Need some food advice.

[Renshai117]

Hi all, I'm new to the website and am learning a lot. I have 4 pigs in a recently up graded 2 level cage, the bottom is 15.5 square feet and the top is about 6 (they love running up and down the ramp!) Anyway, I have been feeding them crappy wal-mart food and definately need better. The only food I have been able to find that doesnt look like lucky charms is Nutriphase. Is this an Okay food? If not, what foods are good that are readily available at pet stores or grocery stores? I really don't want to end up spending more than $1.50 per pound.

[boochie]

Try more veggies, organic is healthy

[Renshai117]

I feed them veggies, Im working getting it more regularly into their diet, but I need a good pellet that doesn't I can just go to the store and buy. There's no way I'm gonna spend 30+ dollars to ship a 25 dollar bag of oxbows or kleenmamas. My main question is whether anyone knows anything about nutriphase, it looks like a better pellet than what I currently have and it's reasonably priced.

[wiggley_narco]

The problem with Nutriphase is that even if it doesn't have the dried bits and hard cereal-looking pieces, the pellets themselves are often made from corn. This is not good for a guinea pig. Aside from Oxbow and KM's, the best pellet I have found is Kaytee's Timothy Complete. It doesn't compete with Oxbow and KM's, but it is timothy hay based and has no corn content.

[Jenni_Feathers]

You can get Mazuri 5664 at feedstrores for cheap. I get mine in 25 ibs bags for $8.99, it's alfalfa based so it has to be fed in moderation but its much better than the Kaytee Timothy Complete or petstore/grocerystore food, Oxbow and Kleenmama's is best but if you can't get that Mazuri 5664 is the next best thing. Also only the 5664 formula is any good, the other Mazuri that they sell at Petsmart in smaller bags is no good.

[Ly&Pigs]

Nutriphase is not a good food. It's is actually comparable to the stuff you are buying at Wal-Mart which is most likely Hartz or the other garbage brand that Wal-Mart sells. Kaytee feeds are low quality too Wiggly. They may not contain corn but they contain many other low quality ingredients including ethoxyquin which is a potentially cancer causing preservative.

The top brands are Oxbow (www.oxbowhay.com), check their page for a store locator, Kleenmama's (www.kmshayloft.com), she has both timothy and alfalfa based and can only be ordered online but is the highest quality feed you can find and then Mazuri 5664.

You say you don't want to spend X amount to get it shipped but in actuality if you buy a large bag of 25lbs. and add the shipping on, you will find that in the majority of cases, it will come to a good price per pound and you will have top quality food. You can always freeze the bulk of the pellets and they will last a long time in the freezer. That way you don't have to order as often too.

[fourboys4now]

I recently bought my first order from Oxbow pellets. It was 50 pounds of pellets and with shipping it ended up being a little over $54.00. At first I thought that's a lot for pellets, but if you think about it, that's a little over a $1 a pound. I froze what they couldn't eat in the next 3 months and it will last up to a year frozen.

[Renshai117]

Thanks again for the advice, I just located a store that carries Mazzuri 5664, I picked up a 25 IB bag of it for $12! Do you think I will have to freeze it or will 4 pigs be able to eat through it before that is necessary?

[Ly&Pigs]

You may want to freeze half of it. The rest you need to keep in an airtight container in a dark spot. It helps it stay fresher longer and it helps keep the vitamin C from degrading too fast. If you get another smaller container then you can only take out a few days worth at a time to feed.

[Renshai117]

Sounds good.