Brands Trying out Oxbow...again.

ladydreamer04 · Jan 3, 2013

Several months ago I switched my piggies from low quality pellets to Oxbow cavy cuisine. I noticed within the first week it was causing calcium deposits so I returned it and purchased Zupreem pellets. While it's not the best on the list it's certainly better than what they were eating before. Lately I guess they've become tired of zupreem as they haven't really been eating much of it. Yesterday I bought Oxbow natural science. In comparing the ingredients it looks like it contains less calcium than cavy cuisine. Has anyone every tried it? Also the batch of oxbow hay I got was really soft and has some brown in it. Is that normal? the last batch of hay I got was crunchy and didn't have much brown in it...I'm wondering if I should exchange it for another bag...

LifeAsItMayBe · Jan 3, 2013

From what I've heard about calcium deposits, the problem isn't always the amount of calcium, it's the type. An example is some pigs have problems with romaine lettuce but not green leaf, even though they have a similar amount of calcium in them. So, it's hard to know if the organic Oxbow would be alright without trying it. Hopefully someone else can give you their review.

For the hay, it depends. Every bag you buy will be a different, and that's normal. Some pigs like crunchy hay and some prefer softer. Some will eat it if there is some brown, some will ignore it. If it was all I had at the moment, I'd try it. But, it's up to your judgement if you want to return it for another bag.

foggycreekcavy · Jan 3, 2013

My pigs love the Oxbow Natural Science.

sdpiggylvr · Jan 3, 2013

Oxbow causes calcium deposits for my pigs while KMS Hayloft does not. You might be interested in trying it out. (broken link removed)

Something you might also take into consideration is what vegetables you are feeding. Maybe you are feeding higher-calcium vegetables too often which are causing the deposits when in conjunction with the Oxbow pellets.

For hay, I feed KMS Hayloft's third cut Timothy, but I look for hay that is soft, fragrant, and green. It should be mostly the blade of the hay as opposed to the stem (which can cause injuries).

ladydreamer04 · Jan 4, 2013

@sdpiggylvr what type of vegetables are higher in calcium?

sdpiggylvr · Jan 10, 2013

@ladydreamer04 - Here is the vegetable chart that I use when feeding my guinea pigs their veggies: https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...y-nutrition-charts-poisonous-plants-list.html. The third column is the calcium column, where you can see how much calcium is in each vegetable. The vegetables are color-coded as to the frequencies in which each vegetable can be fed. You will notice that a vegetable with 100 mg of calcium or more is considered too high in calcium to be fed very frequently.

ladydreamer04 · Jan 11, 2013

@sdpiggylvr Thanks! I use that chart too but was always confused about what was too high. According to the chart most of what I feed my girls is less than 100mg except for dandelion greens and chicory but when I do buy it they only get it maybe 2-3 times in a week. Its been about a week so far and no calcium stains

threewellsee · Jan 11, 2013

I'm not an expert by any means on calcium and piggies, but I can tell you that my pigs love the Natural Science. I tried it out because I got it on sale. When I cracked open the bag, the pellets smelled so good. Kind of herby. I haven't noticed anything different regarding their urine. They both leave white spots after they urinate, but the spots always feel powdery, not gritty, so I don't worry.

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Brands Trying out Oxbow...again.

ladydreamer04

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LifeAsItMayBe

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sdpiggylvr

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