Hay feeding ideas

Aisling

Aisling

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Apr 28, 2023
Messages
113
Reaction score
107
Points
275
Location
ireland
hello,
I have had my girls for about 3 years now and I have tried several different hay feeders but none of them have worked very well for my guinea pigs,
I currently have hay bags but they keep digging right to the back of they hay bag and I'm afraid they're going to get stuck or get a haypoke

Over the 3 years I have tried:

hay rack/hay ball (I was afraid they would get stuck)

wooden hay rack (the gaps between the bars were way to big and we wouldn't be able to cut them out very easily if they got stuck)

cylindrical wooden hay rack (one of my girls was able to knock it over, take off the lid and crawl inside the hay rack)

A clump of hay on the floor/in a box (very messy and one of my girls got 2 haypokes from burrowing in it with her eyes wide open)

I don't know what to call this and I threw mine away so I just got the pic from the website (they couldn't get enough hay out and it was pretty small)

47890-150x150.jpg

and I've considered the snak shak but they're expensive and my guinea pigs would probably just eat it straight away,
any alternative hay feeding ideas would be greatly appreciated
 
I just throw hay on the cage floor. I don’t attempt to contain it in any way because it then stops their ability to get into it and play in it. Hay is more than just a food, it’s a source of enrichment and fun, they sleep in it, run through it and love to forage in it.
 
I quite enjoy the good old confined pile of hay, works well for mine. I have a eating and water section at one side and then everything else.
I have dust extracted hay as most is, and have only had one case of hay-poke in over a decade.

I am pretty sure I had that rack at some point and didn't work well for my pigs and if you have really mischievous pigs they may jump in to get a specific piece and hurt themselves by getting stuck etc.
You do not want to contain it too much as you do not want to stop their ability to eat as they like.
The tissue box with good sized holes is a great one for cheap and easy DIY, maybe even a plain carboard box with a guinea pig shaped hole in it? But they are likely to just rake into it an pull it out, which also adds to fun and enrichment.
 
A clump of hay is fine if you have normal guinea pigs who don't burrow in it with their eyes wide open.
I do have softer hay I could feed them, but I usually use that as bedding hay because its not as good quality.
I used to just use the bedding hay and sprinkle forage through it but the forage was getting expensive.
I might try just mixing the feeding hay through the bedding hay with just a bit of forage and just put that on the cage floor,
it would be messy but it would solve the reoccurring themes of haypokes and nearly getting stuck.

Thanks for the replies,
 
Aisling said:
A clump of hay is fine if you have normal guinea pigs who don't burrow in it with their eyes wide open.
I do have softer hay I could feed them, but I usually use that as bedding hay because its not as good quality.
I used to just use the bedding hay and sprinkle forage through it but the forage was getting expensive.
I might try just mixing the feeding hay through the bedding hay with just a bit of forage and just put that on the cage floor,
it would be messy but it would solve the reoccurring themes of haypokes and nearly getting stuck.

Thanks for the replies,
Click to expand...
Hay is hay isn't it? Some is stalky, some isn't but one dry grass contains much the same in terms of nutrients as the next. As a prey animal a guinea pig would be expected to have their eyes open to look for predators so your pigs are behaving normally! We've had a couple of hay poles with our hay piles over the years, it's an occupational hazard that is worth the trade off for us for the enrichment that burrowing in hay provides. It is really messy though, which is irritating. I have a tray to contain it somewhat but it still spreads.
 
Id definitely look into DIYS people on this forum have made, no point spending money on something that doesn’t work really well.

If you look up like terms in the search bar you should find something, hopefully.
 
Tigermoth said:
Hay is hay isn't it? Some is stalky, some isn't but one dry grass contains much the same in terms of nutrients as the next. As a prey animal a guinea pig would be expected to have their eyes open to look for predators so your pigs are behaving normally! We've had a couple of hay poles with our hay piles over the years, it's an occupational hazard that is worth the trade off for us for the enrichment that burrowing in hay provides. It is really messy though, which is irritating. I have a tray to contain it somewhat but it still spreads.
Click to expand...
well it's good to know its not just my guinea pigs who burrow with their eyes open,
but their is noticeable quality difference in the hay while they would be able to survive just fine with the bedding hay the other hay has bits of dried flowers
and whatever these fuzzy bits are called it's also much greener but I don't know if it being greener makes a difference but I mostly just get the feeding hay because my guinea pigs prefer it
1682980844001.webp
 
I also put a loose pile of hay in a cardboard tray, and my piggies really enjoy it. I can see your dilemma though. There's something from GuineaDad that might work: Timothy Hay Bar (5 Pack)

I don't know if you have GuineaDad in Ireland, but maybe this will give you an idea! Good luck! :)
 
Aisling said:
A clump of hay is fine if you have normal guinea pigs who don't burrow in it with their eyes wide open.
I do have softer hay I could feed them, but I usually use that as bedding hay because its not as good quality.
I used to just use the bedding hay and sprinkle forage through it but the forage was getting expensive.
I might try just mixing the feeding hay through the bedding hay with just a bit of forage and just put that on the cage floor,
it would be messy but it would solve the reoccurring themes of haypokes and nearly getting stuck.

Thanks for the replies,
Click to expand...

I just use a normal meadow hay and mix some Timothy hay and forage into it. They absolutely do burrow all the time and always with their eyes open! It’s a huge part of how they keep themselves occupied every day
 
Aisling said:
well it's good to know its not just my guinea pigs who burrow with their eyes open,
but their is noticeable quality difference in the hay while they would be able to survive just fine with the bedding hay the other hay has bits of dried flowers
and whatever these fuzzy bits are called it's also much greener but I don't know if it being greener makes a difference but I mostly just get the feeding hay because my guinea pigs prefer it
View attachment 223774
Click to expand...
I just feed meadow hay. That is used in a pile for eating, burrowing and pooping on (and then eating as it is tastiest that way) I’ve had no complaints, even when I think it looks a bit dull and stalky.
 
Adelyn said:
I also put a loose pile of hay in a cardboard tray, and my piggies really enjoy it. I can see your dilemma though. There's something from GuineaDad that might work: Timothy Hay Bar (5 Pack)

I don't know if you have GuineaDad in Ireland, but maybe this will give you an idea! Good luck! :)
Click to expand...
GuineaDad does ship to Ireland, but I would have to pay €22.72 ($25) shipping fees, which isn't ideal,
but you could probably do the same thing with a big box.
Thank you for the idea,
 
Tigermoth said:
I just feed meadow hay. That is used in a pile for eating, burrowing and pooping on (and then eating as it is tastiest that way) I’ve had no complaints, even when I think it looks a bit dull and stalky.
Click to expand...
There's nothing wrong with meadow hay,
my guinea pigs just have more fun foraging in the feeding hay,
but some forage or feeding hay mixed with meadow hay would do the same thing, so I'm going to try that
 
Mine just hay strewn around the cage floor to sleep in and on, eat, wee on, poop on and generally have fun with.
They also get it stuffed into hay cubes, carrot cottages and paper bags
 
The goblins just get a handful of hay tossed in every so often. Thankfully Cam hasn't tried sleeping in it for a while because they'll only eat the stalkiest, most unappetising looking hay (to me) possible, but even with that there's been no eye injuries. Also @Aisling that looks like a seed head. I'm yet to meet a guinea pig that didn't love them.
 
Adelyn said:
Me too, they do love those seed heads 😂
Click to expand...

Cam takes them by hand. Bann not so much, but he snatched one off me earlier in a very determined "well it'll do I guess" type manner :)) they love timothy, and any timothy hay I get seems full of seed heads...and I don't argue with those teeth.
 
Lorcan said:
Cam takes them by hand. Bann not so much, but he snatched one off me earlier in a very determined "well it'll do I guess" type manner :)) they love timothy, and any timothy hay I get seems full of seed heads...and I don't argue with those teeth.
Click to expand...
My guinea pigs are very comfortable taking food out of my hand maybe a little too comfortable.
I usually have to restrain my guinea pigs whenever they think I have any kind of food,😂
and recently one of my girls (Lou) has decided she can fit out through the bars of their play pen if she tries hard enough,
obviously she can't, so she kind of just sticks her nose through the bars like a really big rat and I'm terrified she's going to get stuck.
My other girl (Chomper) kind of does it too but not nearly as bad as Lou.
 
Aisling said:
well it's good to know its not just my guinea pigs who burrow with their eyes open,
but their is noticeable quality difference in the hay while they would be able to survive just fine with the bedding hay the other hay has bits of dried flowers
and whatever these fuzzy bits are called it's also much greener but I don't know if it being greener makes a difference but I mostly just get the feeding hay because my guinea pigs prefer it
View attachment 223774
Click to expand...
That is a Timothy grass head,
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top