Diet: Is this good enough?

[Scout.Layne]

So I don't have any piggies just yet but I am going to be fostering in the near future. I will be a first time piggy "owner".

So I've been working on a menu for them and I think I've got it down. My question is do you think it's good enough. Like does it have enough variety and do I feed them enough of each things. Things like that.

Oh and this menu is just for one piggy.

Mon AM
- 3 leaves Romaine lettuce
- 1/4 green bell pepper
- 1 cherry tomato
- 1 baby carrot
Mon PM
- 3 leaves dandelion greens
- 2 pea pods
- 1/2" cucumber
- 2 sprigs of cilantro
Tues AM
- 3 leaves red leaf lettuce
- 1/4 green bell pepper
- 1 cherry tomato
- 1/2" cucumber
Tues PM
- 3 leaves mixed lettuce (not iceburg)
- 2 pea pods
- 1/4 apple
- 2 sprigs cilantro
Wed AM
- 3 leaves dandelion greens
- 1/4 green bell pepper
- 1 cherry tomato
- 1/2" cucumber
Wed PM
- 3 leaves Romaine lettuce
- 2 sprigs cilantro
- 2 pea pods
- 1/4 apple
Thurs AM
- 3 leaves red leaf lettuce
- 1/4 green bell pepper
- 1 cherry tomato
- 1 baby carrot
Thurs PM
- 3 leaves dandelion greens
- 1/2" cucumber
- 2 pea pods
- 2 sprigs cilantro
Fri AM
- 3 leaves mixed lettuce
- 1/4 green bell pepper
- 1 cherry tomato
- 1/2" cucumber
Fri PM
- 3 leaves red leaf lettuce
- 2 pea pods
- 1/4 apple
- 2 sprigs cilantro
Sat AM
- 3 leaves Romaine lettuce
- 1/4 green bell pepper
- 1 cherry tomato
- 1 baby carrot
Sat PM
- 3 leaves dandelion greens
- 1/2" cucumber
- 2 pea pods
- 2 sprigs cilantro
Sun AM
- 3 leaves red leaf lettuce
- 1/4 green bell pepper
- 1 cherry tomato
- 1/2" cucumber
Sun PM
- 3 leaves mixed lettuce
- 2 pea pods
- 1/4 apple
- 2 sprigs cilantro


Thanks for any and all advice

[Ash-Ro060708]

Wow...umm... you have way too much time on your hands. Just kidding.

I have 3 male g-pigs and I make them a salad of 3 romaine lettuce leaves(cut in half), 3 baby carrots, 1/4 red bell pepper(cut up), about 2" of cucumber(cut in three slices and then in half) and a few pieces of broccoli, sometimes I add 1/4 tomato(cut up), 3 pea pods, every other day. In the summer I pick a large handful of tall grass for them every other day. Also I give them pellets and hay everyday.

[Scout.Layne]

I got bored during math class. I hate math.

So I'll take the "Wow" as a "Good job. That'll do."

[Ibbet]

I think that sounds great!
It should make your future foster pigs very happy.

[akstrohm]

It looks excellent! Just remember that the pigs you get may never have had veggies before, in which case you'll have to introduce them slowly (mainly lettuce and bell pepper). Also, feel free to feed a lot more cilantro. The pigs like it and it's good for them. And it doesn't last terribly long, so you might as well use it up.

[Scout.Layne]

Thanks for the advice. I was thinking if I had a hard time introducing lettuce and bell peppers that I could cut them up into tiny bit sized bits and mix them in with something they like. Thanks for the advice about the cilantro too. Would that make a good laptime treat?

[akstrohm]

Originally Posted by Scout.Layne

Thanks for the advice. I was thinking if I had a hard time introducing lettuce and bell peppers that I could cut them up into tiny bit sized bits and mix them in with something they like. Thanks for the advice about the cilantro too. Would that make a good laptime treat?

Mixing veggies into other food won't work. Pigs are good at picking out what they like.

Just feed the lettuce and bell pepper (nothing else) in small amounts over and over until they eat them. Then when they do, which can take weeks or months, add in other foods one at a time.

And any favorite food makes a good laptime treat!

[TwilightStar]

Sounds like a lovely menu full of variety.
Currently we're getting our girls to eat green peppers, but they won't try it.
However, cilantro was a big hit.
It's like guinea pig's cat nip.

[Scout.Layne]

Thanks for the tips about cilantro. I am so excited about fostering some piggies. I'm a big list maker when I get excited so I've been making lists for weeks about what supplies to get, what to feed them, ect. I'm glad that you all approve of my menu.

[Scout.Layne]

Okay, so I've got the veggie list covered. Now onto my next question. What type of pellets/hay should I get? I was planning on getting Timothy complete pellets but after I started reading around on this site I heard some people saying it wasn't a good pellet to give your pigs. Is this true? Also where is the cheapest place to get Timothy hay without compromising it's value?

[akstrohm]

It's the brand of pellets that is most important. Kleenmama (available online) and Oxbow (online and stores) are best. Definitely avoid things like Kaytee which contain carcinogens. Pigs under 6 months can have unlimited alfalfa pellets. Those over 6 months can have 1/8-1/4 cup timothy pellets per day.

Any kind of grass hay (not alfalfa) will do. Kleenmama's hay is excellent. I like the bluegrass the best. A lot of people use timothy hay, but it is one of the worst for allergies. You can order from Kleenmama or check local feed stores. If you look at feed stores, make sure you are looking for horse-quality (not cow) grass hay. Pet store hay will probably come in such small amounts that it's more expensive than those two options.

[Scout.Layne]

So I did some research on pellets and hay. I'm going to order Oxbow pellets from online and get timothy hay from my local feed store. The only thing is I don't know how much to oder? How much pellets/hay does a piggy go through in a week or month?

[CavyMama]

Wow, I'm amazed at your level of knowledge about guinea pig care for never having owned them before! You've obviously done your homework and you care enough to ask questions. Bravo! Your plans for diet sound great!

Have you decided what kind of cage you will get for them?

[Scout.Layne]

Thanks. I try. I tend to get excited about things and really study up on them (exspecially when it comes to caring for a living thing).

I am going to be fostering pigs so they will have C&C cages if they are avaliable or Marchioro cages. Any that I decide to keep will of course have a C&C cage provided by me. I don't think I'm going to go with fleece bedding though. I have two hamsters currently on aspen bedding so it would make more sense to just buy more aspen bedding instead of trying to do two types of bedding. Well at least in my head it makes more sense.

[blackarrow]

Originally Posted by Scout.Layne

Thanks for the advice about the cilantro too. Would that make a good laptime treat?

Our pigs think cilantro is the ultimate laptime treat. It cracks us up to watch them eating that or fresh parsley - they often end up grabbing opposite ends of the same strand and eating as fast as they can to try to get the most of it - like the spaghetti scene from Lady and the Tramp.

[Ly&Pigs]

In all actuality, there are a few things wrong with your diet plan. Cucumber cannot be fed on a daily basis. It's better fed every 2-3 days. Podded peas are the same.

Cilantro can be fed in much larger amounts.

There is variety, but honestly, not enough variety.

[Scout.Layne]

Thanks for your advice.

How about if I replace five of the cucumber with zucchini. Then replace three of the pea pods with green beans and two with lettuce. And take away one of the apples and replace it with a baby carrot. Also, make it 5 sprigs of cilantro instead of 2. And finally give parsley strawberries and more cilantro as treats.

Hows that? Or would you rather me edit my post so you can see it?

[Ly&Pigs]

Originally Posted by Scout.Layne

Mon AM
- 3 leaves Romaine lettuce
- 1/4 green bell pepper
- 1 cherry tomato
- 1 baby carrot
Mon PM
- 3 leaves dandelion greens
- 2 pea pods
- 1/2" cucumber
- 8-10 sprigs of cilantro
Tues AM
- 3 leaves red leaf lettuce
- 1/4 green bell pepper
- 1 cherry tomato
- 2 1/4" slices of zuchini
Tues PM
- 3 leaves mixed lettuce (not iceburg)
- 1 broccoli floret
- 1/8 apple
- 8-10 sprigs cilantro
Wed AM
- 3 leaves mixed lettuce
- 1/4 green bell pepper
- 1 cherry tomato
- 2 1/4" slices of zuchini
Wed PM
- 3 leaves Romaine lettuce
- 8-10 sprigs cilantro
- 2 green beans
- 1 baby carrot
Thurs AM
- 3 leaves red leaf lettuce
- 1/4 green bell pepper
- 1 cherry tomato
- 1 baby carrot
Thurs PM
- 3 leaves dandelion greens
- 1/2" cucumber
- 2 pea pods
- 8-10 sprigs cilantro
Fri AM
- 3 leaves mixed lettuce
- 1/4 green bell pepper
- 1 cherry tomato
- 2 1/4" slices of zuchini
Fri PM
- 3 leaves red leaf lettuce
- 2 pea pods
- 1/4 kiwi
- 8-10 sprigs cilantro
Sat AM
- 3 leaves Romaine lettuce
- 1/4 green bell pepper
- 1 cherry tomato
- 1 baby carrot
Sat PM
- 3 leaves mixed lettuce
- 1/2" cucumber
- 2 green beans
- 8-10 sprigs cilantro
Sun AM
- 3 leaves red leaf lettuce
- 1/4 green bell pepper
- 1 cherry tomato
- 2 1/4" slices of zuchini
Sun PM
- 3 leaves mixed lettuce
- 1 broccoli floret
- 1 baby carrot
- 8-10 sprigs cilantro

I've modified your diet to something a bit better. I hadn't noticed how much fruit you had in at the beginning. Fruits are best fed no more than once or twice a week because they are high in sugars. 1/4 of an apple per pig is too much. This diet is for one pig. So if you have 2 double it, etc.

Once your pigs are eating a good variety then change it up from time to time, substituting cucumber for other things, substituting the broccoli for something else. If you haven't seen the sample menu's thread, take a look at it.

[Scout.Layne]

I did take a look at the sample veggie menus. They are just delightful and really helpful. Thanks so much for helping me to come up with a good menu. I just can't wait to get some piggies to try it out on.

Thanks again. This site is so wonderful.

[blackarrow]

May I just say how refreshing it is to see a newbie figuring this stuff out before getting pigs, and taking suggestions as a helpful thing and not an offensive thing? It's really nice!

I also wanted to add you may find you have to make some modifications based on what the pigs you have like. It's worth trying things multiple times, because just like little kids they are apt to turn their noses up at the unfamiliar for some time, and then all of a sudden they discover they love whatever it is. Still, though, there may be some things they just won't eat no matter how often you offer it. I think mine would curse if they knew how any time I give them zucchini or strawberries! Not even a nibble. Yet some pigs love 'em. And tomatoes, with my guys, it seems to depend on the mood they're in. What is the funniest to me, though, is all I have to do is get ONE of them to try something, and then the other wants to, and will even steal it right out of his mouth to taste it.