Nutrition How good/bad are corn husks?

SandyPig · May 30, 2021

Our 4 year old senior pig has been through a lot lately. She lost her companion, then did not get along with an aggressive potential cagemate. She hasn't had much of an appetite, which have attributed to aging and stress. BUT we gave her some corn husks and she went crazy for them. Ran around squealing, gobbled them up. Just bought some more and she is wheeking and wheeking for them even though she just ate some. It's nice to see her enthusiastic about something because she has been rather subdued. How much is OK to give her? It's just the outer leaves, not the silks or the kernels.

Guinea Pig Papa · May 30, 2021

From what I understand, corn husks are just fine for her. I even know some people who freeze corn husks for their pigs for the winter months. They have long strand fibre that's good for them, like hay.

Make sure you feed the inner leaves, and not the absolute outer ones. Those may contain pesticides that you definitely don't want her eating.

bpatters · May 31, 2021

The silks are also good for her. Just cut off the dried outer ones and only feed the inner ones. As @Guinea Pig Papa said, corn is grown with a LOT of pesticides, so you don't want to feed any part of the ear that has been exposed to them.

SandyPig · May 31, 2021

Trying to help her get more calories. Her appetite is kind of low. She hardly eats any pellets. Is there any nutrition in these?

bpatters · Jun 1, 2021

I've never been able to find nutritional values for corn husks. But they shouldn't replace hay if hay is available, since hay is a nearly perfect food for GPs. I always just used them as a treat.

Weighing her regularly and recording the weights is a better way of monitoring weight than whether or not she eats pellets.

ItsaZoo · Jun 5, 2021

I freeze corn husks for my guinea pig. I had 4 of the gallon freezer bags over winter and I have jut a small bunch left. At one point when my guinea pig was ill, corn husks were the only food she really liked so it kept her eating until she felt better. I’ve never been able to get nutritional information either.

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Nutrition How good/bad are corn husks?

SandyPig

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Guinea Pig Papa

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bpatters

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SandyPig

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bpatters

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ItsaZoo

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