Cleaning Good Hay Catching Ideas for Kitchen - Input Please!

[katkor03]

Hi! Is there any good ideas for little trays to make to catch the hay they pull out in their kitchen?

They kind of just pull the majority out than eat it /: I also want to catch it so that it doesn't get everywhere in their cage. Any ideas appreciated! For now, I have a half dozen egg carton cut so just the bottom is catching the hay.

 

[katkor03]

Thanks No, any idea is a good one. I'm really really done cleaning up all the tiny bits of hay that seem to GLUE themselves to fleece.

 

[CavyChrissy]

Oh wow, my pigs have exactly the same MO! "Let's pull out all the hay bits so we can look at them and decide which to eat and which to pee on!"

My hay rack is a bent grid and cardboard. I first tried making a shallow cardboard tray that is as wide as the hay rack and stuck out about 2 inches in front of it. It worked ok at catching those tiny hay bits that fall out of the rack. But my girls still pulled big pieces out on to the fleece. Plus they would stand off to the side to avoid the box and pull hay out of the side to eat and drop!

So now I have a small removable kitchen basically that has the hay rack in it. They have to get in the box to reach the hay. I put Yesterday's News in it. They still pull a lot of hay down, but at least it's in the box and I can just dump it out.

 

[katkor03]

I saw people who put little plastic trays under theirs to catch their hay. LOL, I totally understand XD I don't know why they do it!

 

[sierralj97]

I have given up on any sort of hay rack. Now what I do is buy small plastic storage bins.

- Cut an entry hole in the front
- Line the bottom with thick layer of newspaper
- Put a big ole' handful of hay in the bin
- Put a pee pad outside the entrance to catch loose hay

That way I just take out the bin every day, dump it in the trash, reline it, and shake out the pee pad. So much easier that way, for me!

 

[katkor03]

I really like this idea! I think I'll try it next month when my pay comes in. Thanks

 

[pawner69]

Here is what I use in my kitchen. I have a small plastic file container and cut the openings. Then on the bottom I have the drain tiles like you would use in a garage which lets the pee drain through to the carefresh under it and I can just sweep up the loose hay and poos every day. Works great for me.

 

[kemmm]

Here is what I use in my kitchen. I have a small plastic file container and cut the openings. Then on the bottom I have the drain tiles like you would use in a garage which lets the pee drain through to the carefresh under it and I can just sweep up the loose hay and poos every day. Works great for me.

The drain tile is an excellent idea! That's the first time I've seen someone use one.

 

[pawner69]

I love it. It was super cheap, like $1.50 each or something. When I do full cleaning to change out fleece, I take these out, snap them apart, scrub them up, and put them back in.

 

[LoveMyPigs25]

I love it. It was super cheap, like $1.50 each or something. When I do full cleaning to change out fleece, I take these out, snap them apart, scrub them up, and put them back in.

I'm what do you mean San them apart? Do each one of those squares snap together?
where did you get that?

 

[pawner69]

Yes. There are 4 different squares in there each 12x12 and they just snap together. Since the grids are 14x14 they don't totally fit edge to edge so I ordered trim pieces too to help it for a little better.

I ordered mine from modutile.com

 

[pawner69]

Oh and they have other colors other than black. I got black to help hide the poos a little easier.

 

[LoveMyPigs25]

Does poop get stuck in the holes?

 

[pawner69]

It's does sometimes so that why I scrub it good every time I clean the cage.

 

[LoveMyPigs25]

Thanks so much, I'm going to try them

 

[pawner69]

Anytime! I have tried and tried so many different ways and so far this has worked the best for me. Good luck!

 

[LoveMyPigs25]

Anytime! I have tried and tried so many different ways and so far this has worked the best for me. Good luck!

If you could would you mind showing a closer picture? How well does the pee and poop go through?

 

[pawner69]

The poop doesn't go through but sometimes they squish it in. LOL. This is how it looks close up. And you can kind of see the seams where it snaps together. Hope this helps.

 

[LoveMyPigs25]

Thanks a lot! That was what I was worried about, them squishing the poop.