Hayrack or No Hayrack

[bambiflowerlove]

My piggies currently have their hay loose in their cage. But I was considering getting a hayrack??? (No a hay ball, I know those are a super dangerous no-no.)
My piggies don't like burrowing in their hay. At all. I've never seen them do it. Never. Should that be a factor in my decision?
Also. I don't know were to find one, so links woukd be helpful!

Thanks!

 

[Jazlyn]

I would suggest getting one.
Just get a grid that you use for C&C cages and bend it in half. Then zip tie it to your cage. You can find a bunch of pictures & such in the photo galleries.

 

[KingBoris]

I tried for some time using hay racks and one day I stopped.
I found all the hay did was go everywhere into the water bowl(I use bowls and bottles) and scattered all over the cage, it can also be unhygenic unless you are removing the old hay and adding fresh stuff daily.

I have now gone back to hay racks, I'm finding them great and the on the day of cage cleaning I throw a big pile of hay in for burrowing and fun for a few hours before they are back to neat cages again.

They can have the best of both worlds but if yours aren't huge burrowing pigs then I wouldn't hesitate changing.

 

[Silverbeat]

Using hayracks has never worked for me. Even when giving my pigs hay stretcher, their hay supply would always run out. It's so much easier to just throw half a flake in their litterbox and let them climb on it and play with it.

 

[Holly&Fred]

My pigs took a little while to get used to it, but the hay rack seriously cut down on the time I spent cleaning. I'd say it was more for me than them, but they seem to enjoy climbing on it and all. Every so often when I have the extra time to clean all the mess up, I dump some hay into their cage for them to play in, and although they've never really burrowed, they enjoy running through it and basically scattering it around the whole cage, so that's how I balance out letting them have fun with the hay and making my time cleaning it all up easier.

I was a little bit apprehensive about using a bent grid hayrack, as a lot of peoples' pigs climb into it and with one very explorative pig, I was concerned that his next step after making his way into the hay rack would be using it as a stepping stool to climb out of the cage, which is up high, so that would be a huge problem. So instead I took a not huge cardboard box (a graham cracker box is what I've had most success with so far), and cut holes in the sides and bottom. I put hay in through the opening in the top and I can just close it using the tab to make it look a little neater. They seem to enjoy it and it keeps everything less messy.

 

[Cogni]

I use open (thin) cardboard boxes a lot, the kind that biscuits, tea etc. come in. I cut off the lid or one side and stuff them with hay. The piggies love to get in them especially when there is no front side, and then they sit there plunked sideways across the back. I toss when they have dirtied it up sufficiently. But they don't poop in there too much these days.

 

[MissSofi]

My girls have a kitchen and I've found that putting a hey rack in made all the difference in the world. Just having it loose My girls would end up living on it and peeing on it, then they wouldn't eat the spoiled stuff and a lot would go to waste, Having the hay rack in almost none of it goes to waste. And they got really excited about it as soon as I put in in! I would totally recommend one.

I used one of my grids but didn't bother folding it. I just zip tied it on an angle to the side of my kitchen. Really quick, easy, and it holds a lot of hay nicely.

 

[scarlett]

I have a kitchen area in my cage. It's a 9 x 13 dish filled with carefresh where I put the a bowls of pellets. The water bottle is in this area, as well as a soft hayrack. I put their bowl for fresh veggies right next to it. The boys love munching hay from the soft hayrack. And a new "trick" they both do is to launch themselves INTO the hayrack when it's empty or nearly so. They look hilarious!

My set up keeps the hay mostly in one area. Which makes for poopp scooping in the rest of the cage much easier.

 

[Fredo_and_co]

I recently invested in 2 hay racks... and the pigs love them!! lol