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Small pets

carrot leaves and guinea-pigs

19 replies

LordOfTheFlies · 03/12/2011 20:05

can GPs have the green frondy leaves on carrots?

I saw some today (organic but reduced) but I didn't know if they were okay.We would have shared the carrots between Sunday dinner and piggies.

If they can I will 'grow' some from carrot tops on the kitchen windowsill (good mum emoticon)

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alemci · 03/12/2011 20:11

I always thought they were poisonus to GPs so I wouldn't

RandomMess · 03/12/2011 20:13

we always grew them and fed them to our GPs

I know rhubarb leaves are poisonus though

RandomMess · 03/12/2011 20:14

says they are safe on this list here

www.squidoo.com/guinea-pig-care-4

Meglet · 03/12/2011 20:15

mine used to eat them.

If it helps, mine would always eat around a certain plant growing on the lawn. Turned out to be ragwort, so the GP's knew better than me. They ate around daffodils as well, they must have a sixth sense about what's poisonous.

LordOfTheFlies · 03/12/2011 20:18

All of rhubarb is poisonous to GPs though IIRC. I don't think mine would eat rhubarb anyway.They turn their fussy little noses up at celery stalks but love the leaves. I've found the organic celery still has loads of leaves attatched so I buy that.And DH eats the stalks (ie the GPs leftovers )
I didn't know if carrot leaves were poisonous to people either, so I didn't want to try them out.

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LordOfTheFlies · 03/12/2011 20:29

aaah, it says on Squidoo they shouldn't have cauliflower (not never just avoid).Ours have had some leaves or floret if I buy some.And a torn up leaf of spring greens.
And they do produce some wicked gas on occasion (TMI) but their poohs are regularly shaped ,firm and plentiful.

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KRITIQ · 04/12/2011 12:41

Ah, my boys just feasted on organic carrots with their leaves (Bugs Bunny style, as we call them,) last night and they were fine.

I've always given pigs things like kale, collard greens/spring greens, cabbage (particularly green or savoy) and brussell tops because of the high vitamin c content, but not in massive quantities because of risk of bloat.

I think this list of good and not good foods is probably more reliable, and uses the UK terms for fruit and veggies.

www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=42

DoesItWearingWellies · 06/12/2011 21:34

Carrot leaves are fine - when DD first got her GPs they would eat the leaves and leave the carrots

Now it barely has to be recognisable as a plant for them to gobble it up.

LordOfTheFlies · 06/12/2011 21:37

I bought mine fresh pea shoots today (Sainsbo £1 a bag) .

Met with approval from the piggies.

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KRITIQ · 07/12/2011 13:21

Hey, does anyone else have piggies with artistic leanings? One of my boys made this sculpture recently. I think he's got talent!

lljkk · 07/12/2011 13:23

Quick KRITIQ, put it in for the Turner Prize!

Yes carrot tops are fine, athough they shouldn't have bucketloads iirc, something to do with excess oxalic acid. Beetroot tops are poisonous for them, though (I think).

LordOfTheFlies · 07/12/2011 21:09

That's beautiful KRITIQ that GP has definate artistic leanings (and rather too much time on his hands ) I love the symmetry of it.

Our GP1 would have left a little pool of orange-y spit !

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KRITIQ · 16/12/2011 20:36

A certain Boar thanks you all for your feedback. His companion is quite musical (plays toy piano and spends hours ringing those wee bell things you get for parrots,) so I'm pleased with their artistic leanings.

Turner Prize? Perhaps, the Turnip Prize!

LordOfTheFlies · 22/12/2011 11:17

OK the gauntlet has been thrown.

I bought brussel sprouts on the plants (to last longer) so on Christmas Evening ,when we are watching Dr Who, the boys will whittle the stalk into a functioning ,pitch perfect flute.
And play it it so well that James Gallway will retire, weeping.

I need to get out more (and stop sampling the homemade marzipan with Amarretto in it)

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KRITIQ · 22/12/2011 22:05

snort

LordOfTheFlies · 23/12/2011 00:21

GP! -the big male agouti- has a thing for parsley. DD gets him to do his party trick- she holds the pack,stalk end out, and he grabs a stalk and yanks it, then hoovers it up till he has a bunch of 'flowers'.

Today he was on my shoulder and getting excited as DH brought the bag.

He leapt off my shoulder, had his head and front legs in the bag> Good job it was DH holding it!.

I've never known him move himself like this .
It is guinea-pig crack, to be sure

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KRITIQ · 24/12/2011 00:55

Is it ever. They can "hear" parsley through the wall - I'm convinced of it.

At least it's good for them, but I do refer to stuff like lettuce as "junk food" which I try to keep them from eating too much of.

Here's one of the guest pigs we looked after in the summer inhaling some.

LordOfTheFlies · 24/12/2011 20:50

Aww Kritiq your guest guinea looks like our agouti apart from the stripe of ginger on his nose. (And our GP is carrying an extra few ounces on his rump)

He looks like a vampire

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LordOfTheFlies · 26/12/2011 17:49

Boxing Day, 4.30 pm

Emergency Parsley Run to Tesco.

They are under-whelmed by the Christmas veg.I was out yesterday at 9pm cutting grass with scissors for them. They gave me the Gormless Guinea look for rocket and parsley.
LOTF gets car keys, mutter mutter, under the thumb

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