Size of Holes for a Hay Bag?

[Mikknu]

Hello there.

I'm making a hay bag for my pigs, as I couldn't find one big enough that fit my decor, and I was wondering- how big of a hole should the feeding hole be? I've attached a picture below of the bag, and the stars at their widest measure about 4.6 cm. The fabric is malleable though, and I am slightly concerned about the pigs getting their heads stuck. Should I add small bars to the stars if they're too big, like a window?

Also, for how I should hang it- I know grommets are something to avoid, but are safety pins acceptable, or should I just attach strips of fleece or another fabric to make small ties?

 

[Siikibam]

I would make them bigger and perhaps make two that are two stars wide (bigger stars though). When I used it, I hung mine with fabric ties (sewed onto the bag). I wouldn’t do safety pins but grommets should work. You can thread fabric through to tie to the cage.

I don’t have a photo of mine, but they may have been about the square size of my fourth fingers.

 

[Mikknu]

If I made two massive stars, they would be about 15 cm wide apiece. I feel, personally, like that is a little too big? I may be wrong though. I have another square of rectangle shaped fabric, and I can definitely use it to try that out! I'm not sure I can modify the stars at this point however, beyond making the four individual stars larger.

I can definitely make use of grommets and some spare fleece though, thanks for the heads up! I appreciate it. Is there a member gallery for sharing DIY projects that I haven't found yet, where stuff like this is shared? Or is that not a thing?

 

[Siikibam]

There are threads here and there but no area dedicated to it.
Could you widen the stars just a little? Up to you though, you could always try it when you get the piggies then decide whether it’s enough or too small.

I hope you’ve started a vet fund as well as all the DIY

 

[Mikknu]

I can definitely try widening the stars, for sure! I dont have the bag on me right now for measurements, but I should be able to make them ~3-4? cm larger per star, I just dont think I can merge two stars into one. I'm not that good at sewing, sadly.

And yes, I do have a very fund started ^-^ Most of the materials I have were things I used for a school honours project, so the vet fund has been growing for about a month now, basically since I started doing some more in-depth research on Guinea pigs. I've got another 4 months to keep on saving too, and I'm hoping to have a good chunk of money saved up, at least ~$400(£360) just to start with, preferably more if I can. My local vets charge about $56(£50) across the board for a general check up, discount for additional pigs, and everything else is situational. My work hours will pick up in May too after the first week, and within the month I should be able to double or more whatever I've saved up. I've also located my local emergency vet, in case something goes wrong outside of normal veterinary hours.

I wasn't able to get information about what an emergency bill might look like, but browsing forums and other information, what I've found is that it usually is between $300-$500 for something really serious that requires anesthesia, a major or urgent surgery, and medications afterward.

I'm tempted to invest in something like a baby camera too, or borrow one from my siblings, just to be sure that nothing is going wrong while I'm not there too. I'm a little paranoid about the stories some people have had the horrible misfortune of experiencing.

Is there anything else I should be doing or preparing for? If there is, any advice or tips you have, I'd love to hear them!

 

[Siikibam]

You can get the camera but it should all be ok while you’re at work.
Keep adding to the vet fund even once you’ve got them.
it’s good to be prepared but be careful not to go overboard.