Won't Eat Loves carrots & fruits...loathes lettuce

KimmiA · Oct 24, 2013

I recently adopted a 7.5 week piggy. I've had her in quarantine for a 2 weeks, but I'm still having trouble finding foods that she will eat. She finally started eating Oxbow pellets, and timothy hay, but I cannot for the life of me get her to eat the most basic veggie staple of lettuce! I've tried red, and butterleaf, and romaine, and she turns her nose up to all of it. She also doesn't eat bell peppers or cilantro or really any type of veggie I offer her. She will, however, go nuts over fruit and carrots- I'm suspecting she has a sweet tooth, but I limit those in her diet because I don't want any health problems to come of it. I tried to reason that she was being a picky eater since she's still new to the family, but I want to introduce her to my older piggy soon, and I'm worried if I do this before she grows accustomed to veggies, Basil (my older pig) will just eat her share when they become cage mates!

Any tips? I'm stumped.

agirlwithink · Oct 24, 2013

I buy bags of mixed lettuce that include kale, green lettuce, red lettuce, butter, raddichio, arugula, etc. I just try to give as much variety as possible and the only thing they don't seem to like is arugula.

You could try only giving her lettuce for a few hours and then reward her with apples and carrots!

rayvensmoon · Oct 24, 2013

When I first got my girls, the boy I was adopting from told me "they don't like lettuce, only carrots and apples." And sure enough, they would not touch lettuce or cilantro or anything else. What I ended up doing was mixing some cilantro in with their hay, to see if they would "accidentally" eat some of it. I left it in there before I left the house for the day, and when I got home they had eaten it! So then I tried offering some just on its own and they inhaled it. I then gave them a little bit of leaf lettuce and I guess since they got the taste of something leafy they ate it without hesitation. There's still lots of things they don't like, it was a lot of trial and error, but I'm really glad I got them to eat their greens! Hope that helps!

agirlwithink · Oct 24, 2013

Oh try curly parsley too! My piggles love it!

Artista · Oct 24, 2013

What about green leaf lettuce? It does taste different than those you listed. She's not used to it so I would keep offering green peppers and lettuce.

KimmiA · Oct 24, 2013

Thanks @rayvensmoon I'll try that! I guess I was just expecting Ginger to be like Basil when she was little- eat whatever I give her and what not. She's a good reminder that all piggies have different personalities!

rayvensmoon · Oct 24, 2013

KimmiA said:
Thanks @rayvensmoon I'll try that! I guess I was just expecting Ginger to be like Basil when she was little- eat whatever I give her and what not. She's a good reminder that all piggies have different personalities!

You're welcome!

And I think @ThePigAlchemist is also correct, nothing tastes better to a piggy than what another piggy is eating, LOL!

pinky · Oct 24, 2013

The carrots and fruit are high in sugar. Just cut them out completely and offer vegetables that are a good CA

ratio. Offer them a variety and they'll find something they like and will eventually try the others. Offering them sugary foods is like giving a kid the choice of having ice cream or a well balanced diet for dinner. Once the eat the other things, offer no more than a baby carrot a day and fruit as an occasional treat, if at all.

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Won't Eat Loves carrots & fruits...loathes lettuce

KimmiA

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agirlwithink

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rayvensmoon

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agirlwithink

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Artista

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KimmiA

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rayvensmoon

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pinky

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