Preparing for piggies & hay tray question

JaseChase

JaseChase

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Hi! I first posted waaaay back in January when I joined the forum to research for my first pair of piggies as an adult (I had them as a child). After months of research, lurking on threads and browsing the wonderful guides, I've reserved a pair of beautiful five-month-old boars from a recommended rescue on here and I'm hoping to bring them home in the next couple of weeks!

I'm getting everything ready for their arrival and I built their 5x2 C&C cage today. I've also made sure to get two of everything, but the rescue have recommended to keep the cage fairly sparse to begin with and add hideys/tunnels etc as the little guys settle in.

I had a question about hay trays - I've got two plastic cat litter trays to act as hay trays, but I'm wondering if I need to line them with anything? The rest of the cage is fleece but I'd love them to have big piles of hay to play in. I don't have access to newspaper but I could maybe get some shavings/paper based bedding if that's a good idea, but I'm not sure it's necessary? What do other people line their hay trays with/do you leave them with just the hay?

Also, I've foregone food bowls as I plan to scatter feed their pellets/veg for more enrichment - is that a problem?

I'm very excited to welcome the little guys home and I'll definitely be posting pictures once they arrive!
 
Ooh exciting stuff! You will need something to line the litter trays. I used newspapers and disposable bedding in the past.

Scatter feeding is good. Makes them behave how they would when in nature and can be enrichment for them. I haven’t used bowls in a long time and they now expect to ‘go fish’ for their pellets. I hand feed the veg though, except the odd occasion when I chop the veg up smaller.
 
I’d say scatter feeding is not a problem.
I don’t use fleece but also have hay trays and have their disposable bedding in there too as they do go to the toilet in it and not having an absorbent layer would make it quite icky!
 
How exciting!

Yes the tray will need to be lined with something absorbent - whether it’s paper bedding, shavings, puppy pads, newspaper etc is up to you . Piggies tend to pee and poop where they eat so without it being lined, pee is just going to sit in the bottom of the tray (hay isn’t absorbent). Perhaps your family, friends, neighbours can save up any newspapers they have for you? Ive roped my family into saving theirs for me (my piggies are bedded on fully disposable bedding)

Scatter feeding is absolutely fine and perfect for teenage boars. It means there can be no food hogging but it is also excellent to keep them occupied as it encourages foraging.
 
I line my hay trays with pee pads and change them every couple of days. I have used newspaper in the past but find that pee pads work better for me and my "old maids in retirement".
 
Ooh thanks for the responses! I'll get hunting for something to line the trays with then, I really don't have access to newspaper unfortunately as no one I'm close to ever gets physical copies! Pee pads might be a good idea thank you @Betsy I have some already but could get my partner to make some the right size :)

Glad to hear scatter feeding is alright. The rescue said the little guys are well bonded and expect they'll get through their teens fine but if I can avoid any potential problems then that would be great, I haven't had boars before but I'm very excited (and a bit nervous!)
 
JaseChase said:
Hi! I first posted waaaay back in January when I joined the forum to research for my first pair of piggies as an adult (I had them as a child). After months of research, lurking on threads and browsing the wonderful guides, I've reserved a pair of beautiful five-month-old boars from a recommended rescue on here and I'm hoping to bring them home in the next couple of weeks!

I'm getting everything ready for their arrival and I built their 5x2 C&C cage today. I've also made sure to get two of everything, but the rescue have recommended to keep the cage fairly sparse to begin with and add hideys/tunnels etc as the little guys settle in.

I had a question about hay trays - I've got two plastic cat litter trays to act as hay trays, but I'm wondering if I need to line them with anything? The rest of the cage is fleece but I'd love them to have big piles of hay to play in. I don't have access to newspaper but I could maybe get some shavings/paper based bedding if that's a good idea, but I'm not sure it's necessary? What do other people line their hay trays with/do you leave them with just the hay?

Also, I've foregone food bowls as I plan to scatter feed their pellets/veg for more enrichment - is that a problem?

I'm very excited to welcome the little guys home and I'll definitely be posting pictures once they arrive!
Click to expand...

You can use loose bedding for lining the hay trays as that will bind some of the urine smell and keep the hay from going squishy. You can also use the hay trays as drip dishes for you water bottles so there is less of a soggy mess in the rest of the cage if a bottle is leaking or you have a very messy drinker.

Start with basic furnishings and keep the cage as open and simple during the post-move dominance phase in which your two teenagers are re-establishing their hierarchy and group in their new territory. If you can, let your boys travel on the new fleece, rub the scent all over before placing it in the cage so it is clearly marked as 'our place'. This should help to minimise the impact of being in a strange new place. Rather peg a blanket or sheet over the cage to give them an initial feeling of safety.
You can find information on these aspects in the boar guide, the teenage guide and the post-intro 2 weeks dominance phase in the bonding guide (last chapter). It is the same hierarchy affirming process as a new arrival in a home or a change to their living quarters.
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars (see especially chapter 3)
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics (chapter VII)
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next? (chapter 1)

All the best!
 
Wiebke said:
You can use loose bedding for lining the hay trays as that will bind some of the urine smell and keep the hay from going squishy. You can also use the hay trays as drip dishes for you water bottles so there is less of a soggy mess in the rest of the cage if a bottle is leaking or you have a very messy drinker.

Start with basic furnishings and keep the cage as open and simple during the post-move dominance phase in which your two teenagers are re-establishing their hierarchy and group in their new territory. If you can, let your boys travel on the new fleece, rub the scent all over before placing it in the cage so it is clearly marked as 'our place'. This should help to minimise the impact of being in a strange new place. Rather peg a blanket or sheet over the cage to give them an initial feeling of safety.
You can find information on these aspects in the boar guide, the teenage guide and the post-intro 2 weeks dominance phase in the bonding guide (last chapter). It is the same hierarchy affirming process as a new arrival in a home or a change to their living quarters.
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars (see especially chapter 3)
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics (chapter VII)
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next? (chapter 1)

All the best!
Click to expand...

Thanks so much! This is super helpful, I'll bookmark those guides to reread as I get ready to welcome them home.

I'm definitely leaning towards paper bedding as I'd prefer something I can definitely clean out each day I think. Great tip about the water bottles too, thank you! I've got a couple of blankets ready to cover their cage and I'll let them play in the fleece before I put them in the cage with it. They're also coming with a tunnel of their own which should have their familiar scents. Thank you so much!
 
Congratulations on your new piggies.
It’s so exciting.
We will look forward to pictures when you get them home.
I don’t use a hay tray - I just dump the hay in piles on the cage floor where it gets played in as well as eaten.
 
I like mine with newspaper and I change them every other day. I have all of my family saving news papers for me 😂
 
Eek very exciting. When I used hay trays I used to put wood cat litter in the bottom and then hay on top. I used to use two cat litter trays when I just had a pair but recently changed to a half cage hay half fleece as I wanted to make sure every pig could get the hay. Trays worked very well for me for a very long time.

Can’t wait to see photos of them. 😍
 
Thanks so much everyone! I’ve now lined the hay trays with paper based bedding.

The rescue approved my setup so I’m going to be picking up the boys on Wednesday! Rereading all the guides to prepare, can’t wait to meet them properly. Here is the rescue pic of them 🥰

B2AEDA8E-100A-4609-80D2-25A78B9FEEF2.webp
 
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