Also known as Rose Haw or Rose Hep’s, Rose Hips are the fruit of the rose plant.
They can vary in colour from orange to red to dark purple and black.
They come from the pollination of flowers in the spring and early summer
They are generally used for jams, jellies, syrups, marmalades and other types of foods. They are also eaten raw quite like berries. However, the hairs inside them are to be avoided and stripped out as they are an irritant.
image and information (source: Wikipedia)
So if we can eat rose hips, can guinea pigs eat them and if so, how many can they eat?
Lets take a look at their nutritional value.
In particular, we’re interested in their sugar, fat, calcium, oxelate acid and phosphorus content as far as guinea pigs are concerned.
A healthy amount of vitamin c is also a great bonus.
Total Fat 0.3 gt0%
Sodium 4 mgt0%
Potassium 429 mgt12%
Total Carbohydrate 38 gt12%
Dietary fiber 24 gt96%
Sugar 2.6 g
Protein 1.6 gt3%
Vitamin At86%
Vitamin Ct710%
Calciumt16%
Iront6%
Vitamin B-6t5%
Magnesiumt17%.
source google
As you can see rose hips don’t contain any fat, phosphorus, or acids but they do contain some sugar. However their vitamin c content is absolutely huge. An extraordinary amount! They also contain a very good amount of vitamin a which is very good for guinea pigs as well.
However, make sure you strip out the hairs that are found in the middle of the rose hip. This means that you can’t feed it to them as it is. Instead cut it up and strip out the middle before feeding the skin and rest of the outer layer to them.
They can be eaten 3-4 times a week without a problem and are an extremely welcome addition to a guinea pig’s diet.