increase the amount of calcium rich veggies for a while instead.

[Jenni_Feathers]

Whoops Sorry.

[urockstar]

But what if they're not interested in the alfalfa hay? I bought a bag the other day and they didn't touch it. Now they don't even seem as interested in the Timothy Hay. Mine are around 10 weeks old. They really didn't care for the alfalfa hay. Why might this be?

[Ly&Pigs]

If they don't like the alfalfa, then don't feed it. Simple. Just keep giving them the timothy hay. Not every guinea pig has the same tastes in hay or foods. Some may like timothy best while others like bluegrass the best. Some may like oranges better than apples or romaine better than green leaf. It's individual tastes just like in us humans.

If you are feeding an alfalfa based pellet, they really don't need alfalfa hay anyway. If you give things like parsley and kale 2-3 times per week (still in smaller amounts) then they will get enough calcium to grow normally.

[scarymonster742]

At what age should you remove alfalfa from their diet (other than occasional treats)?

[Percy's Mom]

About 6-8 months. Beyond that, unless you have a pregnant or nursing sow, there is really too much calcium for them as their bodies slow down a bit in the growing process.