Hay Amounts

[3piggles]

One of the rabbit sites I follow posted a meme showing a bunny saying it needed a ball of hay as big as it was, every day, to stay healthy. It went on to say all bunnies need to eat their size in hay, every day.

I've never seen anything this factual about how much hay guinea pigs should have, and wondered if anyone else had? I've seen the usual all-they-can-eat and unlimited descriptions, and I've heard a lot of people complain about the amount of hay they toss out every time they clean the cage, because it got soiled instead of eaten. So I wondered if anyone had seen or heard an actual amount of hay guinea pigs needed to consume to keep their innards happy.

[Whimsy]

I think they like the all you can eat buffet style :-)

[jolovespiggies]

I don't think you can ever give too much hay hun.

Hugs
JO xx

[3piggles]

I figure there is a point where we are throwing away far more hay than they are eating, so unless we use it as bedding, there probably is a point. I do think there is an amount that they must have to keep their innards moving. We tend to just give them all they can eat, but they probably need a specific amount. I'm just curious. If anyone comes across that info, please post it. If nothing else, it's a good fact to have when people say they don't see any need to give hay to their pigs!

[cookie72]

I've never heard anything specific except the 'unlimited'. My Guinness sure isn't a big hay eater though. But she makes alot of poops, so she must be eating enough for her needs. It seems like half of what I put into her hayrack ends up crumbled up on the cage bottom. She probably eats about one handful a day. My other 2 girls used to eat alot more hay.

[bootygurl]

I have worked at several pet retailers and every one of them just says that hay should be available at all times and it should account for 70- 80% of their diet. Booty tends to eat whatever I give her (within reason) immediately if its fresh. If its sat for the day or falls to the bedding she poops on it almost immediately. I have tried several types of hay feeders from baskets to troughs, silos and box. No matter what 1/3 or so ends up on the bottom pooped on.

[Bean]

We need someone to do an experiment!

I don't get masses of waste when I use the hayrack, but as me and my kids top it up regularly throughout the day, I've no idea how much we put in each day. Maybe I'll put in the volume of two guinea pigs one morning and see what happens!

I find the rabbit thing quite useful as a rough guide (especially to tell the kids if they're feeding them to make sure they get enough), so agree it would be useful to have for guineas. Obviously if you have animals that eat more or less than that, you can adjust, but the starting point is handy to give you an idea. I still give them more than they end up eating though - when you buy by the bale, waste is far less of a concern than if you're buying expensive smaller bags. What mine don't eat and subsequently wee on, I just compost.

[jolovespiggies]

My two love their hay, they make borrows out of it and have breakfast in bed LOL!!

Hugs
JO xx

[3piggles]

I clean Morty and Mias kitchen area, put in new hay, and Morty promptly made a bed of it and went to sleep. I don't think there is any way we can stop all the waste, but as Bean said, it's a good guideline or starting point. Pigs seem to be messy eaters, and they pull out a lot of hay while trying to get to the piece they want. They also love to play in hay, and I think they pull out a lot just to have play hay.

Hubby and I have very different ideas of what unlimited means. I know, in a pinch, they will eat what they discarded before. He gives them so much hay, they won't run out for days. Most of that gets soiled, so he wastes a lot more than I do.

I'm interested in the results of your test, Bean