Hay tray/box arrangements

[Abipiggy]

Hello!
New here and new to owning guineas as an adult. I've had my girls for two months now and am just trying to get a better hay arrangement!

Their hay is currently in the loft section which seems to work well. Initially it was scattered loose, but that got stinky and messy very quickly. Since then I've had a temporary hay tray situation, layered with newspaper, biocatolet litter and hay. I'm now looking to get a permanent plastic box/tray set up.

What size hay area is recommend for two guineas? Mine currently measures 60x30cm, I would like to go bigger but am intimidated by the cost of having to replace hay and litter every day to fill a larger area! Would a larger area of hay stay cleaner for longer? Or would the hay still loose its freshness just as quickly?

How often should I be changing the hay as well as litter? They get fresh handfuls of hay twice daily and I'm currently changing once daily, could it be safe to last longer?

Lastly, how important is hay quality? I have mild hayfever and have found my allergies play up less with the cheaper brands of hay (ie. Pets at home). Luckily my girls seem content to eat any brand, though don't want to stick with it if it's going to be bad for their health.

Sorry for the long post and thank you on advance! Abi

 

[Roselina]

Hello I have 2 boars that love to jump in their hay and poop and wee in it
I have 2 areas , a kitten litter tray that is about the size of your tray and I put a pile of hay under their carrot cottage
I do change the hay every day …. i do sometimes put the unused top up hay ( put in at bed time in the tray) in the carrot cottage but just the top unused hay and I add more on top of that
Sadly a lot of hay does get wasted but I prefer fresh clean hay for them every day
That’s just my routine

 

[Truffolo]

You want to give them plenty of hay as it is an excellent form of enrichment and playing in it encourages them to move about and be active and mentally engaged. You can get cavee kitchens which take up a 2x1 section or larger of a C&C cage. Putting the paper based cat litter under the hay should prevent smells. I get rid of any damp hay or very trampled hay twice a day and removed damp or soiled litter. My pigs like to have enough hay to disappear under and make nests in

 

[Truffolo]

The cost of the hay is a way of helping to prevent vet bills, I tell myself