Encouraging hay rack use

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Lisajazz

Lisajazz

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Hiya - this is a post for Mork.

He doesn't seem to know how to use a hay rack. Is there anything I can do to encourage its use or do I just wait it out?

I had only hay rack for a day and he didnt touch hay so I have supplemented with a pile in the corner on the fleece as I got a bit freaked out that he wasn't eating hay.

Plus he sill only eat the really cheap hay that he used to eat in the shop despite my tempting him with lovely green oat hay and timothy hay and orchard grass.
 
What about if you mix the posh stuff with the cheap hay in the rack and tease a bit out to show him it is there and don't put hay anywhere else so he will have no choice!

I was unsure whether mine were touching their rack at first but it is going down nicely now!
 
Stop spoiling him and keep him on the cheap stuff :)p, I'm just kidding mixing it all in, he'll soon be as fussy as your other piggies... I Always put Hay in my piggies cage aswell as the Hay Racks so they can play in it too! Kinda messy though! ! mallethead
 
OMG that's so sad! How small was the baby? I'm worried about Mork now!
 
Oh my.... thats Rather upsetting! I have a hay ball metal thing that hangs down and they pull the hay out!
 
oh my god sokel!poor little thing.my piggies hay ray is a plastic thing attached to the side of the cage.
lisa have you tried having bits of hay hanging out so he can see it or place him right by it tso he knows its there
 
Mix the hay with treats and small chunks of veggies, and see how he goes from there :)
 
I pull down strands of hay every day for my two. They've got that yellow rack that attaches outside the cage and I think sometimes they tend nibble off bits up to the bars rather than pulling whole strands out. So I pull it so there are lots of strands hanging out and they nibble those off.

They seem to like it. Or maybe they just have me very well trained.
 
Banana said:
I pull down strands of hay every day for my two. They've got that yellow rack that attaches outside the cage and I think sometimes they tend nibble off bits up to the bars rather than pulling whole strands out. So I pull it so there are lots of strands hanging out and they nibble those off.

They seem to like it. Or maybe they just have me very well trained.
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I think your piggies have their slave very well trained!
 
Graham, that is such a sad story about your piggy. I do use the metal hay racks and hanging balls but try to place them so that they stand on hind legs to reach towards the top of them.

I've never had a problem with my piggys but my buns and chins are bad at using racks. I've mixed different types of hay, pulled strands out and added things like lettuce leaves in - it does help and my chinnies all use their built in hay rack now (its a John Hopewell cage so those with chinnies will know what that is like) but my rabbits never really took to it so gave up and just give them a pile of hay now.
 
The rescue I adopted from don't allow hay racks because the pigs could injure themselves on them but also because the lady who runs the rescue thinks that they should be allowed to eat from the ground because it's more natural for them. I'm no piggy pro, so I just follow the instructions from the rescue and they do seem to love burrowing in the hay while they eat. Unfortunately it's a bit wasteful because piggies pee and poop in their dinner... and to keep it nice I change the hay at least once a day.
 
Is a hay rack necessary though? I accidentally knocked mine off this morning :^- and prefer it not being there, it looks nicer, they had plenty of hay in the cage though. Plus, that hanging story has scared me now so I want rid of it even more. :(
 
I have big box, fill with hay - one end for toilet and the other for eating. The piggies are very good at not confusing either end!
 
Hoggle*&*Ludo said:
Is a hay rack necessary though? I accidentally knocked mine off this morning :^- and prefer it not being there, it looks nicer, they had plenty of hay in the cage though. Plus, that hanging story has scared me now so I want rid of it even more. :(
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I don't think it's necessary at all. Up until I bought my current cage I never used a hay rack. I didn't know such things existed for piggies.

I have found it useful though, because before I'd find that no matter how much I'd given them, they'd stomped all over it, weed and and generally made it icky and I had to give them fresh each day, so there was a fair bit of wastage. Now they still have hay to stomp on in the litter tray, but there's always some palatable stuff in the rack. Which is good to know because I'm out of the house for a fair old time during the week so they've always got something to nibble on.

From a safety point of view, I'm pretty shocked to hear some people have had casualties with them, that must be so upsetting and my heart goes out to them. I think with the rack I have, (I think you have it too?), the rack is on the outside of the cage and they just pull hay through the cage bars, so I wouldn't expect there to be an increased risk there. Would be interested if anyone knows otherwise.
 
Yes mine is a plastic one that sits outside the bars. They nearly decapitated themselves trying to escape the play pen, I don't want to pose anymore danger on them. :...:(
 
Banana said:
I don't think it's necessary at all. Up until I bought my current cage I never used a hay rack. I didn't know such things existed for piggies.

I have found it useful though, because before I'd find that no matter how much I'd given them, they'd stomped all over it, weed and and generally made it icky and I had to give them fresh each day, so there was a fair bit of wastage. Now they still have hay to stomp on in the litter tray, but there's always some palatable stuff in the rack. Which is good to know because I'm out of the house for a fair old time during the week so they've always got something to nibble on.

From a safety point of view, I'm pretty shocked to hear some people have had casualties with them, that must be so upsetting and my heart goes out to them. I think with the rack I have, (I think you have it too?), the rack is on the outside of the cage and they just pull hay through the cage bars, so I wouldn't expect there to be an increased risk there. Would be interested if anyone knows otherwise.
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Couldn't happen with yours. It's the same cage as the Bessie and Gypsy are in. The worst you could do is knock it off as already mentioned and spookily I did about 2 minutes ago! GRRR
 
OH and the one I am using for Mork is a safety one that has a top so they can't sleep in the hay rack as it's totally enclosed. That's something.

I just cleaned him out and the hay has gone down so guessing he IS using it.
 
Lisajazz said:
Couldn't happen with yours. It's the same cage as the Bessie and Gypsy are in. The worst you could do is knock it off as already mentioned and spookily I did about 2 minutes ago! GRRR
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Mine is on the end shoved up against the sideboard to stop just that happening! :))
 
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