What age?

Jensway · Post » Fri Apr 19, 2002 11:16 pm

My piggies are 10/11 weeks old and are eating alphalfa hay now. How old should they be before starting them on Timothy or Bermuda Hay?

Jennifer

Post » Fri Apr 19, 2002 11:39 pm

You can mix it in now and wean them off the alfalfa when they are 6 to 8 months old. By about 6 months they are usually full-grown skeletally. It´s not a hard and fast rule - just a general guideline.

By age one they should only be getting alfalfa hay as a treat. Remember most pig pellets are alfalfa-based so they are still getting alfalfa even if their only hay is timothy hay.

Jensway · Post » Sat Apr 20, 2002 11:34 am

Thanks, Pinta
I´ll start giving them some today. They just seem to be growing up so fast.

Sunny · Post » Sat Apr 20, 2002 12:20 pm

Hi Pinta - thanks for this info. I feed my pigs alfalfa instead of hay. I didn´t know you were supposed to wean them off it. Fido is just now 6 months old but Spot is 1-1/2 yrs.

Can you tell me why Timothy or Bermuda rather than alfalfa?

Post » Sat Apr 20, 2002 12:45 pm

Alfalfa is a legume, high in protein and calcium. It is thought that if food is high in calcium, it can contribute to problems down the line with bladderstones.

Grass hays can still be a pretty good source of protein and they have less calcium in them.

aSAHMof3Rs · Post » Wed Apr 24, 2002 3:40 am

Okay now this thread (and the comments on it) bring up another question I have. Do I HAVE to give her alfalfa hay as a treat? I mean is it needed? This is something I will need to know as she is only given Timothy hay right now and although her pellets right NOW are alfalfa based, I have an order of cavy cuisine which is based on timothy hay and not alfalfa. When she´s eating only timothy hay and timothy hay pellets and timothy hay cubes... is alfalfa needed sometimes? Or will she be okay without it since she´ll also have veggies daily?

Oh duh, I should probably mention that she´s atleast 15mo old (maybe 16mo) and weighs 3lbs. She´s not a baby cavy.

Post » Wed Apr 24, 2002 8:05 am

No, you don´t have to. I don´t give any alfalfa at all.

Post » Wed Apr 24, 2002 5:17 pm

They can get calcium from fresh food like parsley.

Calcium is important to the diet and there have been a few cases of overzealous owners cutting ALL calcium out and ending up with temporarily paralysed pigs requiring calcium doses.

LynnK · Post » Wed Apr 24, 2002 6:03 pm

Yep all of my boys get a small amount of parsley everyday but they also get a mixture of cavycusine and cavyperformance. BTW Amigo got the soft poops again from eating some grass but it clears up quick that´s for sure.

Becky · Post » Wed Apr 24, 2002 8:01 pm

In looking up the nutriant levels in various piggy-friendly foods, it seems there´s a fair amount of calcium in just about all greens. How in the world could someone actually cut out ALL calcium?

Along the same lines, what is a moderate amount of calcium? 20mgs per pig?

aSAHMof3Rs · Post » Wed Apr 24, 2002 10:20 pm

Okay thanks for answering that! So I´ll be feeding cavy cuisine, timothy hay, and fresh veggies (she only eats greens right now though) and she should be fine. Thanks for the reassurances.

I know she has to be bred from strong stock (haha- whatever that is) because she lived her first 14/15mo of life on nothing BUT water and the mixed pellets (you know, alfalfa based with all that extra sugar junk and seeds in it).