Hay Ring

My pigs have always loved toilet paper tubes stuffed with hay.  They make a beeline for it, whenever I put a new one in the cage, even if I've just refreshed the hay in the hay rack as well.  The appeal seems to be how the hay pulls out and the fact they can drag it around the cage.  The cardboard tube can be fun to chew on, as well.  I like them because the bundled hay doesn't tend to get peed on as much as loose hay.

Pinniped has recently taken a strong liking to cardboard and will attack the tube as fast as the hay.  I often find only a small shred of cardboard and yet much of the hay remains.  I was concerned with the amount of cardboard Pinni was consuming.  I have been limiting their cardboard tubes, which was not making anyone happy.

When I bought the binder rings for my recipe books I had many more in the package than what I could use.  I wondered if they would be a good replacement - the rings could hold the hay, but couldn't be chewed or eaten.  I gave one a try last week and so far, it's been a hit.  The hay gets eaten and not spread around the cage.  Neither Cannoli nor Pinni have shown any interest in chewing the metal ring (I've had some pigs that loved the taste/texture of metal objects), so I'm not worried about leaving it in the cage.  They still get their cardboard tubes, too, but now I can pace how many that Pinni gets to devour.