making Guinea pig food

[yoker]

Does anyone make there own guinea pig food?

 

[thebritt]

Variety is the key - you would want to include:
corn - whole and cracked
oats - whole and Quaker (not the instant, but the 5-min. cooking time kind
alfalfa pellets
broken up rat food blocks
Timothy hay on the side

I would look at a bag of prepared food and try to duplicate. Be sure the critter gets all the vitamins it sould.

 

[yoker]

thanks
I was thinking of giving hay all the time.
Giving a mixture of oats, corn and pellets every day.
and then a salad of freash veggies every day.
What are rat food blocks?

 

[cutiepieacres]

I thought about it because I really don't like all the processed ingredients in commecial diets but there is no way for me to insure that all the levels are just right while some things might make an immediate difference others like vitamin deficiencies may take some time to notice.

I would just make sure to use a quality pellet In smaller amounts and use a variety of fresh fruits and veggies and grass hay for the bulk of the diet. Oats can be added, I also use flax seed and bee pollen and wheat germ for supplements.

Rat blocks are not suitable for pigs their dietary needs are different.
Corn is an ingredient you try to avoid in a quality pelleted diet.

And while oats are great in small quantities it is a myth that quick cooking oats will hurt your animal as long as it's not packeted with added ingredients quick cook oats are just cut up in smaller pieces to absorb water faster but will not absorb mire water then anyother oat.

 

[thebritt]

Quote:
Rat food blocks are available at most pet stores, and as a PART of the diet, they're absolutely fine. They are a complete rodent food (and of course, Guinea pigs are rodents). They contain vitamins and minerals not found in many raw foods.

 

[cutiepieacres]

if you are going to buy a commercial diet you might as well buy the one specifically made for guinea pigs as it will provide the necessary vitamins and minerals that guinea pigs need and might not be gotten anywhere else.

Cavies are not necessarily rodents, there is still a lot of debate that they should be classified in the category of rodent, although most feel they are pretty distinct as far as rodents go. They are not like mice and rats, they have different proteins in their blood, they don't give birth to hairless helpless babies, they cannot produce vit. C in their bodies and do have different dietary requirements.

 

[yoker]

Ok this sounds good.
basicly lots of fresh veggies and fruits and hay