sadyandmrsk
Tin Member
2 Rescue Piggies On a better road to a better life with me :)
Posts: 67 
|
Post by sadyandmrsk on May 1, 2016 21:02:47 GMT
Hello! So i have 2 female piggies. They have always had hay since i got them, but i didn't realize how low i was on it!! Im not getting paid until the end of may, so i can't buy any more. My parents can't buy me any either because they tell me they don't have any extra money, and say they can live without it for a while. I think differently. Anyway, a while back, i bought a small bag of timothy hay cubes, they love them, Id say each cube is the size of 2 Toonies, or bigger. Could i give them each 1-2 of these a day just until i have money? They never finish the whole thing anyway, lol but i think if that was their only option, they'd take it!!
|
|
|
|
Post by 3piggles on May 1, 2016 22:46:57 GMT
Pigs have to have hay to move the food through their digestive system. Otherwise, they can get bloat, which can be fatal. The cubes are better than nothing, but not advisable for a month. Is there a place that provides help for people who can't afford food for their pets? Perhaps a local rescue can help. That's worth a try. No, pigs cannot survive for very long without hay, so watch their poos. If the poos start getting small, you may have to make other arrangements for the girls. Sorry  |
|
sadyandmrsk
Tin Member
2 Rescue Piggies On a better road to a better life with me :)
Posts: 67
|
Post by sadyandmrsk on May 2, 2016 3:43:20 GMT
Pigs have to have hay to move the food through their digestive system. Otherwise, they can get bloat, which can be fatal. The cubes are better than nothing, but not advisable for a month. Is there a place that provides help for people who can't afford food for their pets? Perhaps a local rescue can help. That's worth a try. No, pigs cannot survive for very long without hay, so watch their poos. If the poos start getting small, you may have to make other arrangements for the girls. Sorry Ok thank you  . Fortunately, my best friend has piggies too, and she has hay, but she only has alfalfa because her pigs are younger. The cubes are my only option. My mom said she would be getting paid maybe next week and she could pick me up a small bag, but i have to pay her back asap! Its still a week though, but hopefully nothing bad will happen... |
|
|
|
Post by Bean on May 2, 2016 6:21:02 GMT
I hope you can get that bag of hay ASAP. Maybe if you wrote your mum a letter explaining why they need hay and how you'd love her support to do the right thing by this girls (especially given the start they had), she'll see how responsible you're being and be happier about lending you the money (I say letter as sometimes it's less confrontational than having another face to face conversation about something that hasn't gone so well). 3piggles' suggestion of seeing if there's a local rescue around that could help you out is a good idea too.
It'd also be good to have a plan of what to do if this situation is likely to occur again. As 3piggles said, hay is the most important thing for their health - in addition to being crucial for digestion, their teeth need to be constantly grinding to wear properly. They have 16 more teeth behind the incisors, and if these overgrow they literally can't eat and will need very expensive dental work to stay alive.
Which also leads on to what would happen if one of your girls got ill. Vets can be expensive but guinea pigs can go downhill so quickly, that you don't want to be wasting time worrying about how to pay for a vet if one of your girls is poorly. Some vets allow you to pay in installments, but it's good to find this sort of thing out before you need to and think about who might be able to help you out if needed.
Good luck with the hay hunt. Is there somewhere you can pick some fresh grass for them (somewhere not used as a toilet by animals, or that might have been treated by chemicals)? You don't want to suddenly introduce masses of something they don't eat a lot of regularly, but a bit of grass would help with their guts and teeth.
|
|
|
|
Post by 3piggles on May 2, 2016 12:42:13 GMT
Even the alfalfa is better than nothing, especially if you have the timothy hay cubes. Any form of dry grass helps to move the food through their systems. Also, look at surrounding farms for bales of hay. They are usually much larger for much less money. While field hay in bales hasn't been sorted and might have some dirt, dead animals, etc., in it, at least you can afford the hay. Buying the Timothy hay at the store is the most expensive way to buy it. It's the best, but not if you can't afford it. Try feed/grain stores, rescues, and just calling farms that list in the yellow pages as selling hay. You may have to pick it up, and most farms don't deliver unless you buy a truck load. Bean raised a good point about the vet costs. Depending on where you live, just a basic vet visit to check out a possible problem can cost anywhere from $50-100+, and any treatment, tests or prescriptions cost more. Once a guinea pig starts to show signs of having a problem, it's already had the problem long enough to no longer be able to hide the symptoms. Getting the pig to the vet ASAP is imperative. It can't wait until you get paid, sorry  Once you get the hay sorted, it would be good to start putting away a certain amount out of each paycheck, for vet visits. |
|
sadyandmrsk
Tin Member
2 Rescue Piggies On a better road to a better life with me :)
Posts: 67
|
Post by sadyandmrsk on May 2, 2016 13:08:53 GMT
Even the alfalfa is better than nothing, especially if you have the timothy hay cubes. Any form of dry grass helps to move the food through their systems. Also, look at surrounding farms for bales of hay. They are usually much larger for much less money. While field hay in bales hasn't been sorted and might have some dirt, dead animals, etc., in it, at least you can afford the hay. Buying the Timothy hay at the store is the most expensive way to buy it. It's the best, but not if you can't afford it. Try feed/grain stores, rescues, and just calling farms that list in the yellow pages as selling hay. You may have to pick it up, and most farms don't deliver unless you buy a truck load. Bean raised a good point about the vet costs. Depending on where you live, just a basic vet visit to check out a possible problem can cost anywhere from $50-100+, and any treatment, tests or prescriptions cost more. Once a guinea pig starts to show signs of having a problem, it's already had the problem long enough to no longer be able to hide the symptoms. Getting the pig to the vet ASAP is imperative. It can't wait until you get paid, sorry Once you get the hay sorted, it would be good to start putting away a certain amount out of each paycheck, for vet visits. I get paid $100 a month. (I just deliver flyers lol) So id say that I'm going to start putting $10-$20 away just in case. Since there only my first pigs, i didn't realize how fast they go through a large bag of hay!!! I found a farmer who's selling $5 hay bales so i hope my mom will let me contact him! ASAP!!!! |
|
|
|
Post by 3piggles on May 2, 2016 15:42:35 GMT
That's a great price for a bale of hay! It won't be western timothy, or even timothy, but it will give you a lot of hay for a little money, and that's great Bales need to be kept in a way that allows air to circulate around them, so not in a trash bag unless you poke some holes in it to allow air to circulate. A pigs diet should be 80% hay and 20% pellets. Fresh veggies, fruits, grass are just treats, and should be fed sparingly Good luck |
|
sadyandmrsk
Tin Member
2 Rescue Piggies On a better road to a better life with me :)
Posts: 67
|
Post by sadyandmrsk on May 2, 2016 18:33:54 GMT
That's a great price for a bale of hay! It won't be western timothy, or even timothy, but it will give you a lot of hay for a little money, and that's great Bales need to be kept in a way that allows air to circulate around them, so not in a trash bag unless you poke some holes in it to allow air to circulate. A pigs diet should be 80% hay and 20% pellets. Fresh veggies, fruits, grass are just treats, and should be fed sparingly Good luck Thanks!! And we will keep it in a large hamper in our garage |
|
|
|
Post by Bean on May 3, 2016 9:25:00 GMT
The bale of hay sounds great, and so reasonable - I buy the meadow hay in bales for my lot as it's cheap enough to give them extra to play in as well as eat. We buy most of the bedding and food for our furry lot that way (and in bulk as they deliver for free or larger orders) - my husband always complains that he can't get in the shed to find any tools etc because of all the bales lining the walls! The vet find sounds like a great idea. I don't know if you have already, but it's also worth picking out which vet you're going to use if you ever need to - save yourself ever having to make that decision in an emergency when you don't have much time and have a sense of urgency. Find out which have the most experience with guinea pigs. There are some great pointers on this page. |
|
|
|
Post by 3piggles on May 3, 2016 12:05:33 GMT
A big hamper sounds great I had mine in a trash bin |
|
|
|
Post by jolovespiggies on May 3, 2016 19:17:03 GMT
A friend very kindly made us a huge sack for the hay bales and it is brilliant.
Hugs
JO xx
|
|
|
|
Post by bazookagoof on May 4, 2016 1:39:40 GMT
A pigs diet should be 80% hay and 20% pellets. Fresh veggies, fruits, grass are just treats, and should be fed sparingly Good luck I second this; my piggies get hay for the majority of their food, with some pellets as supplements. (Theodore seems to prefer pellets over hay, but he still gets hay regardless.) |
|
Whimsy
Bronze Member
Posts: 400
|
Post by Whimsy on May 6, 2016 1:13:14 GMT
It sounds like you're in Canada, but where exactly? I'm just wondering if I can help.
|
|
sadyandmrsk
Tin Member
2 Rescue Piggies On a better road to a better life with me :)
Posts: 67
|
Post by sadyandmrsk on May 6, 2016 3:06:01 GMT
It sounds like you're in Canada, but where exactly? I'm just wondering if I can help. yes. i am |
|
|
|
Post by 3piggles on May 6, 2016 13:01:50 GMT
I have a friend in Edmonton, if you're anywhere near there. She's had some financial problems, so probably knows where to get inexpensive hay and pellets She also makes cage liners, cuddle cups, etc., for guinea pig cages, so she may have other connections in the general guinea pig community in that area. |
|
Whimsy
Bronze Member
Posts: 400
|
Post by Whimsy on May 6, 2016 13:35:14 GMT
Where in Canada are you? I'm in BC.
|
|
sadyandmrsk
Tin Member
2 Rescue Piggies On a better road to a better life with me :)
Posts: 67
|
Post by sadyandmrsk on May 6, 2016 13:39:46 GMT
I live in saskatchewan. Edmonton is too far from where i live, lol. But we've got some hay now. Im going to start putting $10 away every month for veggies, hay, and food for my fish. I ran out of all of it this month, so it was kinda hard. But if i put that $10 away, i sure ill always have extra money |
|
|
|
Post by 3piggles on May 6, 2016 14:07:50 GMT
Yes, you are a really long way from Edmonton The $10 sounds great. Spend wisely |
|
|
|
Post by jolovespiggies on May 6, 2016 19:27:03 GMT
That is a very good idea love, have a piggy and fishy fund lol! This way you will you will never be caught short if you need to buy something extra one week.
Hugs
Jo xx
|
|
Whimsy
Bronze Member
Posts: 400
|
Post by Whimsy on May 6, 2016 21:43:03 GMT
I'm glad you found some hay. It's important to be prepared, so saving money every month is a good idea.
|
|
. Fortunately, my best friend has piggies too, and she has hay, but she only has alfalfa because her pigs are younger. The cubes are my only option. My mom said she would be getting paid maybe next week and she could pick me up a small bag, but i have to pay her back asap! Its still a week though, but hopefully nothing bad will happen...
