What is alfalfa? and should i feed them to the guinea pigs?

Question

what is alfalfa? and also what is the best grains for guinea pigs? because i don't know if i should feed them what i am feeding :)

Answer 1

Just like sugarhi2468 said you should only feed alfalfa hay or pellets to young guinea pigs or to pregnant females.

The best diet for a guinea pig is an unlimited supply of grassy hay like timothy, bluegrass or orchard grass.  This is absolutely essential for keeping their teeth worn down and their digestive tract running properly.  Then a small amount of a high quality guinea pig pellet (alfalfa based for young pigs, timothy based for adults).  Then, at least a cup of leafy greens and other veggies every day.  Good choices are lettuces (not iceberg), parsley, cilantro, kale and veggies like bell peppers.

Great foods and hay here:

http://www.oxbowhay.com

http://www.kmshayloft.com

Fantastic care info:

http://www.guinealynx.info

Also, pet store cages are almost always too small.  So, well you're checking out all the great food information you can also research building a huge, cheap and easily cleaned cage that will make for a very happy guinea pig

http://www.guineapigcages.com

Answer 2

i dont know wat that is

and just becuz i dont know doesnt mean that you shud thumb me down!

its the truth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!... annoyed with little sister!! sorry bout that)

Answer 3

Alfalfa is a kind of grass that people turn into hay. DO NOT FEED YOUR GUINEA PIGS ALFALFA! Feed them unlimited timothy hay and timothy pellets for guinea pigs one handful per day. No grains. Fresh veggies every day. Apples grass carrots lettuce orange celery watermelon cucumber bell pepper are all veggies you can try.

Answer 4

Depends on how old they are. Alfalfa is a plant. BTW. Give them Romain Lettuce. The best grains plain pellets with nothing in them.

Play with them alot.

Answer mine?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

Answer 5

Like others have said, it's a type of hay. Unless your guinea pigs are only a few months old or are pregnant/nursing they should be getting timothy hay in unlimited amounts every day, not alfalfa.

As for pellets, they should be plain pellets, no extra junk included, because that's exactly what those seeds and colored bits are for guinea pigs: junk food. They should also be made from timothy hay as well (some are made from other types, like alfalfa, so you have to check). A very good brand of pellets is Oxbow. You can check out the pellets here: http://www.oxbowhay.com/Shop/showProduct... Notice the analysis of the content. That's what you should be looking for in your pellets.

If you ever want to look up more food or other guinea pig info, like what veggies and fruits they can have, check out http://www.guinealynx.info/index.html.  

Answer 6

It's a type of hay, like bermuda.  I don't usually supplement my guinea pig any food, I just buy the standard guinea pig pellets, like from Walmart or something.  And make sure you get the little Vitamin C supplements.

Answer 7

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae cultivated as an important forage crop. In the UK it is known as lucerne and Lucerne grass in India.

Alfalfa is a cool season perennial legume living from three to twelve years, depending on variety and climate. It resembles clover with clusters of small purple flowers. The plant grows to a height of up to 1 metre (3 ft), and has a deep root system sometimes stretching to 4.5 metres (15 ft). This makes it very resilient, especially to droughts. It has a tetraploid genome. The plant exhibits autotoxicity, which means that it is difficult for alfalfa seed to grow in existing stands of alfalfa. Therefore, it is recommended that alfalfa fields be rotated with other species (e.g. corn, wheat) before reseeding.

Like other legumes, its root nodules contain bacteria, Sinorhizobium meliloti, with the ability to fix nitrogen, producing a high-protein feed regardless of available nitrogen in the soil. Its nitrogen-fixing abilities (which increases soil nitrogen) and use as animal feed greatly improved agricultural efficiency. (The nitrogen comes from the air, which is 78 percent molecular nitrogen.)

Alfalfa is widely grown throughout the world as forage for cattle, and is most often harvested as hay, but can also be made into silage, grazed, or fed as greenchop. Alfalfa has the highest feeding value of all common hay crops, being used less frequently as pasture. When grown on soils where it is well-adapted, alfalfa is the highest yielding forage plant.

Alfalfa is one of the most important legumes used in agriculture. The US is the largest alfalfa producer in the world, but considerable area is found in Argentina (primarily grazed), Australia, South Africa, and the Middle East. Known as Kuthirai Masal in Tamil, alfalfa is mostly grown in the Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu, southern India.

The leading alfalfa growing states (within the U.S.A.) are California, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The upper Midwestern states account for about 50% of US production, the Northeastern states 10%, the Western states 40% and the Southeastern states almost none. Alfalfa has a wide range of adaptation and can be grown from very cold northern plains to high mountain valleys, from rich temperate agricultural regions to Mediterranean climates and searing hot deserts.

Its primary use is as feed for dairy cattle, and secondarily for beef cattle, horses, sheep, and goats. Humans also eat alfalfa sprouts, in salads and sandwiches, for example. Tender shoots are eaten in some places as a leaf vegetable. Human consumption of fresh mature plant parts is rare and limited primarily by alfalfa's high fiber content. Dehydrated alfalfa leaf is commercially available as a dietary supplement in several forms, such as tablets, powders and tea. Alfalfa is believed by some to be a galactagogue, a substance that induces lactation

during my researches ive encounter something that the alfalfa is not just for feedind purposes it is also used in medicinal purposes

Answer 8

Alfalfa hay is a supplement for pregnant, nursing and baby guinea pigs.

You need to be feeding grass hay like timothy or orchard at all times.

Read over http://www.guinealynx.info  

Answer 9

Alfalfa is a type of hay. Only give it to pregnant mothers or babies, it has too much calcium and can cause stones to build up in other guinea pigs.I give my guinea pigs Timothy hay, it's good for them and they love it. Give them timothy hay in addition to dry food,and fresh fruits and veggies.