too much hay?

[CaliGirl]

my guinea pig loves his timothy hay. Any time I fill up his dish with hay he eats it right away. Should I keep filling up his dish with more hay, or is there a chance he will eat too much of it and get sick or something?

 

[NoVeil]

I give unlimited hay. I don't think they can overeat it. I toss in big handfuls in addition to the hay in the hayrack. I would make sure he always has hay.

 

[CavySpirit]

Dish? Dish? I put MOUNTAINS of hay in the cage every few days. ALL OVER. The MORE HAY THE BETTER. It's GOOD for them. Just be sure to remove any soiled hay every day or so. But I rarely have to do that because my pigs go through it quickly and so should yours. Just try to provide the best quality hay you possibly can.

See the Hay page for good hay sources: www.guineapigcages.com/hay.htm

 

[Denise]

Since we've moved our girls to their new C&C cage, they don't seem to eat as much hay as they used to. They used to empty the hay hopper every day if not twice a day, and I haven't refilled it in a week. I have added more areas of hay to the new cage, but don't really see much of that disappearing either. Any suggestions? (They are eating pellets and veggies like normal.)

 

[NoVeil]

I would refresh the hay even if they don't seem to be eating it. Since my girls also climb into the hay rack to hang out, I take out any remaining in the morning and put all fresh in it. Yes, it probably wastes a lot of hay but at least I know it is fresh hay and they like to play in it.

I take all the loose hay out of the cage, put the rack hay as their play hay and refill the rack. If the play hay seems to be skimpy, I add more hay in. Does that make sense?

 

[Denise]

Thanks NoVeil.

 

[LiciaMommycott]

I gave up on the hay rack because it just doesn't hold enough. I now just fill both lofts with piles of hay. Remove it when no longer fresh??? It never lasts that long.

 

[mncavylover]

I don't think there is such a thing as giving your pigs too much hay. Mine go through two huge hayracks in 1-2 days! You can use a kleenex box stuffed full with hay if all you have is a dish. I think that is what ChadWPB uses, and he has said he likes it. You can also just toss it if it gets really dirty. I hope you figure this out! Oh, and you can also use a shower caddy or a plant pot to hold hay in. =)

 

[ChadWPB]

Yes, I use those Tissue Box Hay Racks (TM). My pigs push them around and chew on them too. We also put two mounds of hay, a smaller one up front and a giant pile in back. That's where they really have fun! Pigs not only munch on hay, they play in it too. We have six pigs and there's usually at least one piggie munching on hay at any given time.

We use (broken link removed), especially the bluegrass. Our pigs love it!