Rethinking Feed.

So I've been rethinking the feed again. On the recommendation of other fanciers I'm thinking I'll give the Mitavite Athlete Plus a miss and instead feed a mix of equal parts of Mitavite Formula 3, Lucerne Chaff and Mitavite extruded lupins.

So the Lucerne Chaff is 18% protein, 26% fibre, 2% fat and 1.4% calcium.
Mitavite Formula 3 is 15% protein, 8% fibre, 10% fat and 0.7% calcium.
Mitavite Extruded Lupins are 35% protein, 15% fibre, 7.4% fat and 0.2% calcium.

So together that creates a mix that is 22.7% protein, 16.3% fibre, 6.5% fat and 0.8% calcium. Preferred ratios for feeding cavies are 22% protein, 15% fibre, 5% fat and 1% calcium. So fibre and protein are great though the fat is a tad high and calcium is decent and will reach 1% once their regular hay is considered. For cavies who are 'at risk' of getting fatty or falling out of breeding condition I can tweak the mix by increasing the lucerne to drop fat and protein levels. Of course fresh hay will also be available at all times.

I haven't worked out how to feed hay yet. The show animals will have hay racks outside the cage to keep it out of their coat but I'm still debating on whether to feed hay loose in the cages for the rest of the animals. There's a high likelihood that my allergy to hay has worsened so I'm not sure whether handling animals that have been snoozing in hay is a good idea. However I know how much pigs love to burrow and tunnel in immense piles of hay. For the same reason I'll be spending extra money on breeders choice newspaper pellets because not only is hysorb messy I'm allergic to the dust as well. Thankfully it's only a skin allergy with the hay however it makes me look like I have a highly contagious disease.

I just realized I wrote this whole post without once mentioning the vegetable part of a cavies diet. We're planning to create a massive vegetable garden that will supply all human vege needs. The cavies will be getting the endless excess from that and there will also be large parsley, broccoli, corn and pumpkin sections just for the pigs, so they should be pretty much inundated with food. Until the vege gardens are up and running I'll be purchasing what's needed from the local produce stores of which there are many. They'll be pretty much get whatever is currently cheapest in as large a portions as possible to keep them happy and healthy.