how much food and hay should i buy for a guinea pig each month?

Question

i would also like to know if anyone recomends oxbow's cavy cusine. i also want to know how long you can keep hay before it goes bad

how big should the food bowl be?

also if i use care fresh bedding how much do i need per month

Answer 1

I feed my pigs Oxbow Cavy Cuisine. This is a terrific, high quality brand of feed. I buy a large bag (about 50 lbs.) & then divide it into one-gallon freezer bags. Then I store it in the freezer until needed. Because the freezer is dark, it keeps the light from degrading the Vit. C in the pellets. Oxbow, I feel, is superior to the pet store brands in that it is Timothy based. You also *know* that when you get a bag, its fresh, versus not knowing how long a bag of pet store brand has been sitting on the shelf.

The hay can be kept for quite a long time if its kept out of humidity or wetness. I keep mine in the house (with a/c) & put it in their hay bins throughout the day when they get low.

My pigs get 1/2 cup of pellets per day, each. The bowl should be big enough to accommodate this. Because I have two pigs in some cages & three in others, the bowl sizes vary.

Carefresh can be bought in large bags, but I quit buying it a long time ago due to economics. When I had just two pigs I could buy their largest bag (about $20) & it would last two cage cleanings.

Answer 2

Oxbow food is excellent.

Hay should be bought often enough that you never run out. It should be available at all times. Having said that, I don't suggest covering the floor of the cage with it. It will get wet and may mold. Any wet hay should be remove daily. GPs like to bury themselves and play in the hay as well as eat it. So I don't use hay feeders, I just make big piles for them. I check and remove hay that gets peed on. It's cheaper if you buy hay by the bale. A bag from Petsmart can cost $4 and lasts me about a week, maybe a week and a half. So that's $16 a month. Plus, the quality of that hay is not good, I found rat poop in it a few times. I just ordered a 25lb bale of excellent quality bluegrass hay from kmshayloft.com . With shipping and all, I paid about $34. This bale will last me until Halloween,probably longer. That averages out to about $8 a month. Cheaper and better, it's a good deal all round.

Carefresh is expensive an I actually hate it. Some people love it, but not me. I find it dusty and aggrevates one of my pig's breathing. I use Aspen chips from Tractor Supply Company for $9 in a HUGE bag. Petsmart's price is a few dollars more.

Answer 3

I have a guinea pig. Here are my answers to your questions:

1). How long can I keep gp food before it goes bad? You should change your gp's food everyday. This way, you know that he has enough, you can clean out his bowl, and, you know that he is getting fresh food from the bag! If you are talking about "How long should I keep food that I bought from for the pet store?" Then, you should keep if for a week. That way, you know that it's not old from the store. So, figure that the pet store has had the food on the shelf for a week, and then you buy it, and you wait for a week to throw it out. Like I said, that way, you know that you gp is getting fresh food!

2). Your gp really only needs a quartar of a cup of food each day. So, just get a food bowl that will hold at least that much food.

3). How much food and hay should I buy for my gp each month? I would by a fresh bag of food each week, and one bag of alfalfa hay every other week. This way, you know that it's all fresh!

4). Carefresh bedding is VERY expensive! But, I would buy on of there big bags filled with bedding, each month. This should do for your gp. It really depends on the size of your gp's cage, and, how often you change the bedding out.

I hope that this answers all of your questions!

Answer 4

I simply buy a bail of hay and it lasts me along time and as long as you keep hay dry it should be fine.
Why does it last me along time?
Because I don't use hay throughout the whole hutch...I place newspaper on the bottom, followed by aspen (because it soaks up the urine and then it doesn't smell as much) and top it with hay in the inclosed section....

I don't feed mine cavy cusine, I feed my 2 a mixture of plain pellets, chaff and vegetables and fruit. If you want some different vegetables and fruit that you can use try this site:

http://www.aracnet.com/~seagull/Guineas/feeding.html

And to make sure that you are giving them enough Vitamin C; you can use this site below:

http://www.aracnet.com/~seagull/Guineas/VitaminC.html

You should buy as much food as you need. I give my 2 guinea pigs about a cup of chaff a day (they don't eat it all though), 1 cup of pellets a day and then I give them some fresh produce:

In the morning:
1 celery stick
1/2 carrot
1/4 capsicum
1/4 green apple

In the afternoon
1 celery stick
1/2 carrot
Grass
5 sprigs of parsley

You asked how big the bowl should be?
It should be big enough to hold at least 1 cup of chaff or pellets. I have 2 bowls that clip onto the side of the hutch and they hold about 1 cup. You can get them from any good pet store or specialist store.

If I were you I wouldn't use carefresh, just because the cost. For me I found that aspen lasted longer and wasn't as expensive. In regards to how much you need. It depends on the size of your hutch. If you have a hutch about the same size as mine (1.40m by 50cm) then the smallest bag lasts about a week, this is because to get the aspen to work efficiently you need to do it at least 2 inches thick.

Good luck:)

Answer 5

Oxbow is a wonderful brand because they use timothy hay, which is much better for guinea pigs and rabbits than alfalfa. Alfalfa is too high in protein and can cause health problems. Feed your pig as much hay as he can eat every day. Only give about 1/8 cup of pellets. Hay is most important. Vitamin C supplement is critical to good health--always supplement it. Hay, if kept dry, can last a long time. If it smells "bad" or moldy, throw it out.

Answer 6

Just buy a big bag of everything (bedding, hay) and cover your guinea pig's cage floor about an inch or two with the bedding to make it nice and soft. As for timothy hay, put a handful in the cage and see if your piggy eats it all. If it doesn't, give it a little less.

Answer 7

We buy a 5lb bag of guinea pig food about once a month and that feeds our two piggies.And we buy a 48oz bag of hay that lasts about 2 months.I think hay is best eaten within a few months of buying it. If you keep it sealed well it could last longer. If it still smells like the day you got it its still edible. I don't know about that brand of food but in my experience most food that plain pellets is best.

Answer 8

i definetly recomend oxbow's food. food doesnt realy go bad by the end of the month so it depends on how much you use a day. if you use alot then maybe one bag a month.