Hay Alfalfa Hay - Mother & Baby Piggies

[CathiiPiggie]

I might be adopting a pair of piggies today - a mother and her baby who is about 7 weeks. My question is I think alfalfa hay should be fed to young guinea pigs as well as their normal grass hay so they get extra calcium, but wouldn't that mean the mother will eat it which wouldn't be good for her?

 

[HannibalLecter]

It should be fine as long as the mother doesn't have any issues with sludge.
But if she does, you can feed the pup 1-2 springs of parsley daily for her calcium intake instead.

 

[CathiiPiggie]

Thanks for the advice!

 

[CathiiPiggie]

Do you know of any other veggies that are high in calcium too?

 

[YourSoJelly]

Yellow bell pepper is high. Try even an actual orange.

 

[MrWhistles]

I believe Basil and Cliantro are also high in calcium.

 

[LifeAsItMayBe]

You can check the average level of calcium (and other nutrients) of vegetables and fruits in this thread: https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...y-nutrition-charts-poisonous-plants-list.html

 

[foggycreekcavy]

You don't need to feed anything special. The baby can eat he same diet as the older pig. It's not true that babies need alfalfa hay.

 

[HannibalLecter]

You don't need to feed anything special. The baby can eat he same diet as the older pig. It's not true that babies need alfalfa hay.

Though they need a bit more calcium for optimum growth as they grow so fast during the first few months.

 

[foggycreekcavy]

I imagine the mother is young herself, and most likely both pigs receive alfalfa based pellets.

 

[CathiiPiggie]

Sorry I made a mistake - the older one isn't actually her mother, and she's already 1 year old and they are not on an alfalfa based pellet.
But I will probably feed the baby a little extra for calcium.
Thanks for replies