How To Stop Piggies Soiling Their Timothy Hay

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HannahPiggie

HannahPiggie

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Apologies if someone already posted a thread about this :) Like all piggies, mine love their hay. I started off putting it in the corner of the cage which they loved but I found that one in particular ended up sitting in it and weeing in it and then neither could eat the rest! So then I tried a hay rack but although they picked at it, they would struggle to get to the hay and then not bother. So I have gone back to putting it back in the cage, but am finding that so much is wasted by them soiling it before it can be eaten and it is EXPENSIVE! So anyone got any tips for good ways to feed hay? All suggestions appreciated :)
 
I just put hay in a pile. Mine poop all over it and no doubt wee too but it gets eaten. You cannot stop them I am afraid.
 
By the way I recommend hayforpets as you can get 9.5 kilo bags of hay for £16. It is a lovely quality too.
 
note from the title of your thread that you are giving them Timothy Hay. if find this is a bit spikey to have loose in the cage (I remember reading a thread about hay pokes). I'm afraid I haven't got a very good picture of what I use to put their Timothy hay in - will try to get one over the next few days- but, I found that a hay rack wasn't very good for Timothy and I saw bird peanut feeder on offer in my local supermarket . It works a treat.

I have different types of hay dotted around in different parts of their cage but only put the soft stuff in loose for them to have a good rummage in. a lot of people recommend the hay for pets hay and it think i'll be ordering from them next time in need to top up.
 
don't think you can :)) i just pile it up and let them burrow and toilet on it. we probably waste alot but they enjoy it so i just let them get on with it. :)) and change it everyday/twice a day :own:. i use meadow hay in the hay area and the rest of the cage i put the other hay in kitchen roll tubes which have been cut down the middle. they don't toilet on these thankfully :))
 
I have litter trays with hay in because my piggies love scratching about in it.Doesn't harm them.I use meadow hay in them as nice and soft and cheaper.They get dearer hay on the top sometimes but not mad keen.When I had hay racks they didn't bother with it.
 
stopping piggies peeing everywhere ... wish I had the answer but alas I do not lol :-) they seem to still eat peed on hay here tbh! If you're finding hay expensive perhaps look at buying from elsewhere farm bales of hay meant for horses can be as little as £3.50 for 20kg vs £1-3 a kg or more in shops for example! I feed 2 pigs and 3 rabbits farm hay and it works out that one bale lasts a month that'd be £20-60 in pet shop hay but farm hay works out at a massive £3.50!
 
PiggieOwner said:
note from the title of your thread that you are giving them Timothy Hay. if find this is a bit spikey to have loose in the cage (I remember reading a thread about hay pokes). I'm afraid I haven't got a very good picture of what I use to put their Timothy hay in - will try to get one over the next few days- but, I found that a hay rack wasn't very good for Timothy and I saw bird peanut feeder on offer in my local supermarket . It works a treat.

I have different types of hay dotted around in different parts of their cage but only put the soft stuff in loose for them to have a good rummage in. a lot of people recommend the hay for pets hay and it think i'll be ordering from them next time in need to top up.
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madguinealady said:
I have litter trays with hay in because my piggies love scratching about in it.Doesn't harm them.I use meadow hay in them as nice and soft and cheaper.They get dearer hay on the top sometimes but not mad keen.When I had hay racks they didn't bother with it.
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I've posted a picture of the hay racks I use for Timothy Hay for anyone who's interested. My piggies love they hay in their racks - but they're all different .

https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/hay-rack-for-timothy-hay.112115/
 
mine live on a carpet of meadow hay so they can do what they like with it but i tend to put their posh hays in one of these http://www.pet-supermarket.co.uk/Pr...470000019319&gclid=CL-k5v_ekr0CFeXMtAodJBcABQ (either hanging or free rolling in their cage) sometimes i just put a layer of posh hay on top of the meadow hay in their cage as well depends how i feel about it haha. a couple of mine sometimes dont bother wih the ball occasionally but knowing they have meadow hay to always eat is best
 
As well as hay rack you can try an old sock with hole cut in bottom tied onto cage with string. Cardboard tube from kitchen roll stuffed with hay hanging. You can get hay bags which are made from fleece they usually have them on ebay or you could make one. I'm making myself one at the minute.

I also dont have hay racks I have a fruit bowl in twocages from morrisons made from metal whiich I use instead and my other cages have cutlery holders which work well too. Will get you some links / pics x
 
This is similar to the fruit bowl I have they were only £2 in morrisons and ideal for larger groups of pigs :

images


I have cable tied to corner of cage to stop them tipping it up! They do still have these at my local shop it was only a few months ago when I purchased them!
 
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These are the cutlery holders I used:



I also cable tie these, I got 2 of them 5 years ago from wilkinsons and they have worked great, I got another couple recently from homebase. The holes are bigger on sides than conventional racks so will may work better for you!
 
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