Tag Archives: kale

can guinea pigs eat spring greens

Can guinea pigs eat spring greens?

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Can guinea pigs eat spring greens? Spring Greens are similar to kale, in which the central leaves do not form a head or form only a very loose one.

It is considered to be closer to wild cabbage than most other domesticated forms and is grown primarily in northern Europe, where its tolerance of cold winters is valued for an early spring supply of edible leaves.

The term is also used more loosely to refer to thinnings and trimmed-off leaves of other types of Brassica, including turnip and swede leaves, surplus thinned out young cabbage plants and leaves from cauliflower and brussels sprouts. (source)

Can guinea pigs eat spring greens?

They can eat them in small amounts. Don’t feed them too much due to the amount of water content that they contain, however, they will enjoy them and will eat as much as you give them.

Just make sure that the spring greens are washed thoroughly before you feed to them, so that they are free of bugs and unfriendly bacteria.

For more foods that guinea pigs can and can’t eat, check out our guinea pig food list.

 

can guinea pigs eat kale

Can Guinea Pigs Eat Kale?

Guinea pig foods,

Kale belongs to the cabbage family and is eaten the world over.

There are two types of kale;

  • One which has crikly and curly leaves
  • The other that has smooth leaves.

Of the two types of kale, curly kale is the most common.

Kale has a very strong and distinct flavour and has leaves that green with tints of blue or purple.

So can guinea pigs eat kale, and if they can how much can they eat?

Lets take a look at its nutritional data to get a better understanding of its content.

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 117 kJ (28 kcal)
Carbohydrates 5.63 g
– Sugars 1.25 g
– Dietary fiber 2 g
Fat 0.4 g
Protein 1.9 g
Water 91.2 g
Vitamin A equiv. 681 μg (85%)
– beta-carotene 8173 μg (76%)
– lutein and zeaxanthin 18246 μg
Thiamine (vit. B1) 0.053 mg (5%)
Riboflavin (vit. B2) 0.07 mg (6%)
Niacin (vit. B3) 0.5 mg (3%)
Vitamin B6 0.138 mg (11%)
Folate (vit. B9) 13 μg (3%)
Choline 0.4 mg (0%)
Vitamin C 41 mg (49%)
Vitamin E 0.85 mg (6%)
Vitamin K 817 μg (778%)
Calcium 72 mg (7%)
Iron 0.9 mg (7%)
Magnesium 18 mg (5%)
Manganese 0.416 mg (20%)
Phosphorus 28 mg (4%)
Potassium 228 mg (5%)
Sodium 23 mg (2%)
Zinc 0.24 mg (3%)
Oxelate 20mg

source wikipedia

can guinea pigs eat kaleWhat we are looking for with guinea pig food are those that are low in phosphorus, calcium, sugar, fat and oxelate. We are also looking for good amounts of vitamin and c, vitamin C in particular supplements the lack of vitamin c produced by a guinea pig’s body.

Kale has huge amount of vitamin c which is great news for piggies, but it does contain small amounts of oxelate, phosphorus, and calcium which makes it a food that should not be fed daily.

Once a week should suffice in small amounts.

Its worth feeding however, for the huge vitamin c supplement.

This is the same for both curly kale and smooth leaf kale.

For more