Nutrition Whats this food like? - Guinea Pig Cages, Care, Store, Photos of Guinea Pigs and More Forum!

**Cornish Cavies** · #1 09-19-09, 08:31 am

Guinea mix with grass
Wheat extrusions
Grass pellets
Micronised beans
Vit c pellets
Linseed flake
Micronised peas
Micronised Maize
Grass
Micronised wheat
Soya
Whole Oats
7 soya oil
Protein 16.5%
Fibre 11.5%
Ash 4.5%
Oil 3%
Vit a E C and CU

**akstrohm** · #2 09-19-09, 11:56 am

Not so good. Pigs shouldn't have peas, beans, maize, etc. in their pellets. Are you feeding Oxbow yet? Oxbow is the best available pellet in your area.

**jenniwat001** · #3 09-19-09, 12:03 pm

Yeah, not so great.

akstrohm- where can you get oxbow in the UK? I've found Hay but no pellets.

**Ly&Pigs** · #4 09-19-09, 12:04 pm

Is the name of it, Guinea mix with grass?

It would go on the avoid list because of it being a mix. The first ingredient isn't even grass, it's wheat. Cavies need PLAIN pellets only. We've had this discussion before CC and you were given the suitable brands to feed.

The micronized stuff is just veggie flakes. I don't know what kind of beans but many beans are harmful to pigs whether fresh or dried.

**akstrohm** · #5 09-19-09, 12:08 pm

I am not in the UK, so I don't know exactly where to find Oxbow pellets. I only know that they are available there. If you do a forum search or post your question on the UK section of the forum, you might be able to find an answer. Good luck!

**Cornish Cavies** · #6 09-21-09, 04:19 am

Yes I no oxbow is the better one to feed, but I just cant aford it

**CavyMama** · #7 09-21-09, 06:32 am

Oh gosh, all of that is pellet food? With everything listed there I thought you were listing various things you wanted to include in your pigs' diet.

Please just stick to plain pellets. Most of the times pellet food with colorful bits or dried veggies in it, is just to make it look good rather than for piggie nutrition. There has to be SOME type of plain pellet food that you can afford. I'm willing to bet that the mixes are more expensive than the plain pellets.

**akstrohm** · #8 09-21-09, 08:45 am

If you buy Oxbow in bulk and stick to the required amounts (1/8-1/4c per pig), Oxbow won't cost you much at all compared to what you spend on veggies. I got a 10 lb bag for around $20. I've been using it for almost 2 months for 2 pigs and more than half of it is still left. Yet I spend around $50 a month on veggies. Plus more for bedding and hay. The pellets, even the highest quality ones, are really a very small part of the expenses. If you want to save money, use fleece for bedding, look for veggies on sale, and use homemade toys and hideys. But don't compromise your pigs' health to try to save at most a few bucks a month. That is only going to result in health problems and really expensive vet bills. Plus, it's just not fair to your pigs.

**fieryone** · #9 09-21-09, 09:22 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by akstrohm

But don't compromise your pigs' health to try to save at most a few bucks a month. That is only going to result in health problems and really expensive vet bills. Plus, it's just not fair to your pigs.

It's true. I've seen such a huge change in the general overall health of my newest pig. He was on (plain) garbage pellets for the first 2½ years of his life. After only 2 weeks with me on a quality pellet and veggies, his overall health was obvious in his fur, his weight loss, the brightness of his eyes, etc.

Please do not skimp on pellets. There are many other ways to cut costs.

**angiekay** · #10 09-21-09, 09:34 am

Yea, I just got my pellets/hay in the mail from Sweet Meadow, my pigs LOVE them! It was a 10lb bag, and I'm sure it will last me 2 months or more. I got 3 (all 20 oz bags) bags of tim. hay, 2 bags of meadow grass, and the 10lb bag of pellets for $34 bucks!!! I was paying $13.99 for a small bag (5lbs) of oxbow pellets alone at the pet store. So it really, really helps to buy in bulk, even with the shipping you are saving a ton of money in the end.

**Fudgenrolo** · #11 09-21-09, 09:43 am

According to the Oxbow bag - a Guinea Pig only needs 1/8 cup of pellets per day. It should last for ages so I don't believe it works out to be expensive at all. You can buy 4.5kg bags online very easily.

Edited to add: I was posting this as a UK viewpoint cost-wise - I know this is basically what's already been said. But with UK prices and delivery I still believe it works out to be very economical.

**crazywiggy** · #12 09-22-09, 04:46 pm

I get my Oxbow from SPH supplies (I get confused by the rules about links so just find it on google). They do a large range of Oxbow products - Cavy Cuisine and Performance, various hays etc. You can also add a thing to you basket asking them to donate to Reading guinea pig rescue on your behalf, at no cost to you.

**Paula** · #13 09-22-09, 05:15 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cornish Cavies

Yes I no oxbow is the better one to feed, but I just cant aford it

It seems it might be a better expenditure of your time to figure out how you can afford what you know to be better (by buying in bulk, shopping around, etc.) rather than searching for cheaper pellets, because it's more likely than not that all of the bargain priced pellets are going to be substandard and something not recommended to feed.

**Cornish Cavies** · #14 09-25-09, 05:08 am

The best I have found is £22.96 for a 4.5kg bag with del. So it would be about £50 a week to feed them which I am sorry is silly. Then there is the hay and veg on top. While not the best the excel at least isnt a cheap mix and the excel costs £17 a week.

**akstrohm** · #15 09-25-09, 09:02 am

You feed 9 kg (20lbs) of pellets per week?! I think you are feeding far too much. How many pigs do you have?

Did you check out the source Crazywiggy posted? They seem to have quite reasonable prices?

**Cornish Cavies** · #16 09-25-09, 09:58 am

They have ad lib we have 16 at the mo. But 3 are mums that we were looking after. No one is over weight and eats loads of hay and veg too

Just wanting to add, its very hard to say no to piggies

, i work in a non animal pet shop and we always get people comming in looking to re home their pigs. When you know a pig isnt being looked after I tend to say yes. And then try and find them a home when they are healthy. So the numbers are always changing sometimes I have more and sometimes less

**Paula** · #17 09-25-09, 10:14 am

16 pigs still shouldn't be going through 20 lbs of pellets a week. You're feeding too much.

Quote:

Just wanting to add, its very hard to say no to piggies

Seeing as how it's such a burden for you to be providing quality food for them, perhaps you should find way to say no and give those you have now an appropriate food.

I'm sorry, but your first obligation is to the pigs already in your care. If you can't or won't provide what's best for them I hardly think you should be taking any more in. It's not really doing any of them any good.

**Cornish Cavies** · #18 09-25-09, 10:18 am

Excel is not a bad food. Its even been oked on the forum. So why is everyone saying its so bad?

So what you are saying is its best to leave these pigs in a bad home where they are not being cared for than feed them the next best pellet?

**fieryone** · #19 09-25-09, 10:20 am

The link that crazywiggy provided has a 4.5kg bag for £15.46

**Cornish Cavies** · #20 09-25-09, 10:21 am

Yes about the same price as everyone else then there is postage on top

"Thank you, akstrohm, for this useful post," say these 4 members:
fieryone (09-21-09), FrasierandNiles (10-01-09), Fudgenrolo (09-21-09), sophistacavy (09-25-09)

"Thank you, Paula, for this useful post," say these 4 members:
akstrohm (09-25-09), katiewilson (09-25-09), sophistacavy (09-25-09), Wodentoad (09-25-09)