Always hungry for pellets

[Katrina864]

Hello everyone,
I feed my two guinea pigs 1/4 of a cup of Oxbow Cavy Cuisine pellets a day. Whenever I pour a little of the measured 1/4 cup of pellets into their bowl, they hungrily eat it, but usually not all at once(although almost). It seems that they like to eat pellets more than hay, so should I feed them more than 1/4 cup a day? I sometimes wonder if the reason they're so hungry for pellets is because 1/4 cup a day is too less.

[skinnypigs]

1/4 cup is more than enough for your piggies. My boys like to chow down on theirs as well. When they check the bowl and find none are left they go eat more hay which is much better for them than too many pellets. You don't want them to eat more pellets because they can gain too much weight and hay is excellent for keeping their teeth trimmed down so you want to encourage them to eat their hay.

[Katrina864]

Ok, thanks! It's just that I've heard before that you can feed more than 1/8 of a cup per pig if you feed high-quality pellets like Oxbow.

[Shauna&Kerri]

If they are still hungry after the pellets are gone, then they will have to go eat the hay. Make sure that you have plenty of a good quality hay available at all times. Also, what types & how much veggies are you giving them each day? If you aren't giving them much, then you could always increase that a bit if they are still going to the bowl looking for pellets.

[louie_joey]

Not sure where you heard that if its a high quality pellet you can feed more. If they are older than 6 months then they really only need an 1/8th cup each.

[utsarah]

My two boys do the same thing. They gobble the pellets up. Just make sure you're giving the right amount of fresh veggies and unlimited hay.

[Ly&Pigs]

Not sure where you heard that if its a high quality pellet you can feed more.

I've stated it on the forum many times so it's probably from me where Katrina heard it. If it's a pellet like KM's or Oxbow, each pig can have up to 1/4 cup per day. If it's a pellet like Mazuri 5664 or Martins or something along those lines then it needs to be limited in adult pigs as it's alfalfa based to no more than 1/8 of a cup.

Somewhere along the line it seems some users on the forum starting telling people only 1/8 of a cup when the actual answer was 1/8 to 1/4 cup per pig and now for whatever reason users think that only 1/8 cup can be fed.

[FlowersGrandma]

Thanks Ly, I am glad you clarified that. My pellets don't have alfalfa, so I bought alfalfa in the hay, and as they are over 6 months, I am going to get hay without it in a few days. They usually get 1/4 cup each right now, but I was thinking of dropping that to 1/8 cup soon. They love their hay and eat it continuously, so I don't worry about the pellets, as they will usually have some left the next morning.
So now I won't feel bad when I do drop them to 1/8 cup, but I know that I haven't been overdoing it lately either. My boys are big eaters, LOL and they chow down on some hay. I love seeing hay go out the door as little pellets of poop. I feel like they are getting what they need, and it's so good to see them so loving and ready to be held and petted.