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Small pets

Wagg Guinea food....

16 replies

BonkeyMollocks · 30/06/2013 18:52

MIL has bought the pigs some.
They are normally fed burgess pellets.
However, I hate to throw it away, seems such a waste but I also don't want to feed my boys crap....is it crap??

What can I do with it??
Can I mix it in as a odd treat?
Swap to the mix until its through and then swap back?? I know I would need to do this over a week or so....

Will they suddenly become super picky and not eat their boring super healthy pellets???

I am grateful for her thinking of them but I am a tad very picky about what the pigs have....

Thoughts??

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70isaLimitNotaTarget · 30/06/2013 20:08

I've never given the boys Wagg but I had a look online. It's a muesli type? Oats, peas ,syrup

You can mix a bit in to use it up , if they don't like it they'll leave it. If they like it too much then increase the Burgess again to wean them off it.
I tried Fruity Pellets on the boys (DD insisted we try it. ) It smells of banana so I'm concerned about the sugar content (not good for chubby boars). They have a few in their Burgess Excell if they've been munching grass and feel a bit Hmm about being deprived of supper veg.

When they go back to their proper pellets they might be a bit judgey- but GPs are very unlikely to starve themselves to spite you.They are far too greedy and selfish noble Grin

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BonkeyMollocks · 30/06/2013 20:34

Yep muesli type....tbf it looks much more tasty .
Pellets look like poo! Hmm

Its the sugar content I was worried about really - BigPig is a porker and tbh, I'm not sure LittlePig needs any more sugar........

Might try a small bit mixed in as a treat.

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70isaLimitNotaTarget · 30/06/2013 21:05

At least your MIL bought guinea food.
Mine would buy rabbit food "They're both the same"

Erm , no Hmm


Just add a bit as a treat to use it up, but YY the sugar would concern me (maybe I'd use it in winter for GP2 to get some beef on him, but GP1 would eat it too. And he's got a massive arse on him) .

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MrsShrek3 · 30/06/2013 21:14

our girls are currently on it. I'm Grin that you lot think it's the McD's of gp food - I had no clue Blush
They appear to like it, still eat tons of hay and fresh veg, grass in the day when they are outside, so in all I figure out it's fairly balanced in the scale of it. The brown bits do look like poo, that's the stuff the girls always leave as presumably mum told them not to eat poo. They do however poo in their veg dish Hmm and have been seen eating that so what's the difference
I'm sure the amazing 70 will enlighten me if I'm off track :)

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70isaLimitNotaTarget · 30/06/2013 22:24

When I had my guineas years ago there was only GP mix (muesli not pellets) and they ate the pellety bits and left the flakey parts.

The pellets is all combined so they can't select what they want to eat.


Strangely my boys don't pooh in their pellet bowl but I went to the Pighouse this morning to see GP2 sitting judgily on their empty veg plate Grin

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BonkeyMollocks · 30/06/2013 22:50

Grin @McD's for guineas!

Well, the boys have been corrupted. They both have had a spoon of Wagg! BigPig is chomping contently and LittlePig tasted and then gave me the 'if you dare take this away I will attack you' look .

It will be a twice weekly treat!!!

MrsShrek Guineas do actually eat their poo for health reasons.....LittlePig is a out and open poo eater Envy

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70isaLimitNotaTarget · 30/06/2013 22:59

My GP2 is still doing his Monster Turds- (every couple of days with soft pooh and regular pooh in between)

today I put them in the basket, carried them to their run and thought "Cor, you stink"

GP2 had slipped out his pingpong ball sized ....dropping ain't the word Grin.
Obviously doesn't pain him, he was right beside me.

He wouldn't eat that one though Envy

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KRITIQ · 01/07/2013 01:12

My swine have Wagg crunch because it has a low calcium content and with DBoar 1's bladder problem, he has to be careful with calcium. They do selectively feed so there is lots of wastage, but most of the pellet feeds I've found just have too much calcium for my liking.

Ha ha, LittlePig "openly" eating his poo reminds me of my 2nd pig, who was frighteningly intelligent and extremely grumpy, but absolutely delighted in eating his poop. DBoar2, on the other hand, goes so out of the way to disguise what he is doing, you'd just think he was reaching for some change in his pocket (if he had a pocket!)

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BonkeyMollocks · 01/07/2013 09:27

KRITIQ Thats interesting about the calcium.
I have been attempting to cut down on calcium rich foods . Suddenly got paranoid......

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fortifiedwithtea · 01/07/2013 18:39

Kritiq beat me to it re: calcium. I read a lot on RWA forum about owners who prefer Wagg because of its lower calcium content. Piggies can easily build up kidney stones. The drawback of Wagg piggies picking and choosing the bits they like and leaving the rest.

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70isaLimitNotaTarget · 01/07/2013 19:40

It's a fine balancing act with guineas Confused

I know my pigs won't bother too much with the pellets if there's hay and vegetables to eat.
And if I did give them Wagg /Muesli type they'd be very wasteful and selective.

There's a list, I think KRITIQ posted a while back with % levels of calcium in veg.

I was adviced to give the pigs filtered water (we live in a very hard water area) but I don't know if it makes any difference seeing as they never drink it.

I worry about the calorie levels as GP1 is a bit chunky not fat, oh no

We give a variety of fruit (in moderation) and veg so they don't overindulge in one over another, though the parsley is always the first to go. We've stopped giving Cuddle Time Parsley now to cut back.

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BonkeyMollocks · 01/07/2013 21:47

LittlePig gets through tons of water so maybe filtered may be a good idea here?? (Quietly can't believe I am seriously thinking about filtering water for pigs....

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70isaLimitNotaTarget · 01/07/2013 22:25

Mine have eaten a full bag in the past because they are Hairy Faced Liars and will tell DH, DD and myself (seperately of course) that they are starved and deprived and really,really need parsley.

And we fall for it.
They are meant to have a couple of sprigs 2-3 times a week . But as GP1 can't read he chooses to ignore that Hmm

DH comes out in a rash if the parsley touches his skin while the pigs eat. Poor DH.

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quirrelquarrel · 02/07/2013 16:09

Our guins hate Wagg mix. Bought it instead of their usual multicoloured Gerty Guinea cos that's what there was. Even if the bowl's still full, they've apparently already picked out anything remotely edible Hmm, refuse to eat any more and both crowd around the bowl if I go near it, waiting for me to top up the dry food! Not I, fussy buggers! Feel kind of like that horrible schoolmaster in Another Brick in the Wall 2: "you won't get any pudding if you don't eat your meat!" but what ho.

They've never had pellets. Can't imagine a guinea pig turning up their nose at anything (would be a whole-head motion, wouldn't it) but that's the reaction pellets would get I can guarantee it....

Grey guin gobbles up his poo. Other guin won't touch it. Weird animals!

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MadeOfStarDust · 02/07/2013 16:47

My dog's favourite snack is guinea pig poop!!

Our piggies go WILD over the new ish Burgess Excel with oregano and blackcurrant - they popcorn about and twitter between themselves approvingly when I put it in their bowl...

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KRITIQ · 04/07/2013 00:24

It's funny how they all have different tastes!

When I lived in London 10 plus years ago and the water was hard as a rock, yes, I got a Brita filter jug for the pigs. It wasn't a problem (thankfully) in South Wales or where I am now in Scotland. Peter Gurney (RIP) told me that if you get fur in your kettle, the same thing could be happening inside your rodent, so filter!

It's Guinea Lynx that has all the detailed info on diet.

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