Hay burrowing tub set up?

Suki&Indie

Suki&Indie

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Hi all! I’ve seen a lot of piggy parents have a big tub of hay for their piggies to burrow in. I never set one up because I thought it would be expensive and messy but I recently got them a hay cube (a little box filled with hay) and they obsessed! So I think it’s time I set up a burrowing box.

What tub do people use to hold the hay? I’d prefer something around 1x1 or 1x2 C&C squares but I don’t mind expanding the cage if I have to! Also preferably something that’s easy to access for the pigs because I have an old lady that won’t be able to jump over a high ledge
Second question is what hay does everyone use? I buy timothy from haybox but I’d rather not use it for burrowing as it’s a bit too expensive (and quite stalky) - I was thinking about using meadow hay but is it high in calcium? I have an older lady now and I worry about giving her stones.
Final question is what’s the best way to keep it clean? The haybox I bought is full of hidden poos - it’s a bit of a nightmare trying to find them all!
Thanks so much!
 
Just a cat litter tray or potting tray from a garden centre even will do. Some use plastic storage boxes with higher sides to help contain the any. If you use those though you would likely need to cut a hole in the side so they can get into it.
Line it with some newspaper, shavings, a puppy pad - just something absorbent - and then pile hay on top and that’s it!

Meadow hay is absolutely fine. My animals for decades have been fed just meadow hay. It’s only in recent years I started to add in Timothy with it but have now switched to orchard hay instead of the Timothy.
The benefit to the orchard and meadow is that both are soft enough for burrowing into.
 
As above with the tray. On a daily basis I remove the top hay, remove nasties from underneath, replace the hay and top up with fresh. P@h Timothy and meadow mix works just fine for my boys. Enjoy the sight of them disappearing into a lovely big pile of hay once you've set it up ❤️
 
I have this one! I sawed off the front, so they can just walk right in. It's large enough to put a house or wooden bridge in it. They both love it!

I change the hay every day so they can graze on fresh hay every day. I have newspapers under the hay. This way I can easily roll it up every day and wipe and clean the box.

Bak, SAMLA, transparant, 78x56x18 cm/55 l - IKEA
 
fluffysal said:
As above with the tray. On a daily basis I remove the top hay, remove nasties from underneath, replace the hay and top up with fresh. P@h Timothy and meadow mix works just fine for my boys. Enjoy the sight of them disappearing into a lovely big pile of hay once you've set it up ❤️
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Spring100 said:
I have this one! I sawed off the front, so they can just walk right in. It's large enough to put a house or wooden bridge in it. They both love it!

I change the hay every day so they can graze on fresh hay every day. I have newspapers under the hay. This way I can easily roll it up every day and wipe and clean the box.

Bak, SAMLA, transparant, 78x56x18 cm/55 l - IKEA
Click to expand...
This sounds great. How many inches of hay do you put in? 🇨🇦
 
Same! So much that everything is thought out and then a good thick layer. It flattens out quite quickly.
 

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My boys are usually in it before I've finished so I'm dumping hay on top of them. I often get a cartoon sounding sneeze from one of them, which is adorable 🥰
 
My two boys have a cat litter tray of hay as well as big loose piles around the cage. They tend to burrow and snooze in the loose piles and munch from the tray pile. Actually they munch from all piles 😂 but for some reason rarely burrow in the tray hay.
 
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