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Not eating hay

Laura_Deakin

Laura_Deakin

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Does anyone have any ideas why my two piggies have stopped eating hay/eating very little of it, they’re eating their greens and grass, and nuggets, they’ve just gone off hay, Caramel is currently on anti biotics for a cyst, and Oreo is fine health wise (I think). So I’m thinking caramel may not have as much of an appetite because of the medicine, but can’t understand why Oreo isn’t eating as much hay as she normally does? I bought another two packets and tried them with a new one but they still won’t eat much of it, neither of them are losing weight so I just don’t know if I should be worried? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
 
Trying a different type of hay can sometimes help.
I would switch to daily weight checks so you can more closely monitor and check you arent overfeeding veg and pellets.
Is Caramel having any probiotic?
 
Is it ok to change hay types suddenly though? They’ve been on one type their whole life.. I’m just not sure if it can cause health issues suddenly changing?
 
Piggies&buns said:
I change hay quite a bit.
Mine are routinely fed a mixture of Timothy and meadow hay
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They’ve gone off it again :( I’m not sure why. I took them to the vets the other day and he fully did a check up and they’re both fine health wise.. could it just be that they’re 5 years old and getting old and their appetite is decreasing?
 
Laura_Deakin said:
They’ve gone off it again :( I’m not sure why. I took them to the vets the other day and he fully did a check up and they’re both fine health wise.. could it just be that they’re 5 years old and getting old and their appetite is decreasing?
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No that should not really be why. Ive got two five year olds who still eat as much as normal.

If they are maintaining their weight, then they should still be eating as much as always.
Are you only giving one tablespoon of pellets?
Are you giving the same amount of veg as normal?
 
Piggies&buns said:
No that should not really be why. Ive got two five year olds who still eat as much as normal.

If they are maintaining their weight, then they should still be eating as much as always.
Are you only giving one tablespoon of pellets?
Are you giving the same amount of veg as normal?
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I give two tablespoons of pellets.. as that is what I got told to give by the vet .. their veg I give three times a day if they’re not outside eating grass
 
Laura_Deakin said:
I give two tablespoons of pellets.. as that is what I got told to give by the vet .. their veg I give three times a day if they’re not outside eating grass
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So two tablespoons between the two of them? Ie one tablespoon each.
if you’re giving each piggy two tablespoons (so four tablespoons between the two of them) then they are eating double the amount of pellets they should be which can cause a decrease in hay intake, and increase in calcium intake (which risks bladder problems).

As long as they are getting a recommended amount of veg, then it doesnt matter how many feedings you split it into
 
No so I give them one tablespoon each! They’re maintaining their weight I think(?) I’ll weigh them again tomorrow but the vet wasn’t concerned at all! They’d been outside eating grass all morning today, I then brought them in at 12ish and gave them their daily pellets, and then noticed when I got home tonight they hadn’t ate any hay.. so I’m thinking maybe they were full up on grass and pellets?
 
Laura_Deakin said:
No so I give them one tablespoon each! They’re maintaining their weight I think(?) I’ll weigh them again tomorrow but the vet wasn’t concerned at all! They’d been outside eating grass all morning today, I then brought them in at 12ish and gave them their daily pellets, and then noticed when I got home tonight they hadn’t ate any hay.. so I’m thinking maybe they were full up on grass and pellets?
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That’s fine then!

As long as they are maintaining their weight, then there isn’t an immediate issue. I would weigh them more frequently than once a week while you have concerns.

How do you serve their hay? Do you just offer large loose piles? Weight checks are the only way to know they are eating it. You probably won’t be able to tell whether a loose pile is going down, but of course loose piles are a great way to provide hay.
Do you offer hay when they are on the grass? If not, then I would do so. Mine always have a hay tray when they are on the lawn.

Have you built up their grass access slowly? You don’t want to suddenly put them on the lawn for hours if they’ve not been eating it all winter, particularly not with rich spring grass. It needs to be built up, either by picking handfuls of grass for them to eat in their cage each day or by putting them on grass for 5 mins for the first week, 10 mins for the next, then 15-20 minutes for the second week, 30 minutes for the third week etc etc until after many weeks they can be on it for several hours.
 
Piggies&buns said:
That’s fine then!

As long as they are maintaining their weight, then there isn’t an immediate issue. I would weigh them more frequently than once a week while you have concerns.

How do you serve their hay? Do you just offer large loose piles? Weight checks are the only way to know they are eating it. You probably won’t be able to tell whether a loose pile is going down, but of course loose piles are a great way to provide hay.
Do you offer hay when they are on the grass? If not, then I would do so. Mine always have a hay tray when they are on the lawn.

Have you built up their grass access slowly? You don’t want to suddenly put them on the lawn for hours if they’ve not been eating it all winter, particularly not with rich spring grass. It needs to be built up, either by picking handfuls of grass for them to eat in their cage each day or by putting them on grass for 5 mins for the first week, 10 mins for the next, then 15-20 minutes for the second week, 30 minutes for the third week etc etc until after many weeks they can be on it for several hours.
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I have two hay mangers that I fill up ..

Ahh ok I will bare that in mind! I had been just putting them outside all afternoon after they hadn’t been out all winter.. but they both seem fine, Oreo was doing zoomies yesterday evening, I think they’re both happy piggies :) it’s probably just me worrying for no reason! Thanks for your advice :)
 
Laura_Deakin said:
I have two hay mangers that I fill up ..

Ahh ok I will bare that in mind! I had been just putting them outside all afternoon after they hadn’t been out all winter.. but they both seem fine, Oreo was doing zoomies yesterday evening, I think they’re both happy piggies :) it’s probably just me worrying for no reason! Thanks for your advice :)
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Then I would also start offering large loose piles of hay directly on the cage floor or put it in a tray on the cage floor so they can get right inside and on top of the hay. The ability to forage freely and play in hay is important enrichment and can encourage them to eat much more.

Ok, I would restrict their grass access and acclimatise them to it slowly. It’s important that is done every year or after any break from lawn time.
Offer a hay tray when they are getting their grass time so they can balance grass intake with hay intake. When they’re onlu out for five mins or so I don’t bother having hay out at that point but once they are getting 15/20 mins or more then I do have a hay tray out.
Spring grass is very rich and has the potential to cause bloat and digestive upsets in unprepared tummies.

It’s also important to ensure that you can stand on the grass with bare feet without feeling cold or damp. If you feel cold or damp with bare feet then the piggies should not yet be on the lawn in any event.

This guide explains
Feeding Grass And Preparing Your Piggies For Lawn Time
 
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