Feeding Your Guinea Pigs Hay | Guinea Pigs Australia

Hay

Quality hay is one of the most important things you need to provide your guinea pig everyday.

Guinea pigs' teeth grow constantly throughout their life, and hay is important for keeping piggies' front incisors and back molars worn down. Hay also helps guinea pigs digest their food and keeps their digestive system healthy.

There are a number of ways to offer hay to your piggies, as well as the different varieties that you can and can't feed, let's look at the options below!

Ways to Offer Hay

Guinea pigs spend 70% of their day eating hay! So it's essential to ensure your guinea pigs have access to fresh hay at all times.

We recommend offering hay in a variety of ways to provide enrichment, encourage natural behaviours, and prevent fights over a single source.

Whatever method you use to supply it, make sure you top it up daily and remove any old hay within a few days.

Hay Bags & Racks: Include a hay bag or rack in your cage setup (pictured) to keep hay off the ground, away from piggy droppings, soiled bedding, and moisture. This ensures a constant supply of clean, fresh hay for your piggies.

Shop our Hay Bags and Racks here.

Hay Piles: Small piles of hay around the cage are also encouraged, ideally placed in something like our Ozzy Kitchens to help contain the mess (pictured). Hay supplied this way will need replacing more often than hay in a bag or rack, but it offers fantastic enrichment, a safe resting spot, and a fun area for piggies to burrow and express their natural behaviours.

SHOP HAY PRODUCTS

⚠️ AVOID THESE HAY HOLDERS!⚠️

It’s important to know not all hay holders are created equal.

The majority of designs on the market (usually found in general pet stores or large online retailers) are actually dangerous for guinea pigs — with gaps or wire spacing that allow little heads or legs to get stuck.

Ensure you purchase hay holders that are designed specifically with guinea pigs safety, health and wellbeing in mind.

Hay Sack - Ozzy Cages

RECOMMENDED HAY HOLDER

Our Hay Sack keeps hay off the ground, ensuring it remains mess-free and preventing soiled areas, maintaining hay's freshness in one convenient place. Designed with three reinforced access holes, it accommodates even the largest herds of guinea pigs or the hungriest rabbits, promoting easy access to fresh, clean hay at all times.

A velcro closure at the top deters curious guinea pigs from entering and soiling the hay, helping to preserve its freshness longer. Reinforced metal clips secure the sack in place and elevate the hay to eye level, encouraging consumption.

Our sack is machine washable for easy cleaning, ensuring it's ready for many more snack sessions. Featuring an exclusive fabric design by Australian artist Katy Harris, our Hay Sack is unique to our Ozzy Cage range.

Veterinary recommended, it's expertly designed to promote healthy hay consumption and minimize bacteria buildup, encouraging natural foraging behaviors and ensuring a healthier diet for your pets.

Style Earthchild Veggie Patch Rainbow Hearts Unicorn Dreams Bee-utiful Sunflowers Pigs in Space Sushi Snuggles

Quantity

🌾 Types of Hay

Below is a range of different hays you'll find in pet stores and produce shops. Each hay has its benefits, but some should be fed more in moderation rather than daily due to calcium, protein and fat content.
⭐ TOP PICKS ⭐

Timothy Hay
Orchard
✅ GREAT EVERYDAY OPTION

Rhodes Grassy Hay
⚠️ FEED IN MODERATION

Oaten, Wheaten and Barley Hay
🐷 SPECIAL USE ONLY

Alfalfa/Lucerne Hay
🚫 AVOID

Straw

VIDEO

Our Guide To Hay

An overview of some of the types of hay available in Australia.

WATCH NOW

STORAGE

How To Store Hay Correctly

Storing hay properly is essential to maintain its freshness and nutritional value for guinea pigs. Here’s where and how you should store it:

✔️ Cool, Dry Place: Store hay in a cool, dry area to prevent moisture buildup, which can cause mould growth. Avoid areas with high humidity, such as basements or near bathrooms.

✔️ Well-Ventilated Area: Ensure the storage area has good airflow to keep the hay fresh and prevent it from becoming musty.

✔️ Off the Ground: Keep hay elevated off the ground on a pallet or shelf to avoid direct contact with damp floors and to maintain proper ventilation.

✔️ Away from Direct Sunlight: Store hay away from direct sunlight, as prolonged exposure can degrade its nutritional value and cause it to lose colouur and flavour.

✔️ In Breathable Containers: Use breathable containers, such as burlap sacks, lidded cardboard boxes or hay bags, to allow air circulation while protecting the hay from dust and pests. We have great lidded storage boxes that fit under our Ozzy Cages and are perfect for hay storage!

Proper storage helps maintain the quality of the hay, ensuring it remains fresh, nutritious, and palatable for guinea pigs.

Shop Hay Storage Solutions

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Choosing Hay

Here’s a list of qualities to look for in good quality hay for guinea pigs:

✔️ Colour: Pale gold to green, indicating freshness and high nutritional content. Any sign of brown or bright yellow is not suitable.

✔️ Appearance: Long, intact strands, with minimal dust, broken pieces, foreign objects and weeds.

✔️ Smell: Fresh, sweet, and grassy aroma, free from musty or mouldy odours.

✔️ Weight: Should not be too light (indicates it's dry) or too heavy (indicates it's too moist and may be mouldy).

✔️ Texture: Good hay will be flexible, easy to touch and should not be difficult to handle. It should be free of pokey, sticky strands that could cause eye pokes or injury.

These qualities ensure the hay is nutritious, appealing, and safe for guinea pigs to eat.

Shop Hay

Our Top Hay Picks

Hays

Hay Racks

Your rabbit or guinea pig needs constant access to hay all day.
Here you can find our everyday feeding hays for your guinea pig or rabbit or small animal.