Keeping your piggies cheaply

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pusscat2

pusscat2

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I will be keeping 4 of the new litter of 6 as no-one else I trust needs a new addition/s.

As this will take my total up to 13 I need some advice on how to feed them as economically as possible.

At the moment I feed them P@H pellets in the morning with unlimited amounts of hay during the day and in the evening they have plenty of greens which I get free from the green grocer. I also give them herbs and fruit mixed in which I grow myself.

Do any of you have more penny saving tricks I could use?

Thanks x
 
thats a nice number :) which hay do you use? how much is it? i feed wagg optimum as my piggies love it and i can buy bags for 2.75 for 2.5kg.

Your so lucky with the veggies mine cost me a small fortune in veg!

i use cardboard boxes from work, my parents and the supermarkets for hidey's.

cant think of anything else but would like to know answers
 
I tried to get Wagg yesterday but could only find the mix kind which I know won't suite mine as I tried it before and they selectively fed. I use the Wagg Optimum for my rabbits and they love it.

I get they dust extracted hay from my local pet shop and it costs £5 for 2KG.

I did think about getting a bale from the farm shop but I have nowhere to keep it without attracting mice.
 
asda sell wagg optimum i buy mine from chemist direct.

i use dust extracted hay to.i buy mine from dust free hay 29.99 for 10 bags or 19.99 for 5 bags :) i store my extra bags at my mum's :))
 
Are you thinking of trying out a better value but still good qualty feed? I use Spillers Guinea Pig Muesli. I was introduced to it a few years ago by friends who have used it long term - 4 of their pigs got to 10 and one to 11 years old!

I get it for £10 for 15kg but I do order it in bulk, normally it's about £11.70. If your local feed supplier stocks any Spillers products then they should be able to order it in for you, my supplier only got it in once I asked. Buying supplies from an equine store rather than a petshop is often much better value.

HTH

Suzy x
 
It's a shame you can't buy hay by the bale as it only costs about £4.50 for a HUGE farm size bale. Would it be possible for you to get one in an old single duvet, and if you have space keep it in that. Alternatively you could bag it up into those charity bags that are always coming through to door because they have breathing holes. You really can make big savings this way. xx
 
I really do want to buy it that way but I'm worried because the old couple next door have a habit of putting out food for the birds in a dish on the ground and the other day they asked me if I had seen the rat!

Obviously because I have piggies outside and inside they think it's us! mallethead We are meticulous around the hucthes and all food is stored in a tall plastic shed which is kept clean and tidy. They are checked regularly serveral times a day so if we had pests we would know.

If I had a way to store it that didn't encourage mice it would be great. :)
 
Jenny has a wheelie bin at her rescue that she fills with hay. Perhaps you could look at something like this. It is much cheaper to buy by the bale. It's £6-7 per bale around here, but still so much cheaper than pet shops.
I keep mine in the hallway. I bought a bale bag to keep it in so that I don't end up with hay everywhere. It's great because I take it with me to the feed supplier and they put the bale in for me... so no mess in the car or carrying it into the building. :)
 
Hi well when I was younger we had a friend across the road who never used chemicals on his lawn and in the summer when ever he cut his lawn I would ask for the grass cuttings I would then spread them out on a sheet in my garden and dry it out. Once it was completely dried I would put it into a ball and wind it up with string, or wool and hang it in my shed (must be kept somewhere dry and aired regularly) and I would use it in the winter. As for piggy food I always shop around looking for offers I found that Wilkinsons piggy food is good value for money.
 
pusscat2 said:
I really do want to buy it that way but I'm worried because the old couple next door have a habit of putting out food for the birds in a dish on the ground and the other day they asked me if I had seen the rat!

Obviously because I have piggies outside and inside they think it's us! mallethead We are meticulous around the hucthes and all food is stored in a tall plastic shed which is kept clean and tidy. They are checked regularly serveral times a day so if we had pests we would know.

If I had a way to store it that didn't encourage mice it would be great. :)
Click to expand...

Your neighbours opinion is about right but rats/mice are attracted by food & bird feeders in gardens are a huge attraction.
My pigs lived outside in their shed until recently & i have had a problem with mice & rats in the past. The rats moved on quite quickly but the mice could fit through the mesh & were scoffing the pigs' food. I moved the pigs in & when the mice realised their food supply had gone, they too moved on.

I stored my food in plastic bins too but the bags were stored in a wheelie bin.
My hay bales were also stored in a single duvet cover & put into a wheelie bin too. I never had any problems with "visitors" breaking in to the bins.
 
Beautifulmess said:
how do you get free? Is it left over stock he can't sell and will only bin?
Click to expand...

Yes I just plucked up courage on day and asked if he had any fruit and veg he was unable to sell. Some of it goes straight to the compost heap but I usually get enough good stuff to last a few days.

Give it a try. :))
 
monica1607 said:
Hi well when I was younger we had a friend across the road who never used chemicals on his lawn and in the summer when ever he cut his lawn I would ask for the grass cuttings I would then spread them out on a sheet in my garden and dry it out. Once it was completely dried I would put it into a ball and wind it up with string, or wool and hang it in my shed (must be kept somewhere dry and aired regularly) and I would use it in the winter. As for piggy food I always shop around looking for offers I found that Wilkinsons piggy food is good value for money.
Click to expand...

Someone else mentioned Wilkinsons I will have a look Thank you :))
 
I put litter trays in my cages. They obviously don't litter train as such but my lot do do the majority of their business in them. It means I can clean the whole cage a lot less and just to the trays daily.
 
Niki said:
Your neighbours opinion is about right but rats/mice are attracted by food & bird feeders in gardens are a huge attraction.
My pigs lived outside in their shed until recently & i have had a problem with mice & rats in the past. The rats moved on quite quickly but the mice could fit through the mesh & were scoffing the pigs' food. I moved the pigs in & when the mice realised their food supply had gone, they too moved on.

I stored my food in plastic bins too but the bags were stored in a wheelie bin.
My hay bales were also stored in a single duvet cover & put into a wheelie bin too. I never had any problems with "visitors" breaking in to the bins.
Click to expand...

Mice I expect as we live close to a heath, but the rats are living behind their garden wall and eating the stuff they put out I've never seen one in our garden before it's only since they started to feed them on the ground. Yuck!
 
mrs ord said:
I put litter trays in my cages. They obviously don't litter train as such but my lot do do the majority of their business in them. It means I can clean the whole cage a lot less and just to the trays daily.
Click to expand...

Ooo I was wondering about that, how long did it take before they started to use them and what size is best to get? :)
 
pusscat2 said:
Ooo I was wondering about that, how long did it take before they started to use them and what size is best to get? :)
Click to expand...

Hi, I also use litter trays and I found the large triangular corner ones to be the best, I found they used the littertray staight away well the girls did not the boys:)

Even the little baby piggies I have used the litter tray bless them-c they do still use another corner to do their business lol but mostly in the tray:))
 
I just put newspaper and lots of hay in a kitten litter tray (pound shop does them). They hop in to eat the hay and whilst they are in they're doing their business too. Mine tend to sleep in them as well and If you have more than one piggy you'll probably need one each because competition for the tray is huge :))

Obvioulsy since they are eating the hay it needs cleaning daily. Also a hay rack above the tray works that way they are eating frash hay (if you can get them to use it. Mine prefer the pee hay rolleyes)

They spend most of their time in the trays grazing and snoozing all day and evening so most it makes sense that their business is in there as well. I have lazy piggies.

Green tray in the bottom left corner and hay rack above. Not long after I ended up with two side by side so they could have one each.
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