Do guinea pigs need access to hay whilst outside?

Smudgeflofifi

Smudgeflofifi

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Apr 7, 2020
Messages
290
Reaction score
203
Points
365
Hi, so whilst my guinea pigs are inside they always have access to fresh hay. However at the moment as the weather is getting warmer they have been going out a lot more, whilst they’re outside do they still need hay, or will the grass be okay?

Also, I wasn’t sure wether to post this in daily care or health and illness so sorry if it’s in the wrong place
 
Hay is just grass but dead and chopped and dried ( obviously) If my pigs were on the lawn and were used to grazing on grass, i wouldn't waste the precious hay i have now during lockdown . id keep it for in doors.But giving it as well as grass is fine .

But seems as the weather has only just became nice again , I'm guessing your pigs are not used to eating loads of grass yet.
 
SkyPipDotBernie said:
Hay is just grass but dead and chopped and dried ( obviously) If my pigs were on the lawn and were used to grazing on grass, i wouldn't waste the precious hay i have now during lockdown . id keep it for in doors.But giving it as well as grass is fine .

But seems as the weather has only just became nice again , I'm guessing your pigs are not used to eating loads of grass yet.
Click to expand...

I only adopted two of my guinea pigs in February because my other guinea pig Smudge was on her own, they are quite young so I think it’s their first time going outside.
 
I don't think it's necessary as access to grass is just as good for them. However they need to get used to eating grass otherwise if they go straight out for hours and gorge themselves you can expect them to get diarrhoea. I find using a box my hubby built them with some hay in encourages them not to overdo it on eating grass and gets them to pause for some hay to help keep the gut stable. I also find they then don't try and destroy our lawn by not leaving a single blade of grass so it will grow again :))
 
When my boys are on the lawn I put a little hay in a tray for them if theyre going to be out all day. If they’re only going to be out for an hour or two then I don’t bother putting hay outside.
You must ensure their tummies are prepared for grass though by building up access to grass a bit at a time
 
When my piggies go out it is for a few hours not all day and I don't give them hay while out because as they are grazing on grass it is not necessary but it is fine either way. As others have said it is important they are introduced to grass gradually tho.
 
Piggies&buns said:
When my boys are on the lawn I put a little hay in a tray for them if theyre going to be out all day. If they’re only going to be out for an hour or two then I don’t bother putting hay outside.
You must ensure their tummies are prepared for grass though by building up access to grass a bit at a time
Click to expand...
Ty for the advice I didn’t realise u had to introduce them to grass gradually
 
As my piggies are free ranged they have free access to grass, from early morning to late evening, their routine is to go out to graze about 8.am for about 1.1/2 hours, then go back indoors, till about 6,30 pm. Again going out to graze for about 1,1/2 hours, the rest of the time they laze about the hutch, socialising and
eating hay.
 
teddymouse said:
As my piggies are free ranged they have free access to grass, from early morning to late evening, their routine is to go out to graze about 8.am for about 1.1/2 hours, then go back indoors, till about 6,30 pm. Again going out to graze for about 1,1/2 hours, the rest of the time they laze about the hutch, socialising and
eating hay.
Click to expand...
Srry if this is a stupid question but what do you mean by free ranged?
 
teddymouse said:
They live in a big converted summer house,find the thread "it's here" and you'll see what l mean, their not caged.
Click to expand...
oh, yes I saw that thread a couple of days ago, when I had six guinea pigs they used to have a whole shed with no cage, however I only have three guinea pigs now so they have a slightly smaller cage.
 
teddymouse said:
As my piggies are free ranged they have free access to grass, from early morning to late evening, their routine is to go out to graze about 8.am for about 1.1/2 hours, then go back indoors, till about 6,30 pm. Again going out to graze for about 1,1/2 hours, the rest of the time they laze about the hutch, socialising and
eating hay.
Click to expand...
I love how your set up truly allows them to exhibit their natural behaviours and graze at the times of day their instincts tell them to.
 
Grass is just starting to grow that means the sugar level in it are increasing ,a reason why, the first few times you let piggies out for short periods as they will gorge themselves on it ,and being poorly , also why l give hay to mine 24/7. These not the sugar in hay, because of the sugar contains is why, farmers take the first and sometimes the 2nd cut of grass in spring for silage and any cuts after that for hay.
 
teddymouse said:
Grass is just starting to grow that means the sugar level in it are increasing ,a reason why, the first few times you let piggies out for short periods as they will gorge themselves on it ,and being poorly , also why l give hay to mine 24/7. These not the sugar in hay, because of the sugar contains is why, farmers take the first and sometimes the 2nd cut of grass in spring for silage and any cuts after that for hay.
Click to expand...
Everydays a school day 👍
 
My piggies usually live inside, but when they do go outside they always have a hideaway with lots of hay. If your outdoor enclosure has a built in hideaway it’s easy to just line that with hay, but if you don’t/use fleece bedding then you could probably just give them a hay rack. 👍
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top