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Post by Hillary on Feb 24, 2015 18:50:04 GMT
colleen: I feed my piggy 1/4 cup pellets 2x daily and a bowl of greens/veggies 2x day. He is 7mths old and 20 lbs. He also gets a small amount of treats in between. My question is: how much "salad" should I give him? what do others feed their piggies?
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Post by Hillary on Feb 24, 2015 19:22:35 GMT
This is such a great question and I think every pig mommy obsesses over how to feed. The food I'm using is Mazuri for mini pigs. The feeding instructions on the bag recommends 1-2% of body weight of food divided into 2 meals. Activity level, time of year, and amount of additional foods all play a role in how much of the pellets they get. What I've found is that this is a general guide and not an absolute. This is my feeding schedule: Bentley 1.5 years old (27 pounds): 1/2 cup pellets 2 x day + carrots, 2-3 tbsp veggie or fruit stage 3 baby foods, shelled hemp seeds, raw oats, 1/2 Flintstones multi-vitamin. Hazel 1 year old (15 pounds): almost 1/2 cup pellets 2x day + 1/2 cup pellets 2 x day + carrots, 2-3 tbsp veggie or fruit stage 3 baby foods, shelled hemp seeds, raw oats, 1/2 Flintstones multi-vitamin. * They also go outside 3-4 times a day for 30 minutes to an hour to root and eat grasses and plants. For training treats, I use those little Gerber Graduates cereal puffs because they are low in sodium and low in calories so they can have a bunch.  Link to Mazuri's Feeding Sheet: www.mazuri.com/product_pdfs/5Z91.pdf You've probably seen it before but here is a photo I found helpful and the link to Mazuri's feeding instructions. If you scroll down you'll see the feed amount per weight in chart form in 1% or 2% recommendations. I think because every pig is different it is more important to make sure they are not too fat and not too thin. They say you should be able to feel their hip bones but not be able to see them. When I begin to see hip bones I just up the pellets a bit and throw them a few more supplemental foods. |
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Post by colleen on Feb 25, 2015 17:04:35 GMT
Joey looks like he is at "ideal" weight normally, but more like the "fat" weight after he eats his pellets and drinks what seems like a gallon of water! lol I'm going to go out and get the Flintstones multi-vitamins. Even though I know he gets good nutrition from all his greens, (kale, collards, romaine, etc) I think the extra will help while he's stuck inside during these COLD winter days. The Gerber Graduates sound like a good idea too. I use cheerios now. Thanks for the tips!
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Post by Hillary on Feb 25, 2015 17:45:07 GMT
Does your Joey eat his food while going back and forth constantly to the water? Mine both do this and it cracks me up! They will drink as much water as they can possibly hold. Eventually the water bowl and the food bowl have food and water all mixed in together and it's a complete mess!
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Post by colleen on Feb 25, 2015 19:49:04 GMT
oh ya! it's a crazy scene..you'd think he was starving the way goes at it! He does have access to my dogs large water bowl all day, and occasionally will drink from it, but, drinks most of his water with his pellets. Then, because he's so full of water, we have to watch him like a hawk for 2 hours after so he doesn't have an accident. I can't wait until spring and he can spend more time outside. He's getting better and better with his potty training, but it's been a slow progress. He has two potty boxes, one in his pen and one by the back door, but my living room carpet still gets it! lol
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Post by Einstein on May 16, 2015 1:21:45 GMT
The food to water bowl must be very common, Einstein too made such a mess. I read this becomes a habit and is really not necessary. Einstein has access to water all day, I bought a no spill travel bowl and it works good because even if he does tip it upside down not all the water spills out (Still a mess but smaller). When I feed him, I remove the water bowl and put it back for him about 10 minutes later. This helps so the floor does not turn into a water slide. He seems to be less interested in so much water after that break.
One other thing I was wondering about, Einstein is very vocal. He grunts constantly when walking around the house. I’m wondering if others have such vocal pigs when up and around. The good news is he is quiet all night and when laying down.
He is a handful with potty training, still working to master that. He does well and then for no reason will find spots to use. I have to remain vigilant to make sure a new hidden spot has not been found by him and not me. I’m having some success with taking him outdoors every few hours, but still he won’t signal me to know when he has to go. Any suggestions appreciated.
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Post by Hillary on May 20, 2015 16:37:41 GMT
Einstein, how funny! I've noticed that if I do not provide water at meal time and their food is not moist they seem to have trouble eating it. I have started putting their water bowl up too because they look like little bowling balls with legs if I don't! So I just add a little water to their food instead and they seem to be perfectly happy.
As far as the floor goes, they have ruined spots on the hardwood floor when the water leaked down through the cracks in the rubber floor. I tried using a tarp under carpet but recently got some of the vinyl floor in a roll from home depot, pulled off the baseboards, put the floor down, put baseboards back up and used a water proof silicone caulk all around the baseboards and the floor so if water is sitting for any length of time it's no big deal. So far so good!!! I threw a few indoor outdoor rugs on top and we're good to go!
The grunting is funny. I have two pigs and they both act differently. Hazel my girl is very very quiet. Bentley on the other hand is incredibly vocal! He and I will carry on a whole conversation and he actually answers me when I pig speak to him...
Potty training was a nightmare for a while. How old is your piggy? Mine didn't get it figured out until just under a year old. I have not made an attempt to remove their litter box though. Not ready for that mess! I heard pigs can be trained to go to a bell on the wall near the door just like a dog. My aunt's pig had a doorbell installed on the floor beside the door and she would bump it with her nose when it was time to go out. My aunt told me it only took her pig a few tries and a hand full of treats to figure out how to alert to needing to go outside. I wish my pigs were that smart!!!
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Post by Einstein on May 23, 2015 2:05:09 GMT
Einstein is 1.5 years old, so certainly old enough to hold it. I have heard that too, put a bell near the door, I may try that as it is encouraging to hear it was simple. I have the added complication of a two story house, so I’ll have to have it located on the 2nd floor too. So far so good with him going up and down the stairs, although I block him when not at home as sometimes I worry he may fall.
I will keep up the good fight.
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Post by Einstein on Jul 20, 2015 3:53:05 GMT
I have good news to update, Einstein is finally doing much better with his potty training and going outside vs. around the house. I worked with a standard schedule and rewards when he would go the restroom outside. Now I still have a litter box inside, but he holds it all night and may use the litter box a few times a week if he spends more time inside on longer work schedule days. I let him have water with food in the AM, leave him outside for ~ an hour before work. His night meal, I pull up the water until he is finished with the pellets and then put down for him ~10 minutes after. Since he is much less interested in the water after he finishes eating, doing that in the PM feeding results in less water intake and allows him to hold until the AM. He gets so much water with his AM meal, he drinks the entire bowl dry with that meal--back and forth. Still entertains me to watch. I hope I don't jinx his progress, but to all piggy owners, hang in there and keep rewarding with a standard schedule...This is so much nicer than having to clean the litter box every day!!!
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