Stones Bladder stones and peppers

Have you tried the dice-it-finely-and-put-it-on-their-pellets method? Or rolled strips of pepper in lettuce leaves like a thin burrito?

To get my pigs to eat peppers I chopped it up finely with something I knew they would eat (like a bit of carrot, apple, etc.) and put it on top of lettuce. In my experience, the smell would freak them out, and once they tried it they ate it up. That's why I liked to mix it with something a bit sweet. It worked for me.

Thank you both for the advice. They are not big pellet eaters, they consume about 3 tbsp. per day between the two of them. Chopping it fine and mixing it in with their daily salads might work. I like the idea, ellisa, of mixing it first with grated apple because apple is their favourite food and if I let the mixture sit for a few minutes the flavours might blend. I love to brainstorm with all of you because it gets me thinking outside of the box.

ellisa said:

To get my pigs to eat peppers I chopped it up finely with something I knew they would eat (like a bit of carrot, apple, etc.) and put it on top of lettuce. In my experience, the smell would freak them out, and once they tried it they ate it up. That's why I liked to mix it with something a bit sweet. It worked for me.

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Brilliant idea!
I mashed a small amount of apple with some red pepper (about 1 tsp. total and Abbey (my greedy guts) gobbled it up. Zoe took a tentative taste but I hope will come around. I offered the mixture in a little dish so if I toss it in with the salad they might not even notice. How much pepper should I start off with and how much are you and bpatters giving your pigs on a regular basis? I want to make sure it agrees with them first before increasing the amount. Thank you.

I just gave a smallish amount to start off with, because I didn't want to waste a bunch. If they took it I offered more. Now I give 1/8-1/4 of pepper daily, depending on the size of the pepper. That's excellent that one of them took it! It can take a while. Cavies are very stubborn!

1/4 to 1/3 of a pepper for two pigs, depending on the size of the pepper.

On a whim, I bought these today, mini sweet peppers:



I can't get my pigs to like peppers at all, but I figured that if these didn't work, I could cook with them since my son likes them.

Success upon hand-feeding! I know they're probably high in sugar so I won't go overboard at first. It figures they have expensive tastes. Hmph.

Those are fine looking peppers. Your son may be disappointed if the guinea pigs eat them all. I don't think I have made a salad for my husband all winter but the girls get a nice mixed salad twice a day.