New to the piggy buisness

[Lalapiggypigs]

Hi! I live in Colorado and have 2 amazing boar piggies named PoohBear and Gus. They currently have a 3 by 3 c&c cage which I am changing soon to a 2 by 6. I did not adopt because cavy care inc was closed. I am sorry for purchasing my pigs from a store, the only adoption center here in Colorado is closed. I am a newbie to the piggy world and this forum. I would really appreciate for some help from you guys. One quick question that I was just wondering is what food do you buy your piggies and I need some really good hay rack ideas. I am so happy to be joining the community! I have been reading the threads for a while and thought why not get some help for exactly my questions? Thank you guys!

 

[kananaka]

Hi. Welcome to the forums! Most people use Oxbow hay and pellets (broken link removed) or KMS hay and pellets (broken link removed) . For hay rack ideas check out the hay rack photo gallery Hay Racks - Guinea Pig Cage Photos.

 

[BlueButterfly]

Hello!
Welcome to the forum!
I got my first pig from a pet store, you've got to be extra careful to look for signs of illness, I bought one pig and ended up having four, if you know what I mean.

I use Oxbow, adult guinea pig food, but I think most people feed their pigs KMS, which is available online online. I prefer Oxbow because you can get it in any pet store, or, push come to shove, I can get it off Amazon for the same price with free shipping.

There are sooo many different hay racks... You can look in the photo albums for inspiration. If you have any extra grids left over from making your cage, you could curve a grid and make a nice hay rack. But, if you're using fleece, the hay could more easily get all over the fleece and make a mess. If you want to give them loose hay, which is probably the best option, you could set up a litter box and fill it with hay. Just make sure you line the pan with something, an old towel, or some shredded paper, so the hay isn't ruined if they pee. If you want to save money, there are lots of different ways you could make one. You could use a a paper bag, but that soils easily, you'd probably have to change it every few days. If you're good at sewing, you could make one out of fabric. You could make one out of an old bucket even, you just need to be creative!

 

[Mastershroom]

Be very careful if you use a grid for a hay rack if your pigs are young; little Kwee managed to poke her head inside one of the grid squares and get stuck, and we had to try and help her get out for a good 15 minutes, and she was screaming bloody murder the whole time.

As for feeding, I use Oxbow pellets and orchard grass hay, and a ton of fresh vegetables. Try to look at pellets as a nutritional supplement rather than a full meal; they're actually pretty much the least important part of your pigs' diet. I don't bother with a hay rack after Kwee's incident with the grid; I just dump a bunch of hay in a pile in their cage, and Kwee and Quee have a blast with it. They run around and play and dig through it, and eat it all up within a day. I'm sure it's a little more wasteful than using a rack, but it's a price I'm willing to accept.