Fruit: Rose hips?

[Erenna]

I've heard rose hips are good for vitamin C which sounds good because Pudding refuses to eat bell peppers. Can I feed him dried rose hip flakes? They are seedless and intended for loose tea. I tried giving him a few with his pellets and eats them. Is this okay?

[JD In Van]

I have no idea about the hips but you can try cherry tomatos, and strawberries. And then less regularly there's things like broccoli and brussel sprouts (only like once a week cause they're gassy), cucumber (a few times a week but not every day), celery and the occational carrot or green bean.

http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/?page_id=132

[akstrohm]

I wouldn't feed the rose hips.

Instead, offer the bell pepper several times a day in small amounts. Take it out when wilted and replace it. Cut back on treat type veggies like carrots and feed the pepper different times than when you feed other veggies. It might take weeks or months, but your pig will start eating it.

If you are worried about vitamin C, you can give a supplement. Use a 100% vitamin C tablet or liquid--nothing with other vitamins or sugar. The veggies/fruit JD suggested would have to be fed in too high amounts to provide sufficient vitamin C, so don't rely on those. Keep your pellets fresh to keep that vitamin C stable as well.

[Ly&Pigs]

Originally Posted by Erenna

I've heard rose hips are good for vitamin C which sounds good because Pudding refuses to eat bell peppers. Can I feed him dried rose hip flakes? They are seedless and intended for loose tea. I tried giving him a few with his pellets and eats them. Is this okay?

Rose hips are a nice once in a while forage provided they are fresh. I would not use dried ones intended for tea. Also the amount of C in dried ones would vary considerably.

Bell peppers are the best bet. If you have only tried one color, try a different color but keep in mind the more colorful such as red, also contain a lot more sugars than green or yellow.

And I would go with akstrohm's suggestion of giving a C supplement in the meantime. Oxbow makes a good C tablet. You would only need to give 1/2 a tablet daily.

Originally Posted by JD In Van

I have no idea about the hips but you can try cherry tomatos, and strawberries. And then less regularly there's things like broccoli and brussel sprouts (only like once a week cause they're gassy), cucumber (a few times a week but not every day), celery and the occational carrot or green bean.

http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/?page_id=132

Sorry JD but most of those items you listed don't really contain enough C in the portion sizes that can be fed to be reliable. Broccoli has more C than most everything you listed but it can't be fed more than once or twice a week in small amounts. Kale and kiwi are good for C as well, but like broccoli, they have to be limited. And that website you linked is not a good source of info in my personal opinion. Too many fruits on that list and not enough good veggies. You can get what amounts of C is in each veggie by looking at the nutrition charts.

[JD In Van]

Originally Posted by Ly&Pigs

Sorry JD but most of those items you listed don't really contain enough C in the portion sizes that can be fed to be reliable. Broccoli has more C than most everything you listed but it can't be fed more than once or twice a week in small amounts. Kale and kiwi are good for C as well, but like broccoli, they have to be limited. And that website you linked is not a good source of info in my personal opinion. Too many fruits on that list and not enough good veggies. You can get what amounts of C is in each veggie by looking at the nutrition charts.

I found a break down in mg by veggie later and saw that. Most of the Vit C veggies are high in sugar or gassy it seems .

[Erenna]

thanks, I'll try the bell peppers again then.

[1frankie7]

I didnt give charlie carrot or parsly for about a week and he loves green and yellow peppers now!