Feeding Your Guinea Pig
A guinea pig's most favorite thing to do in the whole wide world is EAT! After living with Hunny and Winnie this fact becomes very apparent. A pig's diet should be made up of pellets purchased at the pet store with lots and lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, and of course, lots of fresh water. It's fun to figure out what your pig's favorite foods are, since they all have their preferences. Here are some of Hunny's and Winnie's favorites:
parsley | oats | carrots | apples |
sweet peppers | greens | strawberries | grapes |
grass | clover | tomatoes | cherries |
broccoli | oranges | blueberries | romain lettuce |
Guinea pigs can have vitamin deficiencies, so make sure they get variety! They especially need foods with vitamin C, because they can not make it themselves. And always remember if your guinea pig seems sick or even out-of-sorts, get help!
When we brought home Thistle from the Cavy Show, her previous owner gave us a little bag of her favorite food. I thought it was a mix from the pet store. After all our pigs ate it up as if it were ice cream for pigs, I asked what the mix was called so we could buy some. Turns out, the breeder mixed it herself. Here is her recipe:
"I use Buckeye Guinea Pig Pellets, sweet feed and calf manna which all comes from my local feed store. I mix 10 cups of pellets, 2 cups of sweet feed, 1 cup calf manna, 1 cup oats and 1/4 cup sunflower seeds (shelled and unsalted)." Try it! Your pig will love it.
The funny thing about guinea pigs is they will ask for treats. They do this by what we call "wheepuling." This is a high-pitched sort of whistle that is kind of cute. Our pigs wheepul when they think we aren't getting their treats fast enough!
Carrots! Gimme some!
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