Same hay?

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Die_hard

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Hi,

We've bought a 5x2 c&c and are hopefully getting 2 sows this weekend. Probably gone wayyy overboard on Amazon getting everything buy hey ho, want to have happy pigs.

I know this is a stupid question but, I see lots of people with hay racks and lots of people with hay covering litter trays and different parts of the cage itself. Erm, is this all the SAME hay? We've got a hay rack and are going to try and make a 'kitchen' area if possible in the 2x2 loft. The main cage we're trying fleece, however, we were thinking of just doing 3/4 of it fleece and the rest something else - is that a daft idea? Would it be better with the whole main cage area being fleece?

On a sidenote, love the forum and have spent hours researching everything on it :) (though you'd think I wouldn't have to ask the above then...).

Thanks
 
What you choose to bed then on is totally personal choice so if you want to do part and part then that is fine.g
Whether your piggies will use a loft is piggy dependent - some won’t climb up ramps. I personally would make the kitchen area downstairs just so you know that they are going to get food until you know that they will definitely use the ramp.
Regarding the hay, it may or may not be the same hay! I use Timothy hay/orchard grass blend in my hay racks and meadow hay as bedding as it’s softer and less likely to cause haypokes to eyes.
Whether you use hay racks, trays or just big piles is personal choice but again piggy dependent. My two boys prefer big piles of hay. They now, after five months of trying, use their hay racks but given the choice, they still prefer to dive head first into a pile of hay rather than use the racks!
 
We have half fleece in our main 5x2 cage for a bedroom area, and half kaytee clean and cosy paper bedding in the kitchen area. Expensive burgess excel timothy hay goes in small corner hay trays then cheaper meadow hay goes all over the floor of our 3x2 "hay room" cage extension. A side room cage extension gets used more than a loft generally, if your piggies dont use the loft then you can cut a little doorway in the correx and add the loft to the side of the cage at floor level if you have room. The great thing with C&C is you can see what space the piggies use then adapt it as often as you like.
In a 5x2 you could have half fleece/ half disposable bedding covered in deep hay. You probably need a brush like a rubber "curry comb" sold for grooming horses to get the hay, disposable bedding, and fur off your fleece before washing.
Look forward to seeing your set-up it sounds awesome!
 
Mine is all the same hay - meadow hay. I am trying again with a hay rack but haven't had much success before. They normally prefer to eat stuff they've done unmentionable things in rather than fresh stuff from a rack. I put a fresh pile in morning & evening and they pounce on it with delight, despite ignoring the exact same thing in a hayrack all day long *sigh*
 
Pigwhisperer said:
Mine is all the same hay - meadow hay. I am trying again with a hay rack but haven't had much success before. They normally prefer to eat stuff they've done unmentionable things in rather than fresh stuff from a rack. I put a fresh pile in morning & evening and they pounce on it with delight, despite ignoring the exact same thing in a hayrack all day long *sigh*
Click to expand...

This is exactly what mine were like. I’m sure the only reason they now use the hay rack is because I use different type hay in it to that which they are bedded on.
 
Die_hard said:
Hi,

We've bought a 5x2 c&c and are hopefully getting 2 sows this weekend. Probably gone wayyy overboard on Amazon getting everything buy hey ho, want to have happy pigs.

I know this is a stupid question but, I see lots of people with hay racks and lots of people with hay covering litter trays and different parts of the cage itself. Erm, is this all the SAME hay? We've got a hay rack and are going to try and make a 'kitchen' area if possible in the 2x2 loft. The main cage we're trying fleece, however, we were thinking of just doing 3/4 of it fleece and the rest something else - is that a daft idea? Would it be better with the whole main cage area being fleece?

On a sidenote, love the forum and have spent hours researching everything on it :) (though you'd think I wouldn't have to ask the above then...).

Thanks
Click to expand...

Whether you want a 'hay kitchen' or use a hay loft or hay trays on fleece is down to personal preference.

What I would strongly recommend is to only use soft hay in any areas your piggies can burrow in to minimise the risk of eye poke injuries. leave the hay rack for stalkier hays.
 
Thanks very much folks, very interesting. Have already ordered Timothy hay for the hay rack (I may well try it 'downstairs' first then) and some Harrington food pellets.

The hay thing though, so I'll get some different hay for the bedding bit; what I'm getting at though - is the bedding hay actually hay they eat too (if they liked it) , as well as the Timothy hay in the hay rack (that they'll hopefully use)? As they'll just start eating the bedding? lol. Is that how it works?

Being complete novices it's all a bit overwhelming lol - I blame everyone here for giving too much useful information ;):D
 
Yes they will eat the bedding hay as well. That is why all bedding and hay racks need to be topped up regularly.
Meadow hay is best for bedding for two reasons - it’s softer but also it’s usually cheaper and you’ll get through a lot of it! My piggies are outside in my shed so I use loads of hay to keep them warm - about a foot deep to begin with in winter and then I just remove wet hay and top it up daily and that is just for their bedding! Their Timothy hay for eating gets topped up around four times a day.
 
Oh yes if it's hay they will eat it. They won't think "this is for lying on and not for eating". Stomach first is the golden rule of pigs.
 
Merab's Slave said:
Welcome to the forum
It will be lovely to see pictures of your piggies
Click to expand...

Thank you. Yes I'll get some pics up when it's all sorted. Can't wait :) Tbh we've put off getting any pets for years but the time's right now: finally given in to the daughter :)
 
Mine lot are outside piggies and live in a hutch. They are bedded on puppy pads (washable for the bottom of the hutch) and disposable at the top (cos I have to creatively cut them for the where the ramp goes down) and meadow hay which I get through A LOT of - think 2 farm bales every 4-6 weeks:yikes: Five piggies eat a lot of hay. I have 2 hay racks but they hardly ever eat the nice clean hay in them. I have just put carpet on the ramp which I should have done years ago. Now all my piggies go up the ramp to the top level instead of just the odd one or two occasionally. They all go up and down frequently every day. If you are going to use a ramp I definitely recommend to pop a bit of carpet on there.
 
I put the Oxbow Timothy Hay and Oxbow Orchard hay in racks (because it's quite expensive) and the meadow hay is where they burrow because it is just cheap. I know we can be tight arses haha. But my piggies get plenty of hay and never runs out.
 
We have soft meadow hay in a re-purposed seed tray (we use news paper in the bottom to soak up the worst of the wee) and then have timothy hay in a rack. Ours all come from Dust Free Hay as DH has allergies and this is the closest to genuinely dust free we've found. Diving into the tray when its all clean and fresh and piled high is one of the joys of their lives :nod:

For us and our pigs, only using fleece over part of the cage wouldn't work. We have to take it up over the Corex and clip it down thoroughly or they pull the fleece back, chew the plastic and then Fudge gets under it. And gets stuck. Which is fine if we're around, can laugh at her mole impression and then set her free but if its the middle of the night or we're out for the day I do worry about what she'd do and how much mess she'd make while doing it!
 
I don't use racks, I just put a big pile of hay under wood shelters, change it every day.

Mine are on fleece.
 
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