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General Hay Rack Help....

GuineaPigParty

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My poor Juniper and Willow both have eye wound from there hay in there hay rack.. I am looking to change there hay rack so there are no more eye pokes (Or vet visits...)

I use fleece so I cant put there hay on the ground or it will take me 3 hours to clean..... It also has to hold enough hay so I don't have to refill it every hour or so.

What kind of hay rack will be best?

(The fleece in this photo was put in by my pig sitter not me!)

DSCN4110.jpg
 

Roo99

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I have tried what feels like every type of hay rack (including the kind pictured) but I recommend making one like this--

110927+guinea+pig+vertical+hay+rack2.jpg

They lose very little hay, allow for lots of hay in the rack at one time, and I've never had any problems with eye-poking with a hay rack like this. I made my own, using this tutorial:

(broken link removed)

Hope it helps!
 

Roo99

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Also, what kind of hay are you using? Lower quality hays are often sharper and more conducive to eye poking. In my experience, Oxbow is usually very soft, green, and a piggie favorite. I know it's more expensive, but it's usually very high quality.

Or, if you're already using Oxbow or a hay like it, maybe go through the hay quickly as you put it in the cage and check for especially sharp/pointy pieces?
 

GuineaPigParty

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I use Oxbow orchard grass, There really is nothing sharp in this brand of hay.
 

cavylover7

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I had the same problem with hay getting everywhere and on everything, so I switched up hay racks to the same one as Roo99 and it works amazing!
 

HugglesBubble

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@Roo99 I've tried to make that. How do you bend it like that? xD
 

MrsGuineaPig

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I placed it under something heavy and pushed it upwards and then took it out from under the thing and kept bending it. Be careful the grids might snap and can be very pointy!
 

Princess_Piggie

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Honestly, regardless of what hay rack you use, there's always a chance they'll poke themselves. Like suggested, the only real way to minimise it is to weed out anything particularly rigid that could poke easily.
 

MrWhistles

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If you have more stem like hay, you're going to have a risk of eye pokes regardless of what method you use in giving the hay. Try finding a more softer hay.
 

MrWhistles

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@Roo99 I've tried to make that. How do you bend it like that? xD

You step on one end and SLOWLY bend.
You can also try putting grids in your oven for approx 30mins. I think it was at 350F. Remember to use towels/pot holders to bend "cooked" grids.

To get a more square bend, I put my foot where a "corner" would be and bend the grid.
 

HugglesBubble

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Well..I've never heard about cooking a grid but ill give that a try
 

HugglesBubble

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That makes more sense xD I kept thinking at 350° that's the degree you make cookies at.. xD
 

spudsthepiget

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I've been wanting to switch hay racks recently; I've been using empty Kleenex boxes for a while, but the pigs like to chew them up so they don't hold hay anymore :p I went to a consignment store and found this for $1.
hayrack.jpg
The spaces are big enough that the pigs can stick their mouths in, but not big enough to get their heads stuck! I had a piece of scrap fleece that was perfect to cover the bottom so the fine pieces can't fall out. It gives them more running room, too, since they can go underneath. I just wish I had been able to find another one.
 

kanojochan

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I bent a grid and hung it on the side of the cage walls to let it serve as a platform. Orchard grass is also much softer than timothy hay, so you might want to consider switching them over.

20140605_175639.jpg
 

MrWhistles

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Please don't "cook" the grid! :eek:hmy: If you put the grids in the oven at 350⁰, you risk a fire or at least melting the coating off the wire.

I believe that I'm the individual who originally came up with the idea, and experimented with it before recommending that others try it. The idea came about after snapping several grids in effort to bend them. It made sense to me that if I could just moderately warm the grid, it would be easier to bend.......and so it was. Set your oven at no more than 250⁰ for 30 mins. and handle the grid carefully with thick work gloves.

I stood on mine to bend it for a tunnel, but if you would like a more "square bend", then put a 2x4 over the middle of the grid, stand on it, and bend it up evenly.

Thank you for correcting me. I couldn't remember exactly what the degrees was and 350 was the only thing that came to mind. /facepalm
 

MrWhistles

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I've been wanting to switch hay racks recently; I've been using empty Kleenex boxes for a while, but the pigs like to chew them up so they don't hold hay anymore :p I went to a consignment store and found this for $1. View attachment 65899 The spaces are big enough that the pigs can stick their mouths in, but not big enough to get their heads stuck! I had a piece of scrap fleece that was perfect to cover the bottom so the fine pieces can't fall out. It gives them more running room, too, since they can go underneath. I just wish I had been able to find another one.

This looks like your pigs could jump in. I'd raise it up higher else you risk a broke foot or leg.
 

porkchophamster

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Honestly, I prefer a hay bag. I lose less hay and it's not hard for them to reach. I had a hay rack but it was such a mess all the time. I ordered a hay bag from Etsy (I think) and it is amazing.
 

lissie

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I've been wanting to switch hay racks recently; I've been using empty Kleenex boxes for a while, but the pigs like to chew them up so they don't hold hay anymore :p I went to a consignment store and found this for $1. View attachment 65899 The spaces are big enough that the pigs can stick their mouths in, but not big enough to get their heads stuck! I had a piece of scrap fleece that was perfect to cover the bottom so the fine pieces can't fall out. It gives them more running room, too, since they can go underneath. I just wish I had been able to find another one.

I bent a grid and hung it on the side of the cage walls to let it serve as a platform. Orchard grass is also much softer than timothy hay, so you might want to consider switching them over.

View attachment 65898

With these two hay racks, your pigs could break their leg if they jump into the hay rack.
 

spudsthepiget

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I have a piece of fleece clipped to the bottom of it, but I did raise it up a notch. I put it in Guinness and Trudy's cage; when they had a bent grid hay rack, they were both really good about not jumping into it :)
 

kanojochan

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My piggies have never tried jumping up onto their hay rack. They seem to enjoy pulling the hay from underneath. But once they show interest in being on top of it, I shall line it with coroplast.
 
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