Do they eat corn?

[Sasha101]

Does guinea pigs eat corn? from the can?

 

[daftscotslass]

No - it's full of preservatives and salt and isn't good for them. But they LOVE fresh corn on the cob, even if it has the leaves and hairy stuff attached.

 

[Sasha101]

oh okay, because our guinea pig slove the dried corn in the pellet mix.

 

[daftscotslass]

Dried corn is OK too, but not the stuff you get in supermarkets in cans.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

Dried corn is NOT okay. It can cause choking. That's why we only feed fresh corn on the cob, uncooked. Fresh corn is soft and they can't choke on it.

 

[RubyPiggie2]

^ Agree with the one up there.

Your pellets should not have any thing else in it but plain pellets, as the added crap serves as a choking hazard and all that stuff is very fattening and not good for your cavies. If you need a cheap pellet brand that isn't expensive like Oxbow, try Mazuri. They aren't the best, but don't have anything harmful in them - as far as I've checked. I know a few people on here though that use it and don't have a problem, and my friend uses it too because Oxbow is the best brand, but very expensive.

 

[Sabriel]

I've heard that they can eat corn husks and silks too.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

Yep. I think the husk and silk have more vitamins and nutrition because corn itself has hardly any nutritional value. I give my pigs 2 ears of corn per week (one in the girls cage and one in the boys cage) but I now take the husk and silk and chop it up into smaller pieces and add it to their salad mix so they can enjoy it every day and not just once a week when they get their corn. Bubba is very picky when it comes to veggies, but he loves corn husk and silk. Maybe Patch will teach him how to eat a better variety now.

 

[Sabriel]

My only problem is that they always take the husk and the silk off the corn before selling it now. They used to have the corn loose with a bucket next to the display for the husks (what happened to de-husking at home?? Some of my best memories are of de-husking corn at my grandma's) but now they sell the, prepacked with a tiny bit of husk and silk on them. People must have thought I was nuts looking for a pack that had decent corn and a good amount of husk.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

They do that here too but you can still find corn in the husk as well. Do you have any roadside veggie stands near you? After the corn harvest here, we can get ears of corn 12 for $1 at the roadside stands. I can't wait because I will use most of the corn for me and my son and save all the husks and silk for the piggies!

 

[Sabriel]

Back home we had tons of veggie stands. But I have yet to see one in downtown Toronto. The closest thing we have to veggie stands are veggie dog vendors

 

[charliesmommy]

So let me get this straight... you just rinse off the corn with all the husk and silk attached, then stick it in the cage for the pigs to eat? That's great! But it seems very odd to me since I'm used to cleaning and boiling etc...

 

[amfeider]

You should probably cut the husks the strings might choke them

Oh! and I know this is off topic but I decided that oxbow would be a better choice for my pig so I ordered some today. The critterstore.com is easier and cheaper than than any petstore.

 

[Denise]

My girls totally love the husks and silk. The corn, however, isn't their favorite.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

You should probably cut the husks the strings might choke them

There is no need. There are no strings in the husk. The silks are too soft and don't pose a choking hazard either. I just pull off all the husk and silk from the cob and then break off that stem piece that is on one end and then break the corn into halves and put it in the cage. I also wash everything once it's disassembled before giving it to the pigs.