Pregnancy Allergic to alfalfa hay with pregnant sow

[guineapiggiepie]

About a month ago I adopted two boars from the SPCA. Today, I was informed by our vet that they're both sows and one is pregnant! Oy vey! My piggies are ~4-6 months, and I have them on timothy hay and alfalfa pellets. It was recommended to make the switch to alfalfa hay now since the discovery. I'm allergic to alfalfa hay. Is it absolutely necessary?

 

[Soecara]

No it isn't necessary. Pregnant sows need extra calcium, and alfalfa hay is just one way to get that to them, seeing as you are already feeding alfalfa pellets she is already getting extra calcium through them, just make sure to give her unlimited pellets (unlimited pellets are okay for guinea pigs under 6 months of age). Even when feeding alfalfa hay it should only ever be in addition to timothy hay, as alfalfa hay doesn't do much for keeping their teeth ground down.

If you want to give only the pregnant one a little extra calcium you can always take the non-pregnant one out for lap time and put a high calcium vegetable in the cage for the pregnant one to eat (such as a couple sprigs of parsley).

 

[FailedFoster]

I second Soecara. Also, if you need ideas for calcium-rich veggies, here's a sortable chart: https://www.guinealynx.info/chart.html

Good luck! Let us know if you need anything else!

 

[guineapiggiepie]

Thank you both! I switched back to timothy hay and both piggies thank me too. They're not into alfalfa either.