[Gpdd] HEALTH: Outdoor food

[Penny Charlesworth]

Joanie,

I did get a smile out of imagining you trying to extract the medicine from 
the bottle but then I realised that you have never done this before. You 
figured it out so well done!!

Re the outdoor food.  With only one piggy to feed it is easy to wash your 
plantain leaf or bunch of dandelions. Grass is a bit more fiddly but if you 
want to wash it you can.

Puff may be wary of these new foods so introduce them one at a time. She may 
not like them all. Piggies learn what is safe to eat from their mothers or 
companions so my newly rescued piggies, who may have only ever had 
supermarket veggies, are often unaware of all the tasty nibbles that are 
available. It is never long before they see a resident member of the herd 
tucking into forage and the new one is soon joining in.

My herd are, at this moment, contentedly munching away at a pile of 
chickweed that I brough home from a client's garden. Fresh as can be and 
full of goodness. Absolute silence here bar the sound of many little teeth 
demolishing their treat. There are foraged foods in abundance here in 
England at the moment and for their second course there is a box of vetch 
collected from my farmer friend's field. My piggies love vetch. My herd 
loves all plantains but some piggies prefer the broad leaved one to the 
narrow leaved one or vice versa.

Finally a word of warning to anyone thinking of foraging. Make absolutely 
sure that you know what you are picking. There are many wild foods that are 
wonderful for piggies, not to mention that they are free - a great boon to 
anyone with a herd - but there are also poisonous plants of which to beware.

Happy munching Puff.

Penny and the Piggyfriends.