Hay

[Guinea Newbie]

My rehomed piggies came with a bag of pets at home meadow and Timothy mix. I carried on using this but they have been loosing weight so I thought i’d try to tempt them with some Burgess Timothy and Burgess meadow with dandelion and marigolds. They don’t seem to like the Burgess hays though. They looked better quality but are very spiky and hard compared to their old hay (which they still have available to them) Does anyone else have this problem?

I have also given them some grated sweet potato as suggested on here but can’t help but think they are not eating enough hay.

 

[Piggies&buns]

As you know it is essential they eat hay so all I can really suggest is keep trying until you find one they like. My boys don’t like the Timothy from my local pet shop but they liked the Oxbow orchard grass and Timothy blend (they would, it is so expensive!) but I have just switched to Timothy from haybox as it works out cheaper and it was a massive hit, even more so than the oxbow, I have never seen piggies tuck in so quickly!

Have they been checked by a vet in case there is any other reason for the weight loss?

 

[Siikibam]

A few questions. How much weight have they lost, and over what period of time? What do you usually feed them? Do they seem to be eating as usual or they seem out of sorts? Last one, when did you bring them home?

I don’t think that the weight loss is due to the type of hay they have. But if they don’t seem to be eating it then try another as @Piggies&buns suggests.

If you are worried then get them a general health check with a knowledgable vet.

 

[Guinea Newbie]

They have been checked over by the vet twice each now. We have had them 4 weeks. Both have had UTIs one is now ok the other still on antibiotics. One has lost 120g the other 110g since we got them. The one that lost 120g has started to gain again.

They get veggies; gem lettuce, strip of red pepper, slice of cucumber as a main stay (sometimes coriander and celery) in the morning, hay all the time and a tablespoon of pellets each day.

They only seem interested in the hay when it’s just put into their cage and don’t touch their hay racks. They have it on the floor too.

 

[DMS260820]

Try pets at home and look for alfalfa King - Timothy hay. Red bag, expensive but it's super compressed,and is the best store bought hay I can find. My 2 love it

 

[Piggies&buns]

Being on antibiotics can upset tummies and stop them wanting to eat normally. Probiotics are often prescribed alongside antibiotics.

Ensure the hay on the floor is topped up regularly (don’t worry about them not using the racks, mine didn’t when I first brought them home) and keep trying until you find one they will eat and Obviously keep weighing them regularly.

My rabbit wouldn’t eat burgess hays now I come to think about it.

 

[Ellie-May]

I use both meadow hay and burgess timothy hay, but they seem to love the meadow hay more. I think it is because that is what they were weaned on to after their mother's milk. I do find that the burgess timothy hay is very sharp to touch, which is why I only really put a small handful in their play-pen, but they still don't eat much of it. They love meadow hay! I might find somewhere to donate the other hay to as I don't want it to go to waste

 

[Siikibam]

There are several threads on here ‘reviewing’ hay. I use timothyhay.co.uk. The girls seem to prefer the normal rather than soft one. All four didn’t like the burgess with marigold

Alfalfa isn’t recommended unless they’re under four months old. It has a high calcium content which isn’t good for piggies.

They’ve lost on average 30g per week, which isn’t alarming. But Hopefully they’ll start eating again soon.

 

[Guinea Newbie]

Thank you all, as always great advice!

Hopefully this will be the last of their illnesses, with their move to us they have had a lot to cope with too.
I have been weighing daily and will continue to do so until they are stabilised weight wise.

 

[Lorcan]

I switched from Burgess to Nature's Own after the Burgess always seemed to be spiky. Comet loved to play in it, sleep in it, bury himself in it...and I couldn't trust him not to try poking his eye out. The Nature's Own was soft enough that I'd've slept in it myself, lol. Mind you I think I got lucky in that Comet would eat pretty much any hay you put in front of him, and then Blitzen would eat whatever Comet was eating. Literally. Nothing like two guinea pigs eating either end of the same strand of hay and squabbling over it when there's a mountain of the stuff next to them.