Swapping food - help!

[Solymo]

I've got 2 8 month old rescue pigs that I've had since January.

When they arrived they were on a mixed food and I've been trying ever since to swap them to a pellet food without any success.

I always started by mixing a small amount of pellet in with their food and increasing the amount steadily however all they do is ignore the pellets.

It's got to the point with their mix food that they'll only eat the flaked peas in it and nothing else. Despite how long you leave the same food in they'd rather go hungry and in the end we've left the same bowl full for 6 days and after eating the peas they left the rest all that time.

What is the next best approach? Should I go for the 'tough love' and leave them with a bowl of just pellets and they can eat when they get hungry enough?

I'm getting a little stressed about what they eat so any help would be appreciated!

Thanks - Solymo

[Raine59]

What do you mean by "mixed food"?

[bpatters]

Throw the mixed food away and just put the plain pellets in there. Pellets are the least important part of their diet, and yours aren't eating the pellets anyhow.

How much vegetables are you feeding? It's possible they're getting too many of them, and that's why they're not interested in the pellets. It's not a problem with the pellets, but if they eat vegetables in preference to hay, you can have gut and teeth problems later on.

[Paulo]

have you left a bowl with the same food for 6 days in the cage?

[Solymo]

What do you mean by "mixed food"?

A museli type dried food


They don't get a lot of vegetables, just a small bowl of veg in the morning and evening and they have unlimited timothy hay!

[Zuidy]

A museli type dried food


They don't get a lot of vegetables, just a small bowl of veg in the morning and evening and they have unlimited timothy hay!

Each Guinea Pig NEEDS 1 cup of fresh Veggies a day. A "Small Bowl" isn't enough. And do throw out the mixed food and give them just plain pellets.

[madelineelaine]

agreed, just get rid of it. They'll eventually start eating the pellets.

[Solymo]

Each Guinea Pig NEEDS 1 cup of fresh Veggies a day. A "Small Bowl" isn't enough. And do throw out the mixed food and give them just plain pellets.

They get at least one cup a day don't worry
They each get a bowl full morning and evening!

[Zuidy]

They get at least one cup a day don't worry
They each get a bowl full morning and evening!

Eh, you said they don't get much and small bowls. But if you say so I am sure they are fed well.