Comments wanted, hay box idea

Sounds awesome! I have something similar, but it's smaller. I ordered it from the same place I got my piggy bedspreads. It's a coroplast box with short sides and a cover made just for it that has a waterproof bottom, absorbent middle and fleece outer part. It's actually meant to be a litter box, but I decided to use it for hay. You can see it in this picture, my piggies are eating the hay out of it. It's mostly just a "spot" for hay since it doesn't have tall walls, so the hay does get scattered around the box itself. Tall walls would be nice. https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/album.php?albumid=694&pictureid=4652

I used a box... found that they just got in it, peed all in the hay and ruined it within an hour. I then used two extra grids to section off one square and filled it with hay... they pooped through the bars. Now I finally have a container behind the square that holds the hay so they can reach in and pull it out through the squares but they can not lay in and pee or poop in their hay. I find it less smelly since they are enclosed in my bedroom if the hay does not soak up urine.

This may be why my cage is smelling so badly lately. They love to forage through the hay and lay in it. They basically use it as a litter box too. But I hate to take it away when they truly love to forage through it. I'll have to think about this.

I just washed the cover to that little coroplast box for the first time today (aside from washing before using). I only used it for 4 days and it smells TERRIBLE. It literally smells like a barn. Have you ever been to a petting zoo? It smells exactly like that. I ran it through the wash...twice...both times set it to rinse a second time and put vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser. It still smells bad!

So, maybe not such a great idea after-all

Molly75 said:

This may be why my cage is smelling so badly lately. They love to forage through the hay and lay in it. They basically use it as a litter box too. But I hate to take it away when they truly love to forage through it. I'll have to think about this.

I just washed the cover to that little coroplast box for the first time today (aside from washing before using). I only used it for 4 days and it smells TERRIBLE. It literally smells like a barn. Have you ever been to a petting zoo? It smells exactly like that. I ran it through the wash...twice...both times set it to rinse a second time and put vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser. It still smells bad!

So, maybe not such a great idea after-all

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Take out the fleece and just have the hay on top of the correx, it shouldn't smell as bad

Fredo_and_co said:

Take out the fleece and just have the hay on top of the correx, it shouldn't smell as bad

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Do you do this? If so, do you at least put newspaper underneath for when they pee in it? I think I'll definitely stop putting the fleece in the hay box...I'm even making a gross face thinking about how bad it still smells after washing!

Molly75 said:

Do you do this? If so, do you at least put newspaper underneath for when they pee in it? I think I'll definitely stop putting the fleece in the hay box...I'm even making a gross face thinking about how bad it still smells after washing!

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That made me laugh, are you able to lift the correx out? I wouldn't use newspaper it'll stink once they pee on it. I use plastic storage box lid and fill them with a bedding called bunny O lithium. It soaks up all the urine.. and I just take out the wet hay each day.



Too give you an idear... they have a full section for there hay loft, I was originally just putting the Oxbow in racks as you can see in the above picture, What you could do is use some kind of bedding in the box ie megasorb too soak up the pee. Just lift the box out to clean. Now they have meadow hay and some oxbow mixed in, not too mention oxbow in racks. I find it works well.

Fredo_and_co said:

What you could do is use some kind of bedding in the box ie megasorb too soak up the pee. Just lift the box out to clean. Now they have meadow hay and some oxbow mixed in, not too mention oxbow in racks. I find it works well.

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I use Carefresh in the boys hayloft and before that, in their hayboxes. I had both a plastic ferret litterpan and a box made from coroplast. It certainly helps keep the smell down as I change out the whole kit and kaboodle every other day.

I'm trying different things. I've had shallow boxes, hay racks, everything.
What they love best is nesting baskets. these are shallow baskets that I line with waxed paper on the bottom, then a small layer of aspen bedding, then I put some hay in. I add a little handful of hay whenever they seem to want some, but between handfuls I fluff up the hay already in there. They love to get in the basket and lie on the hay and munch the heaped up hay around their bodies. They tend to poop at or near the entrance of the basket. (one has a piggie-sized notch cut in it at the entrance and poop piles up at that entrance as they let their bottoms hang out of it--it is the smaller basket. ) I can lift out the soiled hay daily; the poops tend to sink to the bottom and I cover them with hay. After a week I dump the whole thing out.
Keeping the hay freshened and fluffed up helps a lot. Oh they love those hay baskets. My bigger piggy loves to stretch out luxuriously in the longer basket and get a piggie-massage with the plastic head-massager I got at a Sally Beauty Supply. It is for massaging in shampoo on people but Badger loves the teeth of it going through his fur when he is munching hay. My husband looks at him and says, "It's a hard life".

Cogni said:

Keeping the hay freshened and fluffed up helps a lot. Oh they love those hay baskets. My bigger piggy loves to stretch out luxuriously in the longer basket and get a piggie-massage with the plastic head-massager I got at a Sally Beauty Supply. It is for massaging in shampoo on people but Badger loves the teeth of it going through his fur when he is munching hay. My husband looks at him and says, "It's a hard life".

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Honestly I think your piggies are in heaven

I have created a a litter tray which I fill with megazorb to soak up urine (and leaking water bottles until the new ones arrive) then have a hay rack made out of bent cubes for fresh hay. They always pull some down onto the megazorb, but every couple of days just scoop it out and top up the megazorb, cuts down on smell, they can lie in hay and still have fresh above to eat. I find megazorb is just as good as carefresh, easier to clean up and much cheaper!

I forgot to add that they have to jump 3 little squares (in the 9 square cubes) to get into their kitchen. The bit above is lined with carpet which is hoovered up everyday, this way the megazorb and hay never stick to the fleece. They have a carpet lined ramp to get in and out of the kitchen area on both sides.

I have a cat litter box with 4"(?) walls that I fill with carefresh. It is the perfect length to drop in my kitchen area, fitting snugly to the walls. I then have a bent grid hay rack hanging from the wall behind it using picture hanging clips. It works great. The only time hay ever floats down to the floor or the bottom level is when I am messing with it!

I just bought this today at bed bath and beyond (store) not online. (broken link removed) and I used 2 zip ties to tie it to the corner of the cage from the little handles. It work PERFECT!! For me anyways. I bought 2 of them.

K.K.B.B. said:

I have a cat litter box with 4"(?) walls that I fill with carefresh. It is the perfect length to drop in my kitchen area, fitting snugly to the walls. I then have a bent grid hay rack hanging from the wall behind it using picture hanging clips. It works great. The only time hay ever floats down to the floor or the bottom level is when I am messing with it!

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I'm having a blonde day. How do the piggies get in, did you cut a hole or do you have a ramp to the cat box?
I actually have an unused cat box out in the garage.

Here is a picture of it in my cage. Its also in the photo gallery. They love it and are now eating their hay more. they were not eating it much. I think it was because they couldn't get to it as easy. Now they are chowing down.

frillint said:

I just bought this today at bed bath and beyond (store) not online. (broken link removed) and I used 2 zip ties to tie it to the corner of the cage from the little handles. It work PERFECT!! For me anyways. I bought 2 of them.

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You are so smart to look at an ordinary household thing and turn it into a piggy hay rack!!! And they look great too!

Lucille, Thank you very much!! They adore it!! I got the idea from just looking at pictures in the photo gallery of other peoples hay racks and how different they all are.

Lucille said:

I'm having a blonde day. How do the piggies get in, did you cut a hole or do you have a ramp to the cat box?
I actually have an unused cat box out in the garage.

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With the 4" walls, my pig can just leap into it! She loves jumping in and out of the box!