More loose hay = stinkier cage quicker?

Pigs poop and pee where they eat. Hay all over the cage= poop and pee all over the cage= stinkier cage. You can put up hayracks with litter trays under tham, and that will help.

Also, hay doesn't absorb well, so when it gets peed on it will have an increased risk of developing mould, which is bad for piggers to eat or breathe the spores. I think most people that have hay lying around their cage change it every day, since it does start to smell, and pigs often eat it regardless of whether it is fresh and clean, ick! I know my piggers' hay pile always had poos under and around it, and usually a puddle next to it! Mind you, since I switched to fleece, the puddle problem is all gone! Now there's just hay stuck all over the fleece in the hay area!

I actually nipped the hay all over the cage sticking to the fleece problem too. I used a petstore cage bottom, and thats their new potty area. They have problems kicking the hay out of THAT, so they don't even bother. Lazy little gremlins!

Hay insulates both temperature and moisture so if you have a layer of hay not only won't it absorb urine but it will keep the bedding underneath from drying. If you place hay in the same spot again they will pee on the already damp spot and it will get even worse. You have to scoop out the excess hay at least every other day. Confining the hay didn't work for me. I have 6 in a cage and having them all sit in one spot all day to eat created a very drenched 2x2 section of the cage. With 4" of wood shavings I had to clean it out daily and with carefresh I had to clean it out twice daily. That is one reason I quit using fleece in majority of the cage. They preferred to sit where they could eat hay and it was even more work to clean out that 1 area than to clean the whole cage full of bedding weekly. It was like having 6pigs living in a 2x2 cage instead of a 2x8. Now I have the whole 2x8 with hay and a 2nd level where they can lay on the fleece. If I scoop out the hay every other day none of the cage is wet even after a week.

aqh88 said:

Now I have the whole 2x8 with hay and a 2nd level where they can lay on the fleece. If I scoop out the hay every other day none of the cage is wet even after a week.

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What do you have under the hay in the hay level? sound like a good arrangement.

Kriket you are so clever! I am buying cat pans I have store cages in the store room! Stupid me.
All of my pigs eat their hay in the same place. I have three hay racks in one spot. One is a hay wheel. i love it because it gives them something different to do. They reach up with their feet and spin it. The other racks are the large bird suet holders.