Buying Hay In Serious Bulk

currently I've been using Burgess Excel Guinea Pig Nuggets 1.5Kg for £4.30. Quite pricey - lasts 7-9 days for my 2 guineas. I will try the Piggie Pellets. Thank you

I contacted my local Alpaca farm - that's a helpful lead - their price is only £7 a bale. I don't have a car though so will need to work out transport logistics. any ideas?
 
bb bb said:
currently I've been using Burgess Excel Guinea Pig Nuggets 1.5Kg for £4.30. Quite pricey - lasts 7-9 days for my 2 guineas. I will try the Piggie Pellets. Thank you

I contacted my local Alpaca farm - that's a helpful lead - their price is only £7 a bale. I don't have a car though so will need to work out transport logistics. any ideas?
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A bag of nuggets usually lasts me 4 weeks. I think you may be overfeeding. They literally only need a tablespoon/egg cup per day of nuggets.
 
It does sound like you are giving too much, with 2 guinea pigs I only need to buy a bag every 6 weeks
 
Oh wow. ok. They seem to need a bowlful a day. They're long haired larger guinea pigs - the size of a dwarf rabbit.

and it's 2 guinea pigs I have so they're each having half a bowlful a day plus a handful of hay and little bits of fresh greens
 
Our furry overlords (and ladies) are exceptionally good at convincing us that they are starving. I top up the pellets with a little dried forage. Hay needs to be unlimited as it is 80% of their diet. Somebody will link you to the diet guides as I don't know how.
 
fluffysal said:
Our furry overlords (and ladies) are exceptionally good at convincing us that they are starving. I top up the pellets with a little dried forage.
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they squeal a lot though. Every time they hear us come down the stairs. Are they just a bit spoilt? When we feed them fully as the seem to require they seem more content
 
I edited my last post as I posted before I finished 😁
Hay must be available at all times. The wheeking at everything is them training us to feed them at every opportunity. Most of us have big piles of hay or trays of it as it is enrichment as well as food.
 
You are definitely over feeding pellets! They must have just one tablespoon per pig per day, never a bowlful no matter the size of the piggies!
The only food they need unlimited and large amounts of is hay. Please give them considerably more than a handful once a day. Mine have their hay topped up around 2-3 times a day.
Pellets are the least important and least healthy part of the diet - they actually don’t need them at all.
Too many pellets will prevent sufficient hay intake which can lead to health (gut and dental) issues. Plus pellets contain a lot of calcium which can lead to the formation of bladder stones.

A 1.5kg bag of pellets lasts me about three months and I have four guinea pigs but i only give them a few pellets at a time and only give them 2-3 times a week.

They can have a cup of veg per day. Ensure a good variety so all needs are covered. Coriander, lettuce (not iceberg), bell pepper and cucumber can be fed daily. Other veggies should be fed in moderation due to high cslxium and oxalate content. Things such as spring greens, kale, spinach, parsley are particularly high calcium foods.

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
 
Ok. Many thanks. We've been following Pets at home instructions. Will order large quantity of hay instead.
 
bb bb said:
Ok. Many thanks. We've been following Pets at home instructions. Will order large quantity of hay instead.
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the instructions from pet shops and on pellet packaging is almost never correct!

Can I ask, what sex are your piggies and what cage size do you have? (I ask as if you’ve got information from pets at home, it’s possible you’ve been missold the cage)
Two boys need a 180x60cm cage
Two girls need a 150x60cm cage.
A 120cm cage for two girls is considered minimum but it is too small for two boys
 
bb bb said:
I contacted my local Alpaca farm - that's a helpful lead - their price is only £7 a bale. I don't have a car though so will need to work out transport logistics. any ideas?
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If you are getting hay by the bale its a good idea to get a haybale bag. It's good to store it in and there is far less mess.

Amazon.co.uk
 
On pets at home website it says you should never feed your pets grass clippings from a lawn mower - anyone know why that is? I was going to ask my gardener to give me some grass cuttings
 
Piggies&buns said:
the instructions from pet shops and on pellet packaging is almost never correct!

Can I ask, what sex are your piggies and what cage size do you have? (I ask as if you’ve got information from pets at home, it’s possible you’ve been missold the cage)
Two boys need a 180x60cm cage
Two girls need a 150x60cm cage.
A 120cm cage for two girls is considered minimum but it is too small for two boys
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2 boys, our cage is approximately 120x60cm
 
Betsy said:
If you are getting hay by the bale its a good idea to get a haybale bag. It's good to store it in and there is far less mess.

Amazon.co.uk
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I'll be getting a square bale or two. Can I keep it indoors in a black bag? that's what I thought I'd do. I have some space for it
 
No black bin bag will hold hay for long, too easy to poke holes through the bag.
 
bb bb said:
On pets at home website it says you should never feed your pets grass clippings from a lawn mower - anyone know why that is? I was going to ask my gardener to give me some grass cuttings
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I read that grass can cause bloat which can be very dangerous, especially if the grass isn’t fresh, I’m sure there’s more to it than that though 🥲
 
bb bb said:
On pets at home website it says you should never feed your pets grass clippings from a lawn mower - anyone know why that is? I was going to ask my gardener to give me some grass cuttings
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It’s because it starts to ferment as soon as it is cut (you feel the heat coming off of it very quickly), and fermented grass causes bloat. Bloat is a very serious and painful condition.

Only ever handpick grass or cut it with scissors to feed to piggies

bb bb said:
2 boys, our cage is approximately 120x60cm
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2 boys need a much bigger cage. They need a cage of 180x60cm. Boars are territorial and need a lot more room so as to not cause space related fights
 
Why would Pets at Home get it wrong? I don't have room to fit a larger cage
 
bb bb said:
Why would Pets at Home get it wrong? I don't have room to fit a larger cage
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Pet shops don’t always give the best advice unfortunately. We sadly see lots of owners finding out their cages aren’t quite big enough due to pet shop advice, particularly for boars who really benefit from a lot more room.

A 120cm cage is minimum welfare size but is only really suited to be minimum for two sows (two sows are better off in the recommended size of 150cm).
The minimum for two boars really should be 150cm but 180cm is recommended size so each piggy has enough territory and enough space to get away from each other. You may find they are ok and I don’t think you’ve said how old they are but if they are still yet to get into their teens, then ensuring lots of space can help them get through it. I had one of my boar pairs initially in a 150cm but it was quite obvious there was benefit in them having more space - their tensions decreased hugely once they had a bit more room.

It also ensures there is enough space for multiple houses (each of which should have two doors) and plenty of resources to ensure they don’t have a reason to bicker.

Cage Size Guide
 
they are 2.5 years old, human years. They do bicker a little, what you have written makes me think that they would yes benefit from more space
 
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