Asian and other 'Exotic' veggies

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Ceetee

Post   » Mon Oct 05, 2009 1:10 pm


I couldn't find these plants on the GL nutrition guide, but I was wondering if anyone knows if chrysanthemum leaves, sweet basil, and Chinese celery is ok to feed guineas. I went to my local Asian market yesterday and picked up a bunch of these for myself, but if I can share them with my piggos that would make it even better.

I know regular basil and celery is fine for pigs. But this kind of basil I bought has purple leaves (it smells so nice too. Almost minty) and Chinese celery has huge leaves and thin stalks. It looks more like cilantro on steroids than celery.

They also have other kinds of veggies like Taro leaves, watercress, and banana leaves, but I have not bought those. Actually if anyone has a link to a site which has more info on Asian or other 'exotic' fruits and veggies, I'd be very interested!

Suisan

Post   » Mon Oct 05, 2009 1:29 pm


I eat and often feed my guinea pigs pea shoots, gai lan, purple basil, perilla (Shiso), fennel, watercress (although it's expensive), and assorted other things.

I don't have nutritional information on them, alas. The two families I stay away from though are anything that looks mildly oniony or leekish and anything cabbage like. (With the exception of kale). Other than that, I go ahead and feed it.

Taro leaves and banana leaves aren't really meant to be eaten straight up -- I'd be worried about feeding taro leaves. They are meant to be a wrapper to contain other foods and rice. Taro leaves contain a chemical which needs to be thoroughly cooked before the leaves can be eaten -- I can't remember which chemical it is off the top of my head. Taro leaves are part of the Hawaiian cuisine, but I remember learning at one point that cooking them properly is a big deal. If it's a big deal, then it doesn't go to my pigs raw.

This site is a decent place to start researching "exotic" vegetables. http://www.evergreenseeds.com/vegetablenames.html Once you have a variety of names you can start googling to find nutritional info. Good Luck. I hope someone else comes along with more info.

bafa

Post   » Mon Oct 05, 2009 3:15 pm


I have no idea. I wish I knew!

Pimpinpuji

Post   » Mon Oct 05, 2009 3:19 pm


As far as "exotic fruits" go, my boys enjoy:

1. Papaya (as long as it isn't too ripe)
2. Mango (they like the seed part of it, with just a bit of fruit left)
3. Guava (I usually scrape off the seeds, but sometimes I leave them on, and the boys just leave the seeds behind if they don't feel like eating it. The white guava has softer seeds.)
4. Sweet lime
5. Starfruit
6. Asian pears


I have been unsuccessful with custard apple, sapodilla, lychee, and muskmelon.

There is a thread regarding different squashes that I have tried. I think it is in a thread about raising piggies in India?
Will post the link on here in a little while, when I have some time to go hunting.

Basically, of all the squashes I experimented, bottle gourd was the best.

I have tried Fenugreek leaves, which were enjoyed, but caused their urine to smell like Fenugreek. I wasn't a huge fan of this, so have stopped giving it.

When the season comes in, I'd like to try cape gooseberry.

Cinnabuns Legacy

Post   » Mon Oct 05, 2009 3:37 pm


I know watercress can be fed a couple of times a week, neither the girls or Alistair much cared for it though and since the batches started going bad really fast even in green bags, we stopped feeding it. I personally avoid almost anything in the cabbage family (aside from kale, which I feed very sparingly in small amounts at a time) because I'm afraid of bloat or excess gas.

User avatar
lissie

Post   » Mon Oct 05, 2009 3:54 pm


I wonder if piggies can eat bitter melon? I think my boys like to eat bitter veggies like dandelion. I think they would enjoy bitter melon but I'm not sure if it's safe for them.

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Ceetee

Post   » Mon Oct 05, 2009 4:01 pm


Thank you! I'm going to try them out and give them a little bit in their salads this week to see if they like them. I don't think they'll become staples, but I like giving my pigs a variety of veggies.

Pimpinpuji

Post   » Sat Oct 10, 2009 12:25 pm


I have 2 questions:

1. What would be the pros and cons about giving sugarcane??

I know it's quite sweet, so would have to be given very sparingly.

I brought home some fresh sugarcane juice for myself today, and the minute I poured it into a glass to drink, the piggies started wheeking! I dipped my finger in the juice, and allowed Pinky to have a lick. He liked it so much, that he went directly for the kill and tried to bite into my finger!

It would be incredible for their teeth. It is very very nutritious, but does have a high sugar content, of course. It is a type of grass, so eating the whole cane should be just fine.

Sugarcane can be cut and put into the fridge, and kept for long amounts of time.
If I give it, should I peel it for them first?


2. How about banana leaves?? I'm trying to give things that are available in abundance here year-round.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Oct 10, 2009 2:42 pm


The cons are a disruption of the digestive system and likely encouragement of bad bacteria and gas to grow in the intestines.

Pimpinpuji

Post   » Sat Oct 10, 2009 2:53 pm


Oh, I see. Poo, I was so excited to experiment this!

If you don't mind me asking, why would it disrupt their digestive system?

And the bacteria and gas?

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Oct 10, 2009 3:01 pm


Read over www.guinealynx.info/.html and the link about horses and how their gut works. It would be very helpful to you.

Oh, and read www.guinealynx.info/.html too.

Pimpinpuji

Post   » Sun Oct 11, 2009 12:29 am


Lynx, I do feel slightly like an idiot right now, because I'm not seeing the correlation.
Perhaps I need to sleep on it, and come back to it when I'm more refreshed, and my brain is working somewhat better.

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