Hay-free diet for guinea pigs? (To combat DS2's allergy.)

[Threadworm]

DS2 has gradually started to develop an allergic reaction to the guinea pigs, esp when cleaning out cage. I know this will worsen when the hayfever season comes up because he showed an increased sensitivity to all things piggy during the last hayfver season.

I've a hunch that it is specifically the hay that he is responding to. So I am thinking of gradually excluding hay from their diet, if that is possible.

At the moment they chow down on GP pellets, carrots, cabbage leaves, etc.

They seem to need the hay just as a source of bulk -- something to chew on all day long.

Does anyone just not give any hay to their GPs? Is a hay-free diet safe and healthy?

nooo they neeed hay.

They certainly seem to need it for the sake of something to do all day, and they scream with excitement when the latest installment arrives.

But do they need it for nourishment I wonder?

Probably we will make do with relocating the piggies out of DSs room and into this room (not this chatroom). So I will have GPs looking over my shouldner as I work.

No, they need hay. I don't know if this is suitable for guinea pigs, but I know with horses, you can soak their hay first to minimise dust which can cause COPD.

There are probably some more guinea pig savvy people than me who can tell you if this is suitable or not though lol, the guineas may not like their hay soggy.

also, do you put them outdoors in the warm weather? They do like to eat fresh grass as well. (as long as nothing has been sprayed/sprinkled on it)

yes they need it for norishment. they need a plentiful supply of it.

i cant find my GP book atm (think dd2 has hidden it again) but it says in there about it.

According to dsis who is a Vet, latest research/advice suggests guinea pigs and rabbits should have loads of long fibre in their diet - which means mainly hay and fresh grasses plus pellets. Fresh food in small ish quantities. I used to enjoy giving ours loads of leftover peelings etc, but have to admit they have been apparently happier and healthier since we varied the proportions! So I'm afraid you're stuck with hay...

would it make any difference if you could just give them a little hay to eat and use straw for bedding etc instead? or is straw just as bad for allergies?

straw at tesco etc is cut so short it's like dust.

Thanks for these replies. It seems on the whole like I should keep giving them their astoundingly enormous daily quantities of hay. We will move them out of DSs room when the hayfever season hits.

And they do spend quite a bit of time outside, in their summer apartment, when the weather warms up.

I love feeding the GPs. They are always so enthusiastic and appreciative.

I not a guinea pig expert, but I know that with horses you can give them Haylage (sort of pickled hay) which is dust free. But it depends if it is the dust that sets you DS allergies off, and if it is okay for guinea pigs in the first place.

There are also a couple of other things that might work, but I think you need to check with a vet first.

All horse feed:-

alfa-A chaff - dried alfa alfa
Ready Grass - dried grass, but not as dusty as hay.

It is great fun feeding them isn't hehe. ours used to start squealing and run around the cage when they'd see me go to the fridge for their veggies hehe.

I'll look into those horsey alternatives Reamhar. Thanks.