How much hay should 1 cavy eat?

[Kelly9]

We have had Cupcake for 3 weeks now and have not even gone through a pound of timothy hay. I see people ordering 50 lb boxes of hay. I know I only have one piggy, but sheesh. Should she be eating more?

She has pellets - usually more than the daily allotment in her dish, but she doesn't eat many of them. i don't think she likes them. She gets fresh greens, probably closer to 1 1/2 cups and she always leaves a few pieces. Some in the morning, some just before bed. hay is always in the cage in two piles.

Lately, I have her out of cage around 7:30 pm and included her hay in there and she has been chowing down. I just put a giant handful in one big pile (instead of two smaller ones) and she is in heaven! She is seriously going insane eating and chewing so fast!

[pinky]

I'd only feed KM, Oxbow, Sweet Meadow or Mazuri 5664 pellets and offer 1/4 cup a day of the first three timothy based ones or 1/8 cup of the Mazuri alfalfa based. My guinea pigs love to jump right in the hay so I always have a lot in there. I don't care if they poop in it because I clean it out and replace it every day so they don't eat all of it. I divide up their veggies between three daily feedings: breakfast, lunch and dinner and try to stick with a cup a day each. I watch their droppings and if they get soft, I cut back on the veggies until they are solid again. Hay should be unlimited and their primary food source.

[Kelly9]

I'd only feed KM, Oxbow, Sweet Meadow or Mazuri 5664 pellets and offer 1/4 cup a day of the first three timothy based ones or 1/8 cup of the Mazuri alfalfa based. My guinea pigs love to jump right in the hay so I always have a lot in there. I don't care if they poop in it because I clean it out and replace it every day so they don't eat all of it. I divide up their veggies between three daily feedings: breakfast, lunch and dinner and try to stick with a cup a day each. I watch their droppings and if they get soft, I cut back on the veggies until they are solid again. Hay should be unlimited and their primary food source.

Sounds good. She was getting too many veggies and her droppings got a little bit soft ( 1 day) so I did cut back and she has been such a good pooper from the get-go. She is just not going through as much hay as I thought it sounded like others do. She does not play or tunnel into it, even with the big piles. Maybe that is why she goes thru less? ok, I am way to tired to type and make sense, I am off to bed. Thanks fo the reply.

[bpatters]

Cut back on the veggies to one cup a day. The hay is extremely important to keep their teeth ground down and their guts moving, and if they overdo the veggies, you can wind up with way worse problems than just soft poops.

My two eat roughly five pounds of hay per month, and I don't put it down for them to play in.

Maybe she's peeing on the hay and that's why she won't eat it. You might try putting it in a paper bag, or in a kleenex box (take the plastic out) and see if she'll eat more of it that way.

[Kelly9]

Cut back on the veggies to one cup a day. The hay is extremely important to keep their teeth ground down and their guts moving, and if they overdo the veggies, you can wind up with way worse problems than just soft poops.

My two eat roughly five pounds of hay per month, and I don't put it down for them to play in.

Maybe she's peeing on the hay and that's why she won't eat it. You might try putting it in a paper bag, or in a kleenex box (take the plastic out) and see if she'll eat more of it that way.

ok, so she should be eating 2 1/2 pounds per month. I don't think she is peeing on it because it is always dry and she doesn't walk on it, she goes around. But I do think she is not liking parts of the Oxbow. there are a bunch of stems which she doesn't care for. I'm putting in an order for KMS and I think she may like that better. It does seem she likes eating at dusk and have it in a big pile. I tried the kleenex box before and she wouldn't eat ANY of it! picky eater!

I'll keep a closer eye on her veggie amounts and I think that will naturally cause her to go for more hay. And if i have a lot in her run-free room as well as cage perhaps she will go through more. I will order from KMS assuming she will eat 2.5 lbs/mth.

[MissJean]

Interestingly, when I had two pigs I ordered 15 pounds per month. I have four now and I won't say how much I'm spending. I, um, really like hay piles for floor-time.

Hope you like the KMS stuff! She just got a lot greener stuff in right now, so this is the perfect time to order!

[mufasa]

I swear my piggies eat more hay than my horse! I probably give Amy a refill 3-4 times a day. I usually serve the hay in toilet paper rolls, although I change it up (paper bags, boxes, piles on the floor) fairly regularly to keep them amused.

[MrWhistles]

Hay should be unlimited. Pellets should be limited to 1/4 cup per day and veggies should be 1 cup per day. All this is per pig.
Alot of users on here get the bigger boxes of hay because it is a better deal than buying those bags at the pet store every month or so. When you store your hay in your house it lasts longer than say storeing your horses' hay outside.
My horses timothy goes bad faster than whistles' timothy. And I go to extremes protecting my horses' hay. Tarp to protect from the rain, inside an unused stall. ontop several pallets to keep from flooding water. Everything is strapped down too. I'm a hay quality freak too.

[Kelly9]

Hay should be unlimited. Pellets should be limited to 1/4 cup per day and veggies should be 1 cup per day. All this is per pig.
Alot of users on here get the bigger boxes of hay because it is a better deal than buying those bags at the pet store every month or so. When you store your hay in your house it lasts longer than say storeing your horses' hay outside.
My horses timothy goes bad faster than whistles' timothy. And I go to extremes protecting my horses' hay. Tarp to protect from the rain, inside an unused stall. ontop several pallets to keep from flooding water. Everything is strapped down too. I'm a hay quality freak too.

Well, I need to ask the hay quality freak a question: I got 2nd cut timothy from KMS. Is that sufficient? Or do I need to go 3rd quality?

I think I remember reading on here that 3rd cut doesn't have the longer fibers that they need to digest properly and 3rd should be just for fun or something special. Is that right?

[MrWhistles]

Well, I need to ask the hay quality freak a question: I got 2nd cut timothy from KMS. Is that sufficient? Or do I need to go 3rd quality?

I think I remember reading on here that 3rd cut doesn't have the longer fibers that they need to digest properly and 3rd should be just for fun or something special. Is that right?

I've never gotten 3rd cut. I believe 3rd cut is just softer than 2nd cut. And has less sticks and more leafs. I'm not sure about the fiber amount. I was probly once told about the 3rd cut quality. I just forgot because I always stick to 2nd cut/bluegrass.