Hay bags?

Kellykels

Kellykels

Adult Guinea Pig
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What's the verdict on hay bags?
I'm hearing all different things.
That they're ok, that they're good too use, that they're dangerous, that they restrict feeding. Etc.

It depends where I read. I did a search on the forum. Is there a guide to hay delivery methods? I know it's a little specific. :)
I have little wooden trays at the moment, that they sit, eat, play and poop in.

I bought some hay bags hoping to make it so they don't pee and poop on the hay too much whilst I'm out and I was going to put their tray under it, so they could pull fresh hay put of the bag and into their trays.

Or to put less hay in the trays and more hay in bags at the side so the tray is "play" hay I change more frequently (multiple times a day) and the bag is cleaner hay I refill a couple of times a day.

I have looked at a few threads and again I have not found a big consensus but on a FB group they said it was dangerous.

I wouldn't want to hurt my pigs and I want to give them what they need.
 
I have hay bags and litter trays for my two boys, and they work wonderfully. I have a pig who loves getting inside the bag, so I’ve cut the holes bigger so he doesn’t ever get stuck, and they have multiple bags so he is never blocking the other pig from eating. I haven’t found that they have overly restricted access, and it keeps the hay off my long haired boy.
 
sixfluffybums said:
I have hay bags and litter trays for my two boys, and they work wonderfully. I have a pig who loves getting inside the bag, so I’ve cut the holes bigger so he doesn’t ever get stuck, and they have multiple bags so he is never blocking the other pig from eating. I haven’t found that they have overly restricted access, and it keeps the hay off my long haired boy.
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Thank you for sharing your experience with me. That's good to know. I also have a long haired boy. He's a Peruvian and he gets covered in hay sometimes. Doesn't help he runs to stand in the hay tray as I put fresh hay down. Like he wants the hay to rain on him and revel in it. He's a strange boy. 🤣
 
We have haybags for timothy and trays for meadow hay 😊 I personally really like the bags and the pigs seem to agree. The boys love to crawl inside or sit on top of the bag :)) I don’t feel like they restrict feeding - the pigs seem to quite enjoy pulling the hay out of the holes. So much so that sometimes the whole content of the haybag will end up on the cage floor (I‘m looking at you, Pewter!) :))
 
stef.trg said:
We have haybags for timothy and trays for meadow hay 😊 I personally really like the bags and the pigs seem to agree. The boys love to crawl inside or sit on top of the bag :)) I don’t feel like they restrict feeding - the pigs seem to quite enjoy pulling the hay out of the holes. So much so that sometimes the whole content of the haybag will end up on the cage floor (I‘m looking at you, Pewter!) :))
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Thank you for sharing. I'm glad your guinea pigs enjoy it. I'm hoping mine will too.
 
I had a hay bag for the boys at one point. It ended up with them (Fudge in particular) climbing inside 🤷🏾‍♀️ They seemed okay with it but they were happier when they had a pile of hay in the actual tray. They used to sleep in it (Fudge 99.9% of the time) and lie down while eating.
 
I made the cutest hay bags for my pigs and they LOVED them.

Untill one day a piggie who liked to put her head in it got a severe corneal ulceration. Hay poke. It was bad.

Luckily she recovered...but nope, the bags came out that day.
 
Siikibam said:
I had a hay bag for the boys at one point. It ended up with them (Fudge in particular) climbing inside 🤷🏾‍♀️ They seemed okay with it but they were happier when they had a pile of hay in the actual tray. They used to sleep in it (Fudge 99.9% of the time) and lie down while eating.
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Wombles sleeps in it too and sleep-eats.

I might keep the trays but put less hay in the trays and more hay in bags at the side so the tray is "play" hay I change more frequently (multiple times a day) and the bag is cleaner hay I refill a couple of times a day.

That way he can still sleep on some hay but not waste so much.
 
Scooter Pie said:
I made the cutest hay bags for my pigs and they LOVED them.

Untill one day a piggie who liked to put her head in it got a severe corneal ulceration. Hay poke. It was bad.

Luckily she recovered...but nope, the bags came out that day.
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Oh my goodness! This is what I was worried about!
 
There is always going to be a risk of hay poke regardless of how you serve their hay.
 
Waste is something you just have to accept with them. They may still pull it out the bag then poo/pee on it.
 
Siikibam said:
Waste is something you just have to accept with them. They may still pull it out the bag then poo/pee on it.
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fair enough. :)
I just thought I could minimise some of it. Not completely stop the waste.
I understand they need hay to play with and that will be slept on/peed/pooed/get smelly.
 
Scooter Pie said:
True. It scares the heck out of me. This particular pig was just crazy about trying to get inside the bag. She definitely wasn't to be trusted. It's such a scary injury
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Yes eye injuries always look bad.
 
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