Hay racks

[lizzie_71]

I have a hay rack which hangs onto the bars on the side of the cage. But the boys don't seem to like it up there, the first thing they do every time I fill it is to unhook it and pull all the hay out :

This means that within an hour of cleaning them out, the vetbed is totally covered in hay!

Can anyone recommend a design of hayrack which they won't be able to pull down, so that the vetbed would stay a little bit cleaner for longer?

 

[Sophie1307]

You could tie, tie wraps around the hay rack and firmly attach it to the cage?

 

[Andrea]

On the cavy cages forum some cut a hole in a bathroom bin and used that.

Those small plastic rectangular bins you can get, cut a rectangular hole out on one side at the bottom - not big enough for a pig to put their head through - and fill with hay. The hay falls down as it's pulled out and all you need to do is put more in the top.
So it doesn't get knocked over, put 2 holes in the top and secure to the bars with cbale ties.

 

[Member A]

Mine don't like hay racks either so I just chuck a big pile of hay in their cage, they love to lay on it.
Something under the hay rack would keep the vetbed tidy and then secure the hay rack with cable ties like andrea suggested.
Or If you've got a c&c you could have a hay room on the upper level

 

[grommit]

Wendy has free run of our lounge and headbutts Alice's hay rack from the outside until it falls and she's sitting in a pile of hay!
She only does it to alice's hay rack, never her own, i'm sure she just does it to annoy alice! ;D

The boys didnt like the hay racks that fit on the outside of the cage so they ha one that fits in the inside of the cage now. it's a green wire one from pets at home, they are quite expensive for what they are but the boys happily eat from that.

 

[Mahooli]

Can you not put a rack on the outside of the cage so they have to pull the hay through the bars of their cage?
Becky

 

[grommit]

Thats what the boys had originally but i dont think they understood how to get the hay bless them! they eat loads more now its on the inside!

 

[minimichelle]

Mine have a hay rack on the outside and they pull all the hay out then start eating it. Don't know why I bother with it some times as no sooner have you cleaned them than the cage looks a mess again. Have tried one of the ball things that you hang from the cage but Mini couldn't reach :smitten:

 

[lizzie_71]

I have finally found the solution to this. The hay is now in one of those hay balls which hangs from the ceiling. They can't pull it all out at once and there is a lot less mess. They seem happy enough with the new arrangement, and they they are still eating plenty of hay! They have to reach up a bit for it but it's no different to reaching up to a water bottle.

I did catch one of them on the roof of the pigloo to reach the hay the other day - they're nothing if not resourceful!

 

[Lez]

;D ;D last night merlins wooden bendy arch was un the way of him getting to the hay rack, so he just sat on top of it so that he could eat hay from there ;D

 

[guineafriend]

Or......... I had the same problem and now put a fleece (cheap £2 throw from anywhere will do) over the vet bed, it's much easier to get the hay off the fleece than the vetbed.

 

[tattyruncy]

George has a hayrack but he much prefers eating his out of a loo roll, I put a few in the run cos he soon eats it all. Maybe if your guinea pigs have some bigger tubes you could cramm some hay into them.
George has a curvy bit of drain pipe which holds loads of hay. I often think I don't know why I bought a hayrack, because i don't need one really. The hay does not get dirty in the tubes as it's usually gobbled up rather quickly.