Hay, hay, hay...

[Shieme]

So I've decided I hate store bought hay feeders. Now I'm trying anything else to toilet tissue tubes to face tissue boxes. I even used dishes. My girls don't eat the hay as well as they should. They love it but it's hard to dig for it. They had fun with the cardboard applications but that was all. Now I use a towel and lay a bunch of hay there. They are in love with that! They play, make borrows and tease each other. When it's time to clean, I scoop up the top only and reuse that but what I wish is that I could make a fabric hay feeder but I think watching them have fun is better for me. I have two Midwest cages togeather and one is for feeding (and pooping, their choice not mine) with some play cardboard things. Second is running and sleeping area with a rabbit size hidey.

So how do you deal with hay issues? What's your favorite? Maybe you can give me an idea.

 

[Guinea2002]

I usually don't have hay issues I have issues with the pellet bowl my Guinea pig will kick bedding into it. My Guinea Pig also refuses to eat hay from anything besides the floor

 

[bpatters]

I pile mine up in a low plastic kitty litter pan, and let them have at it. They can root through, eat it, pee and poop on it, whatever. It's by far the easiest and safest solution.

 

[fluffbutt]

I do something similar to @bpatters, however I couldn't find a kitty litter pan big enough for my kitchen area (which is basically an old pet shop cage, attached to my main cage with a 'pot plant tunnel'). I found a plastic storage container that fit into this cage, and cut most of the sides off.

I've also got a fabric grocery store bag with holes in the bottom, tied to the side of my cage full of hay... but they prefer burrowing into the kitchen area (and making a mess) hahaha.

 

[spy9doc]

I pile mine up in a low plastic kitty litter pan, and let them have at it. They can root through, eat it, pee and poop on it, whatever. It's by far the easiest and safest solution.

I essentially do the same thing. They have a kitten litter box (one in the loft, one on the main level) which has a layer of litter with hay on top that gets changed when necessary. It's the easiest solution with the only negative being that Sparky just loves to nap in the litter box. He is a Dalmatian and thus has a perpetually stained belly which is easy enough to remedy with a belly/butt washup.

 

[wigglemish]

Mine used to have it loose on the fleece, but since it was getting very messy, I am attempting a go at hay bags that I made out of fabric. They seem to be getting on well with them, I just hope they are eating enough hay. I've been careful to make the holes small enough nobody is at risk of getting stuck.

Before that I have tried paper tubes, brown paper bags, cardboard box hay caves, a kitchen made out of coroplast... But really, I think you just have to put up with the mess/waste. I'm not sure the hay bags I've trialing now will be a permanent solution, it's an experiment. Honestly, I'm still putting a handful down loose as well to make sure they're eating it, so it's kind of an exercise in self defeat. They like the bags, they're eating from them readily enough, but I fret about their fibre intake so I'm not ready to rely on them entirely.

 

[ZiggyPig]

Mine LOVE the new facial tissue box solution, but I broke one side open so I can stuff hay sticking out the top and through the side so they can both eat without driving each other nuts. They have a Cavy Cafe and love to pull out hay and spread it everywhere and recently figured out that if they eat enough hay/ pull out enough after, they can tunnel through the tissue box and the hay inside.

When I fill it some hay gets dropped on the fleece/floor of the cafe and they usually snag a little bit of this to eat before pooping/peeing/laying in it.

 

[ZiggyPig]

OH, but, mine will eat it out of a bowl IF there has been salad in it. Even if they know there aren't any greens left.

 

[Shieme]

I pile mine up in a low plastic kitty litter pan, and let them have at it. They can root through, eat it, pee and poop on it, whatever. It's by far the easiest and safest solution.

Can I see a picture of that? I think my girls would LOVE that! They love playing in the hay. When I fluff it up, they happily run up to it and instantly play in it and eat it. But mostly play and chase each other.

 

[lisa325]

We use a hay rack with a kitchen insert purchased from the store here on this site. When they're outside ( which is most of the day) we use this ......https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco...et-products-small-animal-high-back-litter-pan
We use wood pellets in the bottom and just stand the hay rack up on the side, it works great for us. You could always just fill the entire thing with hay. It's cheap enough, except you have to purchase online, but sometimes they have free shipping too.