Hay

[Lisa.marie.white]

Good afternoon.

My one guinea eats continuously all day. I give the pair, 1 TBSP each of pellets in the morning and 1.5 cups of veges when home for work around 4pm. Milly is still not eating a full cup as she is a baby and daisy eats most lol.

Now the hay, I have read always keep it readily available. I put a pile in the morning, afternoon and at night. I swear Daisy eats all day. Is there an amount of hay I should be offering? I tried a wood rack I purchased of amazon but Milly is so small she got into it and laid down. Looked dangerous as she is little.

Thoughts on hay?

 

[Tnoz]

Do away with the hay rack, just have a big pile in the cage you have, I don’t use hay racks cuz they can’t hide, burrow, nest, reach when small, they eat a lot of hay, that’s their main source of food.

 

[luckyandsammy]

They are supposed to eat lots of hay! It’s good that she’s eating it throughout the day

 

[Wiebke]

Good afternoon.

My one guinea eats continuously all day. I give the pair, 1 TBSP each of pellets in the morning and 1.5 cups of veges when home for work around 4pm. Milly is still not eating a full cup as she is a baby and daisy eats most lol.

Now the hay, I have read always keep it readily available. I put a pile in the morning, afternoon and at night. I swear Daisy eats all day. Is there an amount of hay I should be offering? I tried a wood rack I purchased of amazon but Milly is so small she got into it and laid down. Looked dangerous as she is little.

Thoughts on hay?

Hi

Hay and fresh grass are unlimited; they are the food source on which guinea pigs have evolved on for which the dental growth rate and the digestive system are laid out for. The more grass fibre (as hay or as fresh growing grass) your piggies eat, the more chance they have on a healthy and longer life; it can really add 1-2 years to their average life span in my own experience. Rejoice in your piggies eating so well!
More information on the role of hay in the diet and how to carefully introduce any fresh grass: Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

Burrowing in soft hay is a favourite activity and counts as prime enrichment. If you are serving stalky timothy, then please offer it a way they cannot jump in and get some soft meadow or orchard hay for playing and sleeping in; a hay tray is also a favourite toiletting area (at least one end).
You can find it listed in our enrichment ideas guide here: Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs

 

[poggle]

No such thing as too much hay! ...Or so my guinea pigs tell me

I second advice to provide it in a pile. Few things make my guys as happy as a fresh pile of hay, and it's also the cheapest option - win win!

 

[Piggies&buns]

I absolutely agree with everyone else. They need to eat lots of hay.
Mine all get big piles of hay in loose, I don’t use hayracks as they like to be amongst the hay

 

[Merab]

I’m another who just dumps piles of hay in the cage.
It gets eaten, slept in and on, played with ……..

 

[Lisa.marie.white]

Yes we are using Timothy hay. I’ve been looking for a more inexpensive burrowing hay for them.

They love the Timothy hay! I would like to set up a burrowing hay box for litter and add Timothy hay for nourishment. Changing the box every day. Just find it would be a lot of hay $ to serve it all in Oxbow Timothy hay.

Although assuming they will eat both?