New Owner - How Much Hay

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mysti77

mysti77

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Hi everyone,

I'm new here. Got two young guinea pigs and have never had before so unsure about feeding. I know it is 'unlimited' hay, but how much approximately per day. I think I put so much but when I get home from work there is no hay in their hidey house or on the floor of the cage but almost all in the hay rack. So I think they aren't used to the hay rack but then they poo/wee on the hay on the floor of the cage so i'm a bit worried. how much should i put down and will they get used to the rack so keep at it or am i wasting the hay? If they don't eat the hay in the rack within a day, can i put it down on the floor for them to eat or is it a waste as it is food that's been out all day?

Thanks
Sasha
 
I don't feed from a rack, I just chuck a pile in. They'll eat it, burrow in it and eventually flatten it and lie on it (while still eating it!). I do a large pile in the morning and a large pile in the evening. See what works for you - putting the uneaten hay from the rack onto the floor is fine. If they're young, can they definitely reach the hay rack? Depending on the type, you may want to pull some bits through so they can easily find it and learn that that's where the hay comes from.
 
You can put hay from the rack on the floor for them, not a problem.It seems to be tastier after being trampled and peed on.As long as they have access to hay at all times that is fine
 
I would say put the hay on the floor in a nice big pile! That'll give them the oppertunity to eat as well as hide in it :) If you have the room - get a paint tray for a DIY store and fill it up they'll love that!

Piggies will need plenty of hay as their teeth are always growing and need to have hay available to keep them teeth down to a good length. You'll be surprised how they can eat. When I give them a good pile of hay its gone by the end of the day.
 
Hello and welcome to the forum!

Hay should be unlimited, so piggies should never run out. They also love to forage, which is probably why they prefer the hay off the floor. As hay doesn't go 'off' if left out for the day, then it's fine to take the hay from the rack to use on the floor.
 
Hey, welcome to the forum!

We just put it on the floor and change it morning and evening. It's hard to say how much hay, I have gauged it differently depending on how many pigs we have at the time. It's always better to do to much and throw way than too little.

Hope you enjoy the forum, any questions on using it or anything just ask. How many piggies do you have?
 
where is best to buy the hay? I think this is what i got from pets at home http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/hay-bedding-for-small-animals

it's so far a week and two days and probably i need to get more by thursday although i have thrown out a lot as i was cleaning out the corners of the cage daily as the food had wee/poop on it! do i just leave the food with wee and poop and add more fresh hay on top?
 
Hay for Pets is a popular place to purchase different types of hay. But everyone has their own places where they get hay. In the end of the day - piggies make the decision which they like and they can be snobs

Usually delivered in around 2-3 days by Yodel
 
Www.dustfreehay.co.uk are great, hay is excellent quality and delivery is fast and reliable. You even get a time slot from DPD.
 
I get my hay from www.dustfreehay.co.uk or www.hayforpets.co.uk

You can also get "treat" hays - they're more expensive, and a bit richer, but things like oxbow botanical hay, orchard grass hay, oat hay and American timothy hay can be bought from www.pet-supermarket.co.uk with these ones, I give them their usual hay pile, and sprinkle a handful of the treat hay over the top. They like to forage out the nice bits :)
 
mysti77 said:
where is best to buy the hay? I think this is what i got from pets at home http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/hay-bedding-for-small-animals

it's so far a week and two days and probably i need to get more by thursday although i have thrown out a lot as i was cleaning out the corners of the cage daily as the food had wee/poop on it! do i just leave the food with wee and poop and add more fresh hay on top?
Click to expand...

When you say food, do you mean veggies? Or dry food? Or hay?
 
I have two boys - the pet store said they were 12 weeks old last week. fell in love with one of the two although were not intending on buying just went in to find out more about them. was told we had to get two same sex so got his littermate although i don't think they are littermates as the other one is bigger/bulkier whereas the little one i can feel his bones although he eats more. after reading online i wish i found a breeder or rescue as i am hearing that pet shops are not the best to buy them from.
 
sport_billy said:
When you say food, do you mean veggies? Or dry food? Or hay?
Click to expand...
sorry i mean hay food. i give some fresh veg in the morning and when i get home from work but remove any veg uneaten after about an hour. i give pellets in the morning two tablespoons is what they said to give them and they eat almost all by the time i leave for work so i think it's the right amount as they dont eat all. or should i be giving them more pellets too?
 
Piggies vary different shapes and sizes.
Maple is a fatty
Rambo is like a brick - she's more muscle than anything!
Lucky is a fatty too
Patch is the runt but eats like a pig
Pecan is very slender but again - that girl can eat!
 
mysti77 said:
I have two boys - the pet store said they were 12 weeks old last week. fell in love with one of the two although were not intending on buying just went in to find out more about them. was told we had to get two same sex so got his littermate although i don't think they are littermates as the other one is bigger/bulkier whereas the little one i can feel his bones although he eats more. after reading online i wish i found a breeder or rescue as i am hearing that pet shops are not the best to buy them from.
Click to expand...

If you're worried about difference in size between the two - weigh daily so at least you know a boarder line weight for both :)
 
I just chuck hay on the base of a cage, when its damp I remove it simples :-) I usually chuck in a rabbit sized amout of hay per pig (used to rabbits where rabbit sized amounts are the bare minimum they should get daily, so used ot measuring in "rabbits") mine are in my living room so we check on them often as we can see them from teh sofa!
 
Ok I weighed them. The shop said they were 12 weeks old a week and a half ago.
bigger one (Comi) weighs 414g and the smaller one (Dusty) weighs 284g. Seems significant to me. In the shop today to get more hay I saw three males who were there when we get them and they are all similar size to Comi. So either Dusty was from another litter, hes a runt or he is just a light little thing. He is always begging andI see him eating more than Comi. although Comi does steal food from Dusty if I hand feed Dusty as Comi is shy and prefers to steal than take from me.
 
Hi and welcome, your avatar photo is lovely by the way.

I suspect dusty isn't related and is probably younger, best to weigh weekly to be sure. You will find that most piggies will cheat and pinch food from one another. I find having two bowls of food and two piles of hay and scattering the veggies tend to keep thngs on an even keel on the feeding front.
 
I would agree, if you weight weekly provided they are both getting bigger you shouldn't have anything to worry about. :)
 
They tend to gradually put on less weight after they hit six months, by one year mine were only about 50g off their weight now at over 3 years :)
 
Hello and welcome :) your piggies sound lovely. I put hay in trays in their cage and also in a rack and stuffed in loo rolls et.c
I tend to put farm bought hay in the trays and "posh hays" in the rack :)
 
Ordered samples from hay for pets to see which one they like best. Going to try stuffing loo rolls I like that idea :) and will get some trays too as it seems they mainly wee on the hay so maybe easier to clean.
 
i have a hay area in the cage where i pile up the hay for them to eat and burrow and sleep. then around the rest of the cage, i put kitchen roll tubes (cut down the middle) stuffed with hay aswell. sometimes even on a big plate for a change. just as much hay as possible.

we get hay from hay for pets. our back up hay is direct from deans farm. and the willow warren do very good quality hay aswell, although they are more expensive.
 
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