Is There Such Thing As A Mess-Free Hay Rack?

[Starwind Amada]

My piggies always get their hay all over the floor of their cage and it's a real pain to clean up. Is there some sort of large rack that can hold a lot of hay and they just eat a little at a time but it holds the rest so they don't spill it everywhere? Like something where it's mostly closed but there's a small space they can eat from but not much space for hay to spill out? The rack I have now is completely open and can even tip over.

 

[Siikibam]

I’m afraid not. They will endeavour to pull it out whichever one you use. You have to be careful not to restrict how much they eat by trying to ‘contain’ the hay. It would be better if you put piles on the floor. It can be a form of enrichment if you hide their pellets and veg in the hay. They then have to forage for dinner. They also enjoy running through, sleeping in and eating while laying down in it.

Hard-to-clean-up hay mess is part and parcel of piggy ownership. Remember it makes up the largest proportion of their diet.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Hay everywhere is part of piggy life. They love to be able to forage through it and play in it and for that reason a lot of us won’t use hay racks and instead just throw it in the cage loose.
The compromise to keep hay a bit more contained but to still give the piggies the freedom they like to be right inside a pile of hay is to use something like storage box, cut a door in the box (ensuring no sharp edges) and then fill it with hay.

 

[Dollyx]

I made a tray for the hay out of coroplast, same material i made my cage out of. It does really well keeping the hay from going everywhere else as its contained in its own tray!

 

[Jenni85]

This was my biggest issue as well, but I've since realised piggies need a lot of hay in multiple places in the cage and keeping it looking tidy and clean is impossible. So I gave up, their happiness is more important to me than a tidy looking cage.

 

[weepweeps]

Messy pigs are happy pigs.

 

[piggiemummy03x]

have you tried a ‘hay tray’? i recently purchased a shallow cat litter tray which i line with a fleece pad and put piles of hay in, my girls love it! doesn’t completely eliminate hay getting everywhere but its definitely not as messy as just a pile on the floor.. remember though piggies are just messy and thats the way they like it haha, as others have said id much prefer happy pigs to a clean cage or making my job easier when it comes to cleaning out! their happiness comes before anything

 

[CV26]

Cozi Creationz UK on Facebook sell a made to measure 'hay keeper'. It's a waterproof washable canvas type fabric box that clips onto the cage bars. I've got ones the size of a 1 x 1 C&C but they'll make them almost any size you want...they also do a style with more of a frontage.

It doesn't stop the boys pulling hay out of course, but it does keep things a bit tidier. I use it in their holiday set ups to stop hay spreading too far. I use a puppy pad and Back to Nature at the bottom, then just pile it with hay for them to have fun in.

Cozi Creationz UK | Facebook