Food
From G-Cam
Food
Eating is a guinea pig's favorite activity. You will want to make sure to avoid falling into the "too much of a good thing" trap because obesity causes health problems in pigs just as it does in humans. Here's a list of appropriate foods (in no particular order) that our herd likes to dine on. The PLU column is explained at the bottom. Foods in italics contain oxalic acid and should be provided infrequently and in small quantities. Amaranth, beet greens, chives, parsley, purslane, and spinach all have oxalic acid ranging from 1.48 to .61 g/100g. Don't give them any more than a cup of the stuff and limit it to once a week.
- Fresh hay and water should be available at all times.
- Choose a high quality, timothy-based kibble. Give them access to it twice daily for two hours.
- Avoid food with seeds, dried fruits/vegetables, and gimmicky "treats"
- Never feed rhubarb leaves to a guinea pig, and never let them eat apple seeds or pits from any fruit or melon.
- Potatoes are another big no-no.
- Never feed your pigs lawn clippings or grasses, etc. found growing along roadways.
- Check out this chart by Guinea Lynx for additional oxalic acid information.
Use this handy search tool provided by the International Federation for Produce Standards to determine the proper codes. Wondering why this wiki bothers to go into such detail with arcane stuff like produce codes? It's because we've found ourselves at the head of many a long checkout line with bags full of 4604 and 4901. The poor register clerk is under enough time pressure as it is without having to stop and determine (1) What all that green stuff is, and (2) Where on earth to find it in the register manual. The way some produce is categorized is just plain weird, so help 'em out by knowing your codes. Self-checkout stations are an absolute breeze when you've got this stuff memorized.
































