So Brussel Sprouts…Love em or hate em, they’re still a veggie that is popular the world over.
It is a cultivar in the Gemmifera group of cabbages (Brassica oleracea), grown for its edible buds. The leafy green vegetables are typically 2.5–4 cm (0.98–1.6 in) in diameter and look like miniature cabbages. (source wikipedia)
So can guinea pigs eat them and if they can, how much of them can they eat?
What we are looking at particularly is the amounts of phosphorus, oxelate acid, sugar, fats and calcium. We are also interested in the amount of vitamin a and c.
Lets take a look at its nutritional data to find this out.
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 179 kJ (43 kcal)
Carbohydrates 8.95 g
– Sugars 2.2 g
– Dietary fibre 3.8 g
Fat 0.3 g
Protein 3.38 g
Vitamin A equiv. 38 μg (5%)
– beta-carotene 450 μg (4%)
– lutein and zeaxanthin 1590 μg
Thiamine (vit. B1) 0.139 mg (12%)
Riboflavin (vit. B2) 0.09 mg (8%)
Niacin (vit. B3) 0.745 mg (5%)
Pantothenic acid (B5) 0.309 mg (6%)
Vitamin B6 0.219 mg (17%)
Folate (vit. B9) 61 μg (15%)
Choline 19.1 mg (4%)
Vitamin C 85 mg (102%)
Vitamin E 0.88 mg (6%)
Vitamin K 177 μg (169%)
Calcium 42 mg (4%)
Iron 1.4 mg (11%)
Magnesium 23 mg (6%)
Manganese 0.337 mg (16%)
Phosphorus 69 mg (10%)
Potassium 389 mg (8%)
Sodium 25 mg (2%)
Zinc 0.42 mg (4%)
Oxelate acid 360 mg
source wikipedia
As you can see, brussel sprouts contain large amounts of phosphorus, oxelate acid, and small amounts of sugar. However, they do contain a huge amount of Vitamin C (Just look at that percentage!).
Guinea pigs can eat brussel sprouts, but because of the phosphorus and oxelate acid content, only in very small amounts. The suggest amount is 1-2 times a week.
image flickr
Can guinea pigs eat brussel sprouts stalks?
As long as they are green and fresh, they can eat the stalks
Can guinea pigs eat cooked brussel sprouts?
No they can’t unfortunately, they are unable to eat any cooked foods.
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Their are times when I run out of food for our Guinea pigs , I’m on a fix income so I give Cookie and Mr. Fluffy freash fruit ,veg and hay at this time . I given them fresh carrots , apples . tomatoes , cucumber, pears , now brussel sprouts . I n a week I’ll buy them the advance total Guinea Pig forumla big bag of food . Our Guinea pigs are getting older now we had them for a long time . Their my Daughters Guinea ‘s and she is 13 years old and always ask me what is good for her Guineas .I go on the net to find out the information for her on what else she can feed her Guineas . She loves them and wants to keep them healthy as long as she can with a good quality of life. I want to thank you this information means so much to us in giving our Guinea Pigs the good nutrition they deserve .
You are welcome Suzann, so glad to have helped in some way
Heya i am for the first time here. I found this board and I
to find It truly useful & it helped me out much. I hope to offer something again and aid others like you aided me.
I feed my boy guinea pigs peppers in with their romaine lettuce and other veg as well as their dried food. is it ok to give them peppers and what else can i give them for a change? c o’neill
Hi Christine there’s a whole range of foods that you could get them. Best food is hay though, and anything else is supplemental. Check out our foods page for some inspiration
This is very very helpful, I like how you go into detail about the food and why they can or can’t eat it, it would be even better if you could create an iPhone app like this I think it would help a lot more people realise what they can and can’t feed their guineas and so you can quickly check foods while your in the supermarket 🙂
That’s a great idea 🙂
I was just looking for a little more clarity on “small amounts”. It says they can have Brussel sprouts, in small amounts, 1-2 times per week. Is a small amount 1-2 sprouts it less? Can they eat the core thing on the bottom or should I remove it. Also, what is something, that they can have daily for Vitamin C and how much is a good daily serving??
Red bell peppers are very high in vitamin c so is yellow and green peppers