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I'm looking for new fruit and veg ideas for my Guinea pigs

34 replies

Goingtobeawesome · 31/03/2016 06:52

What is your piggies favourite fruit and veg and what should they have every day? Mine are doing well on their current diet but I'd like to try new things for them too.

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purpleaura · 31/03/2016 06:56

Mine seem to change their tastes occasionally, but firm favourites are cucumber, melon skin and broccoli stalk. They also get carrot and celery but these are not devoured with as much relish as the above Wink

purpleaura · 31/03/2016 06:57

Hoping for some new inspiration too :)

MissesandMuddles · 31/03/2016 07:11

Not a fruit or veg as such but my guineas absolute favourite was dandelions.

Goingtobeawesome · 31/03/2016 07:20

Cucumber they get, broccoli they liked, then didn't and then accepted it but melon skin is new, thank you. Which type are they allowed?

Mine are in at the moment and I sent ds to get dandelions last week but there weren't any. Will add to treat list though. Thank you.

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GaryGilmoresEyes · 31/03/2016 07:23

Mine go potty for flat leaf parsley.

Scone1nSixtySeconds · 31/03/2016 07:32

Mine love celeriac. Wanky but true! Not v.keen on kale though just like every other living creature on the planet

I tend to buy the wonky/basics stuff from Sainsbury's don't tell them so carrots, apples, pears, cucumber, peppers, parsnips, broccoli.

They like the outside leaves of a Savoy cabbage, basil, coriander and curly parsley. They really like radicchio but only get it if there is a bag of salad reduced as I am not sure it's particularly nutritious! Very occasionally in the summer they get watermelon which they seem to love.

I bought flat leaf parsley one week and they gave me a look.

Mine don't like other types of melon, tomatoes, green peppers or swede.

Goingtobeawesome · 31/03/2016 08:18

Mine love mint, parsley, basil but refused parsnip. They tried tomato last week and liked it.

Thank you everyone. My shopping list has more things for them than the kids!

Mine like kale.....like me. Grin.

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EastMidsGPs · 31/03/2016 17:22

We would kill for parsley, cucumber and celery. We like kale, any sort of cabbage and any type of melon.
Carrots have to be bought from the farm shop - we recently went on hunger strike over supermarket own brand! Humans grow us carrot tops and pea shoots.
We love dandilions especially the flowers and clover and of course grass. Most lettuce and grapes ... but only green grapes, we don't do red grapes EVER .. so stop giving them to us !!
Some weeks we lurvvvve something so human buys us more .... and then we decide we no longer like it ... bananas fall into this category Smile

Goingtobeawesome · 31/03/2016 17:23

I bought quite a few bits today. Will see how we get on. I thought bananas were off limits for piggies.

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PurpleDaisies · 31/03/2016 17:27

Mine like tomatoes (although one is terrified of them and won't go near them). Also the leaves from celery and cauliflower. They will turn cartwheels for carrot leaves. Red peppers, parsley and coriander are big hits plus various green leafy things from the veg box. They like sprouts but only when there're fresh.

Fresh grass and dandelions always go down well and I can hear them squeaking from halfway down the garden in anticipation. This is Mr Pig with a particularly fine dandelion.

I'm looking for new fruit and veg ideas for my Guinea pigs
BertieBotts · 31/03/2016 17:31

Ours always used to love groundsel, you can find it all over and it's a weed, so free.

This stuff:
www.dalswildlifesite.com/Common_Groundsel-branching.jpg

Goingtobeawesome · 31/03/2016 17:45

I'd forgotten they have tried sprouts and ate them. Cost me 7p for two Grin.

Lovely Mr Pig there. Mine are currently inside as it has been very cold. I literally spent 9-6:30 in the kitchen yesterday so they could have time in their play pen. I didn't plan all day but they were having such fun..

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Goingtobeawesome · 31/03/2016 17:47

BB - I think we have some of that nearby so I'll look out for it, thank you.

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MilkTwoSugarsThanks · 31/03/2016 17:51

Green beans. I don't have GPs, but my friend does and I love watching them eat their little green beans! It's so funny the way they just sort of wiggle a very tiny little bit and then disappear! Grin

I may need to get a life.

dodobookends · 31/03/2016 17:51

Mine have gone to the great hay-pile in the sky now, but they used to like green beans a lot, and in the summer I often grow runner beans. They loved the leaves from those.

Corn on the cob went down really well, green husky bits and all - they had great fun peeling that off.

starry0ne · 31/03/2016 17:58

Mine love carrots...But prefers the peel.. He likes banana peel but doesn't eat banana, Apples but must be cut in half won't eat any skin... Loves celery, mange tout.. Spouts ( but give him wind) , doesn't like tomatoes but my friends g.pig loves them.

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 31/03/2016 19:52

It would be easier to list what mine don't like, much shorter list Grin

On the "Sigh, you can do better than that" list :
lambs lettuce, carrot peelings,turnip,parsnip,green pepper, grapes,cauli, not wild about brocilli

On the "Bring it on" list:

sweetcorn- mini, regular,or with leaves
leafy carrot
parsley (curly or flat)
mint
chicory (red or green)
cavelo nero
strawberry tops (but they don't trust strawberries, Bert -our boar- doesn't like the way their seeds are on the outside)
red topped cos
romaine
kale -red or green (only to stop their bums clamping shut)
peppers-orange/red/yellow
blueberries
bit of banana
watermelon and skin
spinach and watercress (but not wild about rocket)
sprouts at Christmas (especially sprout trees0
celery leaves
marrow without seeds
cucumber
salad bags
bit of apple

FernieB · 31/03/2016 20:07

My Gingerpig will give anything a good go! His favourites are curly parsley (flat leaved is evil and only good for peeing on), grapes (any colour), Apple, tomatoes and watermelon.

Scruffypig only eats green fruit and veg ever. If it's not green, it's not edible - I've tried him repeatedly with other colours of veg but he point blank refuses them. His favourites are cucumber, celery plus leaves and watermelon skin.

Currentbun only eats carrot, broccoli and curly parsley. No other veg exists in his world.

supposeitmightbe · 31/03/2016 20:11

I rarely give mine fruit, in fact they had a slice of pear the day before yesterday as it was left over on my daughter's plate!

I get really confused reading those charts about what they can/can't eat and frequency as if, for example, they have kale one day then can they not have any more veg like that for a couple of days?

I may well be overthinking this!

OldCrowMedicineShow · 31/03/2016 20:30

I love that the East Mids Guinea pigs wrote on Mumsnet with their little paws. Grin

Can I just add basil and kiwi fruit to the list of best adored food?

counttotenandbreathe · 31/03/2016 20:47

Our piggies love little gem lettuce, kale, parsley for one, basil for the other! Then cucumber, broccoli stalks less keen on the florets, cauliflower leaves not the florets, carrots tops, celery tops! It's great it's most of the bits we don't eat Smile. I think gem lettuce and grass has saved poorly pig (previous thread) from the brink!!

EastMidsGPs · 31/03/2016 21:08

OldCrowMedicineShow our human isn't very bright Wink

Goingtobeawesome · 01/04/2016 09:31

Mine were offered cauliflower and they were not impressed.

How do you know they can have all this stuff? I'd be worried I might poison them. I googled and the allowed list was nowhere near as long as the ideas here.

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OldCrowMedicineShow · 01/04/2016 18:45

EastMidsGPs ..that made me properly laugh! Grin

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 01/04/2016 19:23

beawesome

If you work out what they definately can't have: potatoes,onions, (though one of pigs ate the papery skin) mushrooms, iceberg (gives them the squirts) buttercups,daisies,foxglove,yew,any bulbs (like daffodils) ivy, eggs,dairy,meat,fish,avocado

Then what they can have limited amounts of ; dark green veg ,parsley, root veg, fruit.
They aren't meant to have stone fruit like plums but mine 'help' me eat a ripe nectarine

I give a variety of 5-6 fresh foods, they leave what they don't want (basically very ;little)
Lots of hay

Purple my lovely Himalayan says she'll divorce GP6 and move in with MrPig.

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