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My guineas housing help and ideas needed asap!

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Hello :)

I am planning to do a big cleanout of my rabbit shed and guinea pig cage over today and next weekend. I would also like to have a change of my guineas cage but need some help and ideas.

I have three guinea pigs who live in my rabbit shed in a large rabbit cage on a table way out of reach of the rabbits. They have been on sawdust since I got them over three years ago, although the sawdust is good quality and dust free I am now worried after hearing it is bad for them So I would like to change this firstly, what alternatives are there? I can't really afford expensive alternatives though. I have thought about using newspaper and a tray with hay in it that covers one third/half the cage but my guineas would eat the newspaper I think if it was left uncovered. They are also very messy piggies and poo and wee anywhere they go! I am thinking of changing their hay too as it hasn't been very good quality recently, what hay do you use for your guineas? I have just ordered some Ings hay from hay for pets for my rabbits and might order the guineas some of the soft meadow hay or the Ings hay? Please could I have your ideas on what I can do with my guineas set up and descriptions/pictures of yours? Sorry for the long post! Thankyou very much :)
 
Hiya
I have indoor pigs so am not that up on the best bedding for outdoors / sheds but there is a reference section here with reviews of the different types of bedding available.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=53208
I use meadow hay from my local farm, £7 a bale and it lasts for just over a month for 4 cages with big piles in that are changed every day so it works out very cheap.
 
Dixons dustless is a really good bedding for pigs, we use it almost exclusively at the sanctuary I work with, then just top it with lots of lovely fresh hay. We buy ours for about £4.50 a bale, although you do need to shop around, animal food suppliers, farms etc as quality varies enormously. It should smell lovely and fresh and sweet and still have some green in if possible.
 
I layer my hutches with newspaper and i can honestly say that my G.pigs have nver tried to chew it, i then put lots of fresh hay on top of the newspaper as its great warm bedding and also part of the G.Pigs diet. I buy my hay by the bale for about £4.50 and this lasts me a good 2-3 weeks for 11 G.Pigs. I think fresh bale hay straight from a farm is the best you can buy and its quite easy to find, just look out for farms that advertise hay for sale, there are plenty down rural country lanes, i have never struggled to find a hay supply, good luck with your pigs.
 
Ditto. I use newspaper and put fresh hay on top, which I also buy by the bale. We get it for 3 pounds a bale, delivered!

Do you know anybody who keeps horses? If so, ask them who their supplier is as horse owners will never buy poor quality hay. (Horse owners may also let you buy a bale of hay off them if they have any spare.)
 
Thankyou :) I have tried newspaper but they eat it. Unfortunetly I don't know anyone that keeps horses but I will have a look around :)
 
Ditto. I use newspaper and put fresh hay on top, which I also buy by the bale. We get it for 3 pounds a bale, delivered!

Do you know anybody who keeps horses? If so, ask them who their supplier is as horse owners will never buy poor quality hay. (Horse owners may also let you buy a bale of hay off them if they have any spare.)

Ha, that depends on the horse owner, you get nasty neglectful horse owners too you know :(

Us nice folks definitely won't buy dodgy hay tho ;)

Whereabouts are you BTA's Mum?

Hay prices have gone up a lot this year especially in the South, but a bale will always work out cheaper than bags etc.
 
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