GP Veggies - Can we do a list

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When one of our GPs died unexpectedly have been super cautious about what veggies to give our remianing Boy as am worried that introduction of celeriac was wot done the other one in ( may have been just a coincidnece)

Our Boy is very excited about grass/ carrot tops/ carrots - all of which were in the pre celeriac diet but am wondering how to branch out a bit. He seems to like spinach too.

What do your GPs love?

Lettuce, cucumber, broccoli (our girls get the stalks after it's chopped), cauliflower leaves, peas in pods, dandelion leaves, pretty much anything green though they won't touch brussels sprouts (dh says he doesn't blame them!).

Mind you I wouldn't know celeriac if it bit me on the bum!

Loved, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower leaves, dandelion leaves, grass, parsley, apple, banana - with skin, corn on the cob

would eat if there was nothing else on the go, White bit of the cauliflower, green beans, turnip (swede? I'm not sure I'm Scottish, the round yellow and purple one, lol) lettuce, cucumber, celery

wouldn't touch but I know others eat, peppers, tomatoes, brussel sprouts

I never tried celeriac, because I don't like it, lol

I know it's no onion or garlic or anything, no raw potatoes and limit the salad stuff and fruit as they're fine as a treat but shouldn't be too often

I've eaten celeriac and fennel myself but I don't know if GPs would eat it. I don't know if fennel is classed as a bulb though, it's got layers like an inion bulb?

Mine have some of the rocket/watercress/spinach bag, so they can pick at it.
I usually give 4-5 veg as a choice (2 adult boars)
Green cabbage/spring green/brochilli/cauli leaves and floets
carrot every day
salad-ey veg- celery,especially the leaves,tomato,red pepper, cucumber

grapes,apple once a week
parsely as their cuddle treat

on a Sunday night/Monday morning they have parsnip peelings and tops, turnip peel

what they don't want they leave, but it's there for them.
(as well as pellets,hay .water)

When they get their big outdoor run (we've ordered a 7' X 4' run ,coming this week) they can go outside and bloody well cut the grass to earn their keep have some free time grazing.

Our GPs had a load of coriander one night (they love parsley so I thought "Ooh coriander, that looks the same") and our usually mild tempered GP2 attacked his brother .Completely unprovoked.

We can't say it was the coriander but this was very out-of-character.Usually GP1 bosses GP2.
Never given it since, needless to say.

coriander and parsley make our boys loopy - they love it!

day to day diet:
carrots, peppers, cucumber, lettuce/leaves, celery

plus in smaller quantities:
cabbage, broccoli, spinach (they adore baby spinach), apple slices, corn (cob or baby corn - they adore it but it's a bit on the expensive side for everyday!)

tried them on but not interested:
parsnip, banana

In the summer they graze on grass outside to their hearts content!

I think you need to go easy on spinach as it can cause kidney problems. Seem to recall (but can't find anything to back it up) that that applies to parsley too.

Oh, and our vet says lettuce is a no-no as well (though the guineas would love him to be wrong, and gleefully pounce on dandelions, which must surely be just as bad).

YY lottie spinach and watercess both have high levels of oxide which can cause kidney problems.
Ours love rocket, but this week I bought the mixed bag, so they get a handful to share, so only a few each (and not every day).

They shouldn't have iceberg lettuce AFAIK it's too watery and can give them the runs.
And dandelions are good for pg or nursing GPS (not something my boys are likely to be )

My 2 don't drink water (well I've never seen them do it) They have fresh, room temp water daily. They pee plenty though

Iceburg lettuce is bad for them, but the other salad leaves are absolutely fine. They are a little fussy though - mine won't have anything to do with rocket!

One of my boars has had recent investigations for a serious bout of cystitis (expensive and stressful for us, painful for him!) I've decided to overhaul their menus because I think we've been far too lax with calcium rich foods and maybe that contributed to his problem.

This page gives a really simple and straightforward guide to the Vitamin C, Calcium and Phosphorous content of common veggies. There's a more detailed explanation of the Calcium Phosphorous ratio in vegetables, with a downloadable spreadsheet so you can calculate the content of food on a daily basis.

At the moment, we are mainly pushing peppers! :)

Peashoots
£1 a bag at Sainsbo and I grow them for the guineas. Planted some out yesterday as a matter of fact. Before that, I grew them on paper towels.

(Had to get round them today.They had a bath yesterday and their claws cut today ) . I'm in the Bad Books.

Beetroot
Celery
Spring Greens
Cabbage
Kale
Parsley
Fennel leaves

Spring greens
Kale
Cabbage only green
Cauli leaves
Corn on cob or baby ones
Mixed salad leaves - Inc rocket and spinach
Little gem lettuce
Parsley
Carrots
Apple
Plus pellets and occasional honey treat stick

Oh and spinach and broccoli

I bought mine baby corn on the cob and sugar snap peas today. They've gone down well.

GP2 (who is a windy little soul at the best of times) has got the most eyeball peeling wind tonight. No idea what he's been eating (he was in the garden- grass and dandelions, but GP1 ate the same). He's a lovely little pig, but he needs a cork

Mine are fond of the occasional toast crust.

We bought strawberries for Easter Sunday, and of course DD insisted that "Chester wanted one".

He ate it too.I scliced one up, thought "Nah, they won't"

And they called me a liar and guzzled it. (Only gave them one to share. Those seeds would be a bugger to get out from under their false teeth)

Our GPs love broccoli stalks but are not keen on the flowery bits. So we eat the flowery bits and feed them the stalks - win, win.

Watermelon- I bought one for DD and the pigs.
I gave them a little piece to try -scoffed!
They are sampling weeping willows leaves when we walk by the neighbours tree (Though in the past few days I'm putting them in a basket and sprinting through the rain)

And I'm the idiot Good GP mum cutting grass with scissors in the peeing rain for the pigs. They haven't been out for a week. on the grass.

My boars like the little mini sweetcorns (they pick them up and run into their houses like they're carrying a bone )

So I bought them corn-on-the-cob (the regular big size)

Have they eaten it? Nibbled at it? Licked it? No.

Little toads.

70isaLimitNotaTarget - cannot believe you go out and cut grass for them - I thought ours were spoilt.

Ours have tomatoes, cucumber, kale, spinach, apple, melon, parsley, broccoli (only stalks - don't like the flower but our rabbit is the other way round), red or yellow peppers (not green), celery, carrots and the leaves of my courgette plant when they were running round the conservatory and thought I wasn't watching.

Their favourite thing is hay - popcorn like mad when I give them their fresh hay.

mine eat salad leaves, tomatoes, brocolli, cucumber, apple, carrot, celery, strawberry leaves, melon and cauliflower. Always introduce a new one in a small amount.

Oooh yes, Fernie even in the depths of winter I was cutting a handfull of grass and letting it come up to room temperature

My DD says the boys are spolied.
They maintain we are following the RSPCA Guidelines
Freedom to express natural behaviour, appropriate company, food/water shelter, freedom from pain - it's just that they interperet it as they should have whatever they want

Have just been babysitting a friend's guineas, they adored peppers and tomatoes, which mine never touched. I agree with all the other lists, dandelions are top fave followed by spinach , cucumber rocket (!) and banana skins. I was told by a vet years ago that guineas should not have lettuce it is bad for their digestion and can make them poorly. That doesnt stop them helping themselves to it from the garden though, as well as lemon balm and chives ....... we had several plants which were a bit suspect ( hypericon, foxgloves) so if you do allow them to run manically round the garden, make sure the harmful plants are out of their reach. We never used weedkiller because were never sure where they might be - hence the prolific amound of dandelions:O ( they cant eat buttercups sadly).

PS forgot to say they love bread as well........!

Our boars are partial to a bit of toast crust ,and I have a Little Visitor when I have breakfast in bed (Mothers Day) eyeing up my toast and Nom Nom Nom accepting some.