10/07/2021
Welcome to Lola's Mini Pig Chow
Lola's mini pig chow is a small startup business catering to "Mini" pig owners who prefer a more natural pig feed.
Lola is our inspiration for this business venture. Lola is a 3.5 year old Potbellied pig whom we adopted as a spunky and sassy 6 month old. We were Lola's 4th (and final) home in her young life.
We were met with many challenges being new owners to a "Mini" pig but the biggest challenge was always nutrition. There wasn't a ton out there as far as actual nutritional information goes, for "mini" pig owners. We overfed Lola and was none the wiser about it........until she started to grow, and grow, and GROW and then became obese. She was fed a straight commercial grain diet based on what we could find out about what they required to be "healthy".
Last year I noticed Lola was having a hard time moving easily, she could barely see, she couldn't get up the stairs without falling over backwards, and she looked like a "Linebacker". Her hooves were growing far too fast and due to her weight, were near impossible to trim. Finally a light bulb went off and I started researching in the deep web, to find out more about offering her a diet based on what I had around the house. As a horse owner, I value my horses nutritional needs, especially sine he was diagnosed with PPID (Cushing's disease). So I started to think about how I could best benefit Lola and take the weight off at the same time.
Here we are a year later, Lola can now trot around the entire yard without stopping, she can see us, and her hooves have been trimmed correctly and aren't growing at a rate that was unhealthy for her.
Each bag of feed is tailored to the needs of the individual pig. We can make up individual daily bags that comes as a 28 day supply of two meals per day, or we can make up one large bag that lasts 28 days based on a 1/2 a cup of feed twice a day (1 cup daily).
The following are Grains, Seeds, nuts, supplements and Hay offered (cover photo shows a small portion of what is available). We only offer what doesn't require cooking or considered perishable.
Grains:
Rolled Oats
Wheat Germ
Farro
Quinoa
Vegetables/Beans:
Green Split Peas
Lentils
Black Lentils
Soybeans
16 Bean Mix
Seeds (Unsalted)
Flax Seeds or Ground Flax
Chia Seeds
Raw Sunflower seeds (shelled)
Almonds
Peanuts (unshelled)
Pumpkin seeds (shelled or unshelled)
Sesame Seeds
Supplements:
Turmeric powder
Probiotics powder
Vitamin E and Selenium powder
Seaweed meal
Grass/Hay:
Timothy Hay Pellets
Orchard Grass/Timothy Grass Hay Pellets
Turmeric is the yellow spice in curry powder and mustard. Scientists have shown that curcumin has antioxidant potential. They are investigating whether it might have benefit in helping to prevent arthritis, cancer and possibly even Alzheimerās disease.
Below is information obtained from a wonderful source on "Mini" Pig nutrition. From https://americanminipigassociation.com/
"Whole grains (such as oatmeal, barley, wheat, quinoa and brown rice), lentils and/or beans, nuts and seeds (raw unsalted pumpkin seeds, black oil sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, almonds, walnuts, cashews), and a variety of vegetables and fruits. Most grains can be fed raw o cooked. Rice should always be cooked. While pigs thrive on a natural wholesome diet, it is not easy for all pig parents to provide. It can be time consuming a difficult to provide a balanced diet for pigs and if a strong commitment to feeding a nutritionally balanced, varietal diet is not possible a pelleted diet is best."
"Vegetables with every meal, because no pig ever had too many healthy vegetables. Leafy greens, root veggies, summer squashes, winter squashes (such as pumpkin), broccoli, fennel, Brussel sprouts, peas, beets, radishes, parsnips, green beans, spinach, turnip greens, beet greens, collard greens, mustard greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, kale, okra, Swiss chard, celery, romaine lettuce, different types, textures, and colors of veggies. Grazing, a raw egg a couple times a week (raw or cooked is fine)"
Supplements
Give coconut oil for overall health including skin and hair.
Fish oil pills for many benefits including joint, heart, and skin/hair health.
Vitamin E as to ensure they are getting enough. A deficiency in selenium or vitamin E will result in a painful degenerative muscle disease as these two nutrients work together.
Pigs get selenium from the soil and some foods. They get vitamin E from foods, but some supplement to be sure they are getting enough to meet their needs.
A multivitamin with a variety of vitamins and minerals can be given daily. Strive to meet their nutritional needs with diet alone, and if their body doesnāt need the additional supplements they will just pass it in their urine.
Pigs can graze and root in the soil to get natural vitamins and minerals that they require. Hereās one interesting link on fish oil, http://sciencenordic.com/fish-oil-helps-pigs-through-operations
These foods fill many nutritional requirements for the pigs, such as protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, b vitamins, calcium, potassium, folate, iron. No one bean is perfect as they all have different nutritional makeups. A variety is best. A handful with a salad or as a special side dish would be a great filler
Tests with pigs show that a diet rich in fish oil improves recovery after operations. The same positive effects could apply to humans too.
