Hay What kind and switching food

[kendalm7]

I'm getting two 6 week ish old piggy males and they have never had hay before so what type of hay should I get? Like Alafa? Or Timothy. And what cut type And how long should they be on that type of hay?

Also there old owner gives them crap food from walmart and I want to switch them to healthier pellets should I cut cold turkey or slowly adjust them?

when I bring them home for the first time should I not play with them for a day to let them adjust?

please help I had a piggy that passed a year ago so in rusty and don't want to do anything wrong

 

[Aleks]

They'll need a long strand grass hay such as Timothy, Orchard grass, etc 24/7. You can supplement their hay with Alfalfa (legume hay) so they can get more calcium in their diets, but the majority of it needs to be a grass hay.
If i'm not mistaken, you can supplement their hay with alfalfa until they're 6-9 mo. old. Small Pet Select has really good hay and I've heard that KMS hay is pretty good, too.

You can switch pellets immediately. Since they're under 6 mo. they should get unlimited plain Alfalfa based pellets. Highly recommended pellet brands are KMS and Oxbow.

 

[kendalm7]

Just alfalfa pellets not like Timothy hay pellets? And when do I switch from alfalfa pellets to Timothy?

 

[Aleks]

Just alfalfa pellets not like Timothy hay pellets? And when do I switch from alfalfa pellets to Timothy?

Just unlimited plain alfalfa based pellets until 6-9 mo. of age, then you can switch to Timothy based pellets at which point you should feed 1/8-1/4 cup per pig per day.

 

[kendalm7]

Okay thank you sence I have two pigs and two bowls should I put 1/4 cup in each cup? Ugh just want to do everything right

 

[Aleks]

Okay thank you sence I have two pigs and two bowls should I put 1/4 cup in each cup? Ugh just want to do everything right

Don't worry about measuring it until they're 6-9mo. At this point they need unlimited alfalfa pellets. But when they do reach that age and you're feeding Timothy pellets, you could put 1/8 cup in each bowl, depending on how much you think they need to be fed. I typically feed 1/4 cup of pellets per pig a day and split it up into two separate feedings- i.e 1/8 cup per piggy in the morning and 1/8 cup per piggy in the evening along with their veggies, but one of my boys is a big eater (not overweight though) which is why i feed 1/4 cup of pellets per pig per day instead of 1/8 cup.

 

[pinky]

Don't worry about measuring it until they're 6-9mo. At this point they need unlimited alfalfa pellets. But when they do reach that age and you're feeding Timothy pellets, you could put 1/8 cup in each bowl, depending on how much you think they need to be fed. I typically feed 1/4 cup of pellets per pig a day and split it up into two separate feedings- i.e 1/8 cup per piggy in the morning and 1/8 cup per piggy in the evening along with their veggies, but one of my boys is a big eater (not overweight though) which is why i feed 1/4 cup of pellets per pig per day instead of 1/8 cup.

They don't need unlimited alfalfa pellets. They need a diet high in calcium which can include alfalfa pellets and any other foods that supply the calcium they need to build strong bones.

 

[kendalm7]

Thank you all! I want to be the best pig owner I can be and I had one before but it's been awhile and he wasn't 6 weeks old & I'm pretty rusty! So about 1/4 alfalfa pellets unlimited Timothy hay of course, and veggies like green leaf lettuce and yellow bell peppers and carrots, and thennnnnn when 6/9 mo then switch to 1/8 or 1/4 Timothy adult pellets!

Sound good?

 

[Aleks]

They don't need unlimited alfalfa pellets. They need a diet high in calcium which can include alfalfa pellets and any other foods that supply the calcium they need to build strong bones.

Ah, sorry then. Everything I've read has said unlimited alfalfa pellets.

 

[pinky]

Ah, sorry then. Everything I've read has said unlimited alfalfa pellets.

They can have unlimited alfalfa pellets but can get their calcium from other foods, as well.