hay - how much do you go through?

piggiemummy03x

piggiemummy03x

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question time for piggie parents!

how many piggies do you have and how much hay do you go through a week? i’m really interested too see how much we all use!
i love giving my girls a big pile of hay each day and watching them tunnel through and popcorn🥹

also - do you remove the day old hay or just leave it in if its not too soiled?
 
I've recently started buying bales of grassy hay from a farm store. I give them a big pile everyday. So far, I'm just over half way through it and it's been three months. So, by current projections, it should last me about 6 months for my three piggies. I know - mine love a big pile, it's so nice to see them exhibiting natural behaviours.
So...two bales a year 😁
 
My Piggies said:
I've recently started buying bales of grassy hay from a farm store. I give them a big pile everyday. So far, I'm just over half way through it and it's been three months. So, by current projections, it should last me about 6 months for my three piggies. I know - mine love a big pile, it's so nice to see them exhibiting natural behaviours.
So...two bales a year 😁
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wow! i’m definitely going to have to find a farm shop i think!
 
I only take out the soiled bits then add more to the pile.

I use about 10kg of feeding hay in about 6 weeks. I have two piggies. But I also use cheaper meadow hay to sleep on. It’s a very large bag maybe half a bale?. That lasts ages.
 
I can’t do a direct comparison because I have five animals, and the rabbits get through slightly more than the piggies do, but what I can say is i use more in winter.
I buy 10kg of meadow for bedding and 10kg of soft timothy for eating, every four weeks year round on subscription from haybox.
In summer at the next four week delivery, there will usually still be some meadow hay left (perhaps a couple of kilo) but in winter, as the delivery approaches, it can get tight on meadow hay.
10kg of soft timothy works well at four weeks year round.

Any areas of wet hay are removed daily along with as many poops as can I can get (this is usually done twice in winter but definitely in the evening if I only get chance to do it once). Fresh hay is then put in to replace the removed areas and a fresh sprinkling elsewhere (with a fluff up being done). The rest is removed at clean out time which is usually around every five days.
 
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We buy a bale of meadow hay for £6.50 which last about 4/5 weeks, plus a 10kg box of Timothy Hay (this lasts for ages).

I have seven piggies in 3 separate C&C cages. Two of the cages have 2x2 lofts which i fill with the meadow hay and top with the Timothy Hay and some dried forage. The other cage has a 1x2 loft which has a tray (kitten litter tray) full of hay in it plus they also has another tray in the main part of the cage. There are also lots of things in the cages stuffed with hay.

While the weather is cold we also have runs downstairs for floor time these each have a 'potting tray' full of hay in them.

I only change soiled hay daily and once a week i empty all the hay out and replace.

We use a huge amount of hay. 😂
 
weepweeps said:
I only take out the soiled bits then add more to the pile.

I use about 10kg of feeding hay in about 6 weeks. I have two piggies. But I also use cheaper meadow hay to sleep on. It’s a very large bag maybe half a bale?. That lasts ages.
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i see! so is the feeding hay like a large horse bale?
 
Piggies&buns said:
I can’t do a direct comparison because I have five animals, and the rabbits get through slightly more than the piggies do, but what I can say is i use more in winter.
I buy 10kg of meadow for bedding and 10kg of soft timothy for eating, every four weeks year round on subscription from haybox.
In summer at the next four week delivery, there will usually still be some meadow hay left (perhaps a couple of kilo) but in winter, as the delivery approaches, it can get tight on meadow hay.
10kg of soft timothy works well at four weeks year round.

Any areas of wet hay are removed daily along with as many poops as can I can get (this is usually done twice in winter but definitely in the evening if I only get chance to do it once). Fresh hay is then put in to replace the removed areas and a fresh sprinkling elsewhere (with a fluff up being done). The rest is removed at clean out time which is usually around every five days.
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ah of corse! that sounds great will definitely have to look into haybox as its been recommended a few times!

do all your pigs live together?
 
Hannah_xx said:
I have 6 pigs and a farm bale lasts me roughly two weeks. I buy them their own better quality bale than what I buy for my horses..
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can any hay bale be used or do i have to look out for a certain one? i always get worried it may be different when its sold for horses!
 
YvonneBlue said:
We buy a bale of meadow hay for £6.50 which last about 4/5 weeks, plus a 10kg box of Timothy Hay (this lasts for ages).

I have seven piggies in 3 separate C&C cages. Two of the cages have 2x2 lofts which i fill with the meadow hay and top with the Timothy Hay and some dried forage. The other cage has a 1x2 loft which has a tray (kitten litter tray) full of hay in it plus they also has another tray in the main part of the cage. There are also lots of things in the cages stuffed with hay.

While the weather is cold we also have runs downstairs for floor time these each have a 'potting tray' full of hay in them.

I only change soiled hay daily and once a week i empty all the hay out and replace.

We use a huge amount of hay. 😂
Click to expand...


do you buy big bales from farm shops?
haha wow! id love to see pics!😍
 
I have 9 pigs and I go through about 15kg of Haybox Timothy every seven weeks (it's pretty much the only hay my fussy heart pig Flubs eats), 9kg of Hay and Straw's Ings every seven weeks and 15kg of Healthy Herby's Orchard every 10 weeks. The Ings and Orchard are mixed and act as a bedding hay for part of the cage and the Timothy is given from large hay racks.

Hay is definitely my biggest outlay for the piggies, averaging £10 a week. I won't lie, I do miss the days where I had unfussy pigs who ate either exclusively Ings (I used to get the bales directly from the supplier; they did not go through quality checking but were the great price of about £5 for 20kg; now my pigs only eat the smaller packed half-bales which are higher quality) or Lunnun Dust-Free Hay from the local farm shop!
 
Danielle Smith said:
I have 9 pigs and I go through about 15kg of Haybox Timothy every seven weeks (it's pretty much the only hay my fussy heart pig Flubs eats), 9kg of Hay and Straw's Ings every seven weeks and 15kg of Healthy Herby's Orchard every 10 weeks. The Ings and Orchard are mixed and act as a bedding hay for part of the cage and the Timothy is given from large hay racks.

Hay is definitely my biggest outlay for the piggies, averaging £10 a week. I won't lie, I do miss the days where I had unfussy pigs who ate either exclusively Ings (I used to get the bales directly from the supplier; they did not go through quality checking but were the great price of about £5 for 20kg; now my pigs only eat the smaller packed half-bales which are higher quality) or Lunnun Dust-Free Hay from the local farm shop!
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haha how cute! thanks for the info!
 
This is the stuff I buy. This is the stuff they arrived here with and while it's definitely expensive, it was also amazing hay. Most online hay sites (HayBox, Happy Hay etc) have samplers available which can be great for working out if they'll actually eat it.
 
piggiemummy03x said:
do you buy big bales from farm shops?
haha wow! id love to see pics!😍
Click to expand...
I just buy a bale of meadow hay from an equine supplier / farm shop. You can also buy a bag to keep a bale of hay in ( bought mine from Amazon) we then keep this in our bike store as we don't have a garage. My piggies aren't too fussy and eat whatever hay i put in their cages. We don't really use hay as bedding (the cages have fleece liners) but they do sleep in the hay trays sometimes, especially my two old ladies as they can't be bothered to keep moving around.
 
Lorcan said:
This is the stuff I buy. This is the stuff they arrived here with and while it's definitely expensive, it was also amazing hay. Most online hay sites (HayBox, Happy Hay etc) have samplers available which can be great for working out if they'll actually eat it.
Click to expand...


thanks!
 
YvonneBlue said:
I just buy a bale of meadow hay from an equine supplier / farm shop. You can also buy a bag to keep a bale of hay in ( bought mine from Amazon) we then keep this in our bike store as we don't have a garage. My piggies aren't too fussy and eat whatever hay i put in their cages. We don't really use hay as bedding (the cages have fleece liners) but they do sleep in the hay trays sometimes, especially my two old ladies as they can't be bothered to keep moving around.
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fab! aw haha bless, see mine are on sawdust so hay is also there bedding!
 
piggiemummy03x said:
can any hay bale be used or do i have to look out for a certain one? i always get worried it may be different when its sold for horses!
Click to expand...
Depends what you’re buying for horses. High quality hay (Timothy, rye etc) is great, but many horses are on lower quality due to metabolic/weight issues (though many still buy good quality and soak/steam it). Our horses are competition horses so are fed haylage or wrapped hay (this is too rich for piggies due to partial fermentation processes).
The only reason I buy separate hay for our piggies is any contamination risk. We store our horse hay/haylage outdoors so there is always risk of rodent contamination.

I buy the piggies 10kg hay boxes. 5kg Timothy and 5kg meadow; this usually lasts 3 weeks.

Horse hay should be perfectly fine depending on how you store it. At the end of the day, long stem is better for dental health. Guinea pigs are hind gut fermenters, very similar digestive process to horses; so structural carbs (fibre) requirements are met with ad-lib hay. Older hay does lose nutritional value (as does older/longer grass) due to lignin and cellulose levels).
 
Bradshaw Piggies said:
Depends what you’re buying for horses. High quality hay (Timothy, rye etc) is great, but many horses are on lower quality due to metabolic/weight issues (though many still buy good quality and soak/steam it). Our horses are competition horses so are fed haylage or wrapped hay (this is too rich for piggies due to partial fermentation processes).
The only reason I buy separate hay for our piggies is any contamination risk. We store our horse hay/haylage outdoors so there is always risk of rodent contamination.

I buy the piggies 10kg hay boxes. 5kg Timothy and 5kg meadow; this usually lasts 3 weeks.

Horse hay should be perfectly fine depending on how you store it. At the end of the day, long stem is better for dental health. Guinea pigs are hind gut fermenters, very similar digestive process to horses; so structural carbs (fibre) requirements are met with ad-lib hay. Older hay does lose nutritional value (as does older/longer grass) due to lignin and cellulose levels).
Click to expand...


hi sorry i don’t actually have horses i was just wondering if i went to a horse
shop what to look out for!
thanks for the information!
 
I get a bale of hay from my local Alpaca farm for around £6. It lasts my 3 piggies around 3 months. Lexi and Thea eat as much hay as 4 piggies do they just can't get enough of it!
 
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