Is this stuff any good?

[tinkerbell]

I asked my parents to get me some more gp food last night and they got my normal Hagen gp food but they also got my this " Hagen- Guinea Pig Gourmet" food. it has " premium seeds, fruits and vegetable mix" I looked thought it last night and there is sunflower seeds, oat groats, milo, green split peas, cracked corn, flaked corn, whole corn and some other stuff too.

What I was wondering is if sunflower seeds and corn are good for the gps and if anyone else uses this kind of food with out any harm to their pets.

thanks ---tink

 

[tinkerbell]

so no one knows if sunflower seeds are good for them or not?

 

[VoodooJoint]

Sunflower Seeds are too fatty. Read this link it should tell you all you need to know
https://www.guinealynx.info/nutrition.html#pellets

 

[Slap Maxwell]

You should only have pellets and no mix. Strain out everything but pellets. Read the ingrediants, if it has Ethoxiquin in it, that is bad too. Try to get some Oxbow ((broken link removed))

 

[tinkerbell]

so the only thing wrong with sunflower seeds is that they are too fatty? well I am only going to be giving it to them every once in a while as a treat, is that okay? or should I just not give it to them at all?

 

[Sabriel]

They can also choke on the seeds. Better not to feed them. Give them some sweet friut or something like escarole for a treat.

 

[Slap Maxwell]

No, they are chocking hazards too. Many pigs die as a result.

 

[VoodooJoint]

Did you read the link? It's not just the Sunflower seeds that are an issue. The corn is bad and so is a bunch of other stuff in that mix.

The whole corn, split peas and any seeds still in their husks are a choking hazard.

Please read the link I provided

 

[tinkerbell]

I did read it. I picked out all of the sunflower seeds last night and this other black seed that I saw, because I thought they were bad and I guess I was right. My parents said that the pet store that they got it from ( Super pet) the lady there said that this is one of the best foods that a gp could have! I'll have to go in and tell them other wise. I guess I will just have to turf this stuff, I'm not going to feed it to my boys if all it's going to do is cause harm. Thanks everyone for the info and congrats voodoo for becoming a "special agent" LOL

Is the other Hagen normal food that they have now still good or not?

another question too- is Kale a good food to give them everyday?

 

[Ly&Pigs]

Plain Pellets only, nothing else.

 

[tinkerbell]

okay, but what about the Kale?

 

[[email protected]]

kale is a great food, if I recall correctly. however, your little friend will want variety, of course!

 

[tinkerbell]

Trust my, they get variety. My mom says tht they are feed better then we are! LOL
Every morning and every night the boys get a large variety of about 8 different things. some of which include: two leafs of leaf lettuce each, 1 picese of apple each, 2 baby carrots each, two peices of cucumber each, a couple of leafs of parsely each, a little kale and spinich and some carrot tops too (if I have any). so yes I think that they do get a pretty large variety in their lifes. I have only started giving them the kale becasue I read somewhere that it has lots of vitamine C, but my gps don't really seem to like it. Question- can gps get to much vitamine C?

 

[Piglet]

Kale is high in calcium (I think! Or it's oxalic acid) so be carefull with it. Yes, it's got loads of vitamin C though which is a good thing.

I don't know if they can get too much. But with the amount of veggies we are feeding them I don't think they are at a risk of overdosing!

 

[Ly&Pigs]

Please cut back on baby carrots to one per pig about 2 times a week as carrots contain a lot of Vitamin A and can ultimately lead to liver damage. Also cut back on spinach to the same as spinach has high amounts of oxalic acid. Kale has a lot of calcium in it and can be fed in teeny tiny amounts daily or a slightly larger amount every 2-3 days. If you switch parsley to cilantro, it would be a much better choice as parsley has too much calcium and is not a good every day veggie. Fruits should be given once or twice a week. You are giving variety but it's not a really healthy variety. If you introduce things like green beans, turnip greens and bell peppers (any color) those can be fed daily where some of the things your feeding should not be fed daily. If you keep your pigs on the diet they are on now, it may lead to kidney/bladder stones and also may lead to liver and kidney damage. You can't give them too much C, but you can give them too much of other things like calcium, oxalic acid, Vitamin A, etc.

 

[zakfoxmom]

I have to say I am shocked my piggies are still alive. I really didn't know that they couldn't have baby carrots daily. I was doing carrots, romaine, parsley, cilantro, and celery every day. I am totally confused now and don't know what the heck to give them and when!!!!!

 

[Slap Maxwell]

carrots- one 2-3 days a week
romaine- two big leaves a day
parsley- 3 sprigs 2-3 days a week
cilantro- 5 sprigs every day (or less)
and celery- every other day

Try to incorporate more variety.-

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Grass, between a handful to several handfuls, more in the warmer months[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Green pepper, 1/8 to 1/4 of whole pepper[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Romaine lettuce, one or two large leaves, sometimes more[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Tomato, wedge of large tomato or small Roma tomato[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Carrot (baby), one small[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Occasional vegetables:[/font]

• [font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Broccoli leaves (tiny) and peeled broccoli stem[/font]
• [font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Chinese Cabbage (pak-choi), one leaf[/font]
• [font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Corn silks and husks when in season[/font]
• [font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Parsley, one or more sprigs[/font]
• [font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Forages like chickweed, dandelions, and young clover[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Fruit (a couple fruits per day from this list):[/font]

• [font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Apple, thin wedge, no seeds[/font]
• [font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Apricot, dried, a couple raisin-sized pieces[/font]
• [font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Banana, 1/4" round slice[/font]
• [font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Blueberries, several[/font]
• [font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Cantaloupe, 1"X 2"piece with washed rind[/font]
• [font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Grapes or Raisins (not both), one or two[/font]
• [font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Orange, one slice[/font]
• [font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Strawberries[/font]
• [font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Watermelon, 1" X 2" piece with washed rind[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Variety, variety, variety -- modest amounts of a variety of vegs (and a few fruits) are best[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Feed primarily green leafy vegetables[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Fruits should be only a small part of the diet[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Don't give too many carrots -- at most, only a small carrot every other day or so[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Avoid or severely limit cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower as they may cause gas[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Cut up celery in small pieces so the strings don't cause problems[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Iceberg lettuce is best not offered guinea pigs; it is low in nutrients and according to some people, could cause loose stools if given in excess[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Avoid starchy vegetables like potatoes[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Do not feed potato skins and eyes -- they can be very high in oxalic acid[/font]

https://guinealynx.com/nutrition.html

 

[tinkerbell]

Oh, I didn't know that I sholdn't be giving them all that stuff! I do give them green peppers everyday and lettece too. I can't get into that much of expensive stuff. (my thinks that they don't need to eat as good as they are right now so I have t be careful.) I will re-arrage there diet theought to fix this problem, and hopefully I haven't caused them to much damage yet

 

[Slap Maxwell]

Oh, I didn't know that I sholdn't be giving them all that stuff! I do give them green peppers everyday and lettece too. I can't get into that much of expensive stuff. (my thinks that they don't need to eat as good as they are right now so I have t be careful.) I will re-arrage there diet theought to fix this problem, and hopefully I haven't caused them to much damage yet

Cilantro is cheap. $0.50 a bunch at Walmart.

 

[tinkerbell]

I do give them cucumber, peppers, apples, grapes sometimes, banana's ( but they don't like them) I've tryed strawberries,and oranges but they don't eat them either.