General Alternatives to the traditional hay rack

[SavvyCavies]

Hey everyone. I was wondering if any of you have found a good alternative to the traditional hay rack. My girls have a large metal rack I purchased from the official Guinea Pig Cage Store. My girls like their hay rack, but lately they have developed the bad habit of jumping in it to burrow and eat. I really don't like this behavior as it is not safe. Since they love to get in the hay to eat, I've been contemplating getting one of those large wooden hidey houses and filling it with hay. Has anyone done or do this? Any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[scoottie]

Examples that piggies cant get into

 

[daydreamer89]

this is what im going to be using (bent cube grid with scrap coroplast on the sides and back)
I have moved it from the middle of the cage to against one of the walls looks like its going to work perfectly but i havent really tested it yet so we will see. if anything its a easy build and might be worth testing for your girls


edit: if anything you could add a scrap of coroplast to the top if they can climb it

 

[scoottie]

And my personal favorite



You could make one a just have the holes smaller

 

[PudgePig]

I really like the coroplast one. I may have to make one. I've thought about the cube type hay racks, but 2 of my piggies could fit their head through still and I don't want anyone getting stuck.

 

[daydreamer89]

i doubled up the cube grids and zip-tied them together. holes are nice and small if you look close you can see the size difference in the holes from the grid behind it. took a bit to bend them the same and line it up properly but no way a baby guinea pig could fit their head in there

 

[PeanutnCookie]

What I did one time after a costco trip was take one of the boxes they gave us and filled that with hay. It was almost like a hidey, there were the sides, one side opening, and a partial roof. The box lasted about a week because they peed in it, but if you have something similar that you could clean that would work. My pigs seem to like sitting in the hay more than grabbing it out of a rack or other basket. The downside of that is you have to clean it more often.

 

[Nannub]

And my personal favorite

View attachment 77175

You could make one a just have the holes smaller

where can I buy a hay rack like that one?

 

[scoottie]

On amazon its made by Trixie

 

[mci1986]

I have given up on using a hay rack/hay tray. My boys will pull out the hay to where they want and make a bed out of it no matter what it is in. I just put a pile of hay in the cage and they are much happier. They get to burrow in it and do zoomies through it.

 

[CavyChrissy]

I'm currently working on engineering something similar for my pig Randy:



He seems to like to get IN a tray or bin when he eats hay, so I made him this box. I picked a plastic container because it should easy to lift out and clean. I used tin snips to cut a doorway (Randy is temporarily a lone pig, so one doorway is ok). So far so good, Randy likes it and he does most of his business in it - Yay!! Next I'm going to figure out how to add a small hay rack to hold clean hay. He seems to poo and pee everywhere in the box, so I want him to have clean fresh hay to eat.

 

[Nannub]

I'm currently working on engineering something similar for my pig Randy:

View attachment 77176

He seems to like to get IN a tray or bin when he eats hay, so I made him this box. I picked a plastic container because it should easy to lift out and clean. I used tin snips to cut a doorway (Randy is temporarily a lone pig, so one doorway is ok). So far so good, Randy likes it and he does most of his business in it - Yay!! Next I'm going to figure out how to add a small hay rack to hold clean hay. He seems to poo and pee everywhere in the box, so I want him to have clean fresh hay to eat.

I have one of these but I don't know how to cut the door haha

 

[Rocky5]

And my personal favorite

View attachment 77175

I tried searching it on Amazon but nothing came up. Link?

 

[scoottie]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Standing-Rabbit-Guinea-Manger-Small/dp/B006K2W14U

I search about a month ago and it was available just keep watching this one and you can get it

 

[SavvyCavies]

I have given up on using a hay rack/hay tray. My boys will pull out the hay to where they want and make a bed out of it no matter what it is in. I just put a pile of hay in the cage and they are much happier. They get to burrow in it and do zoomies through it.

That's how I feel about the matter too. They love to burrow while they eat, so I'm thinking of getting rid of the rack/tray all together.

 

[SavvyCavies]

I like your idea! My girls are the same way.

 

[CavyChrissy]

I have one of these but I don't know how to cut the door haha

It's very scientific: first I searched my kitchen for something circular the right size. Ended up being my smallest sauce pan. Used it to trace a circle on the bin with a dry erase marker. Got a small screw driver and punched a hole inside the circle, but near the line. Then jabbed a fatter screw driver in to that hole to make it bigger. Then used tin snips to cut the hole. It was a bit of a challenge and it's not exactly round. If my husband were home, I would have had him do it (he's much stronger and could cut it more smoothly). But I am impatient and Randy doesn't seem to mind my mediocre job!

 

[Nannub]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Standing-Rabbit-Guinea-Manger-Small/dp/B006K2W14U

I search about a month ago and it was available just keep watching this one and you can get it

I saw this one on Amazon yesterday available. On the US one. It was 97 dollars.

 

[CavyChrissy]

I'm currently working on engineering something similar for my pig Randy:

View attachment 77176

He seems to like to get IN a tray or bin when he eats hay, so I made him this box. I picked a plastic container because it should easy to lift out and clean. I used tin snips to cut a doorway (Randy is temporarily a lone pig, so one doorway is ok). So far so good, Randy likes it and he does most of his business in it - Yay!! Next I'm going to figure out how to add a small hay rack to hold clean hay. He seems to poo and pee everywhere in the box, so I want him to have clean fresh hay to eat.

Just finished adding the hay rack. It is attached to the side of the cage, so that I can slide the bin out to clean. I didn't put a lid on it because it is very close to the top of Randy's cage, which has a lid, so there's no way he can get in it. I'm hoping he likes it!



~

 

[mci1986]

Here is the current setup I have for hay. The coroplast wall between the two sections does two things: keeps the hay in one area and gives my boys a bit of exercise to get to the hay. The oddest thing is that despite being two boars they do not fight or chatter over food, ever. They will chill next to each other munching on hay and even eat from the same bowl. The moment that there is a single cardboard box in the cage however they remember that they can chatter/nose up at each other.