Pellets Sherwood pet health guinea pig pellets

[madpiggies]

Hello,

I've been feeding my guinea pigs Sherwood Pet Health Guinea Pig Pellets, but they haven't eaten them much. They really just eat hay and veggies and take a few nibbles of the pellets a day. I put 2 tablespoons in each of their bowls daily. I chose this food because it is soy and grain free. They previously ate Oxbow essentials.

I have tried feeding this to them for about ten days now. Should I switch back to the Oxbow essentials so they are at least getting the extra nutrients? Or do you have any tips for getting them to eat these pellets?

IngredientsTimothy Hay, Safflower meal, Whole Flax Seed, Monodicalcium Phosphate, Salt, Choline Chloride, DL-Methionine, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Lysine, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Niacin, L-Threonine, Selenium Yeast Culture, Ethylene Diamine Dihydroiodide, Cobalt Carbonate.

Guaranteed Analysis
CRUDE PROTEIN	14.0% min
CRUDE FAT	7.0% min
CRUDE FIBER	26.0% min
CRUDE FIBER	31.0% min
CALCIUM	0.4% min
CALCIUM	0.9% max
PHOSPHORUS	0.5% min
SALT	0.8% min
SALT	1.3% max
ASCORBIC ACID	2000 mg/kg

 

[bpatters]

I'm not a big fan of Sherwood products. Their first pellets, which they promoted heavily, were made from alfalfa, even for adult pigs. They were really high in calcium, and the guy who developed them didn't do much in the way of explaining the science behind them.

Then, without much fanfare, they brought out the timothy pellets. No word about why the alfalfa pellets were suddenly not so good.

Pellets are just a convenient way of giving vitamins and minerals to guinea pigs. As long as the ones for adult pigs have timothy as the first ingredient, the calcium source isn't calcium carbonate, the calcium level isn't too high, and the pigs aren't getting more than 1/8 cup per pig per day, there's not really enough soy and wheat in them to make any difference.

Short answer: if they'll eat the Oxbow, feed it to them.

 

[madpiggies]

Thanks! Yeah, I know a lot of people feed Oxbow essentials with success, so I agree the essentials would be better for them so they're able to get those added nutrients. It is a bummer to spend about $20 on this food, I thought they would like it!