i have two guinea pigs. about 1 month old. I fed them with orchard hay without knowing that alfafa hay is needed for guinea pig under 6/8 month. so should i change to alfafa hay? or have mixed variety between alfafa and orchard hay?
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Orchard grass is just fine, if you have a sickly guinea pig than you may want to change to Alfalfa, or if it is not gaining weight properly, but aside from that orchard grass is just fine. I use it with my guinea pigs as the only alfalfa I can get here is very dry and stemie. My pigs love to have enough hay in their cages so they can run and play in it and hide under it and sleep and alfalfa just does not work for that but the orchard grass does. I just raised 5 babies on orchard grass and they did great on it, if fact they were all on the chubby side.
Source(s): 32+ years dedicated to caring for and loving guinea pigs
You can feed both. Alfalfa hay has lots of calcium and other things which are important for baby guinea pigs but they still need unlimited orchard/grass hay. 🙂 Alfalfa isn’t entirely necessary if they’re getting what they need from other sources, but when they’re under 6 months it doesn’t hurt.
Orchard grass is fine at any age, especially if you feed 18% protein chow. We feed unlimited18% protein chow (no seeds, nuts, crunchy bits or colored garbage), unlimited grass hay (timothy most of the time), unlimited water from a bottle and a modest amount of greens (1/2 cup or a bit less per pig per day) to all our animals at all life stages. We have had healthy, happy, good sized, show winning pigs on this diet for over 40 years
Source(s): 40+ years raising and showing guinea pigs
Alfalfa hay should be fed, but orchard hay is fine as an occasional substitute. After 6 months you should start feeding them timothy hay, because alfalfa contains to much protein that growing guinea pigs need.
Source(s): Jackiesguineapigs.com