A farm theme park in Hampshire, England, scored a major social media victory this past Christmas when it posted a video of guinea pigs getting a tasty treat. To date, the guinea pig video has more than 7 million views on Facebook and more than 26,000 on its YouTube channel.
Guinea Pig Video Stars
The herd of guinea pigs at Finkley Down Farm numbers nearly 50, and a platter piled with Brussels sprouts was set before them. The squeaks, purrs, and munching sounds are out of this world. Those guinea pigs really like Brussels sprouts!
It’s amazing to watch the speed guinea pigs have as they munch. Little tiffs break out as some piggies grab for the same sprout. Despite this, most of the guinea pigs chow down in an orderly manner around the edges of the platter — that is until a big white guinea pig decides to become king or queen of the Brussels sprouts mound at around 2 minutes in.
Feed With Caution
The diet of guinea pigs is mainly fresh, grass hay. As noted in the post, Brussels sprouts are strictly a treat and should be fed sparingly. The vegetable is cruciferous and can cause gas. Any cruciferous vegetable, including broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower, should be limited or even avoided completely for some individuals. Presenting special treats on rare occasions like this would certainly add to the environmental enrichment for this guinea pig herd!
Gotta Watch Guinea Pigs
The guinea pig herd at Finkley Down Farm shares Facebook posts with goats, cows, sheep, chickens, pigs, and other farm animals. Most of the videos posted get view counts of 6,000 to 10,000 or so. Something about this particular video really caught people’s attention though, because it’s been viewed millions of times. In October of 2016, another video also did very well with 650,000 views. Can you guess who the stars of that video were? Yup, the guinea pig herd again. There’s just something about guinea pigs that’s irresistible!
