An eco system in cage?

Status
Not open for further replies.
V

vaughny

Joined
Dec 28, 2011
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Hello, I'm a brand new member here. I just have one question really.

Okay, you know those bowls of "cat grass" you can buy at wal-mart or pet stores? It's for people with indoor only cats so they can still eat grass. Anyway, I bought one of those and grew it in the window and now keep in the guinea pig's cage so she can have fresh safe grass at all times.

Well, that got me thinking. What if I turned her entire cage into an eco system? I put potting soil in her cage and plant some oat seeds, give it a few days and turn her entire cage into a grassy area. She lives in it, eating the grass, drinking lots of water and tinkling on the grass, which will keep it watered, and using her poop as fertilizer and I would never be concerned with odor and changing her bedding ever again.

Is this just too crazy to work? I know some issues would be whether the urine kills the grass or not, or if guinea pig poop would be safe or viable as fertilizer, or perhaps over fertilize. So I wanted to present this and hopefully get some opinions.
 
A great idea, but you will need a HUGE cage to keep the grass from being eaten down to the roots in a matter of a few days! However, trays of grass or sprouted bird seed will work better because you can rotate them and let them grow/regrow outside the cage. Guinea pigs can develop quite a bit of detructive energy on occasion and create a huge mess!

You may also think about herb pots of cilantro/coriander, parsley, basil, dill, fennel, leaf celery. They can be sown and grown on a sunny window sill
 
This would be fab if it worked!

I think you'd still have to water the grass to keep it growing and it'd have to be quite a big cage as I have seen a guinea pig decimate an area of grass!

Let us know if you try it out though I'd love to know if it works.

You could always try it with a separate cage base and when the grass seems a bit patchy, swap it out with a fresh tray of grass etc.
 
All great suggestions! But I would never in a million years grow cilantro. I despise the smell. lol!
 
sounds great in theory, but i am sure piggies would eat faster than grass would grow, and i think wee might burn the grass x
 
Good idea but guinea pigs eat faster then grass grows. My fear of that would be that your guinea pig would eat the grass down to its roots and wouldn't give it time to grow back. Anyway welcome to the forum and i hope you have a great time:-)
 
I noticed that the oat grass grows almost freakishly fast and she hasn't really destroyed it yet considering that she also gets fresh greens and has her pellets as well.

How large of an area can she wipe out in how much given time?
 
I think your pigs will be wet from sitting in their own urine. I don't think grass will dry fast enough for your pigs to keep them dry. It could lead to urine scald.
 
You could also provide maybe a section of the cage with some soft bedding. Just so if the grass is too wet if you just watered it, the piggie could go to the soft bedding part :)
It does sound like an interesting idea, and it would be absolutely great provided it works.
Welcome to the forum by the way! :)p
Xx
 
Wiebke said:
A great idea, but you will need a HUGE cage to keep the grass from being eaten down to the roots in a matter of a few days! However, trays of grass or sprouted bird seed will work better because you can rotate them and let them grow/regrow outside the cage. Guinea pigs can develop quite a bit of detructive energy on occasion and create a huge mess!

You may also think about herb pots of cilantro/coriander, parsley, basil, dill, fennel, leaf celery. They can be sown and grown on a sunny window sill
Click to expand...
n the summer my 29 piggies have access to a grass area 5 mtrsx 6 mtrs,it takes just a few days for the grass to be nibbled down to soil level,they are extremely efficient lawn mowers . So you would need a large area even for one pig,and that could become fouled pretty quickly. Maybe have 2 cages one grassed and one normal?
 
I think it's a fab idea, but agree that your piggie may eat the grass faster than it grows,even oat grass.

We move our run around the lawn so our pigs (Five last summer, now six ) have a fresh supply every day and they leave us a fantastic patchwork effect rolleyes :))

Do let us know how you get on if you decide to try it though, I'm sure you'd have a very happy little pig :)
 
I think it does sound a lovely idea, but i do agree with the above comments youd need two or tree trays of soil and grass to change round weekly. Could you not, also, put a layer of hay ontop of the grass to keep the piggies from eating the grass down?

I know when the boys go out they have a 4ft x 4 ft run and the grass gets nibbled down within six hours :S
 
I think it does sound a lovely idea, but i do agree with the above comments youd need two or tree trays of soil and grass to change round weekly. Could you not, also, put a layer of hay ontop of the grass to keep the piggies from eating the grass down?

I know when the boys go out they have a 4ft x 4 ft run and the grass gets nibbled down within six hours :S
 
Really cool and interesting idea. I would agree and worry your piggie would eat all the grass down to the roots. I have a maybe 15-20meter back garden where my piggies are able to graze in runs in the summer. It doesnt take many days of grazing to eat th grass right down (i have to admit i have 12 pigs). Please let us all know how you get on, its such a fab idea in theory and i think we all would love to see if it works out.

x.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top