Best greenest hay to feed?

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Wow, they have really done up the website since I last looked! Prices have changed a bit too, guess I was wrong there then. Sorry! :red

Would be interesting to see the quality of the hay, and under a microscope compared to the Oxbow - maybe I will buy a bale as a Christmas present for my pigs. They need not know of my ulterior motive of research...
 
I never bought the timothy only the stalky. It looks lovely and green in the photos. May be worth giving it a whirl.... Laura your research would be great :)
 
Laura-CCC4 said:
Wow, they have really done up the website since I last looked! Prices have changed a bit too, guess I was wrong there then. Sorry! :red

Would be interesting to see the quality of the hay, and under a microscope compared to the Oxbow - maybe I will buy a bale as a Christmas present for my pigs. They need not know of my ulterior motive of research...
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I think it would be great if you done that Laura and see if it really is that green and as good quality as oxbow. Pity they didnt do samples. :0

But i do fancy trying it.
 
I bought 1.5kg of English hay from Pampered Piggies and Indy loves it, it's very green and smells great, but it's expensive so it's a winter treat to make up for the lack of grass!

Otherwise I get dust free hay, she likes it but it isn't particularly green. (I have had the odd green bag though, so I suppose it varies.)
 
my pigs got lice and the only explanation was the poor quality hay they were on that month,i was feeding oxbow at 10 pounds for a little bag that fed mine for one day as we cannot get it in bulk here! I'm in oz so prices are higher and my vet never gets shipments on time so right now i am using hay from the GP rescue as they have great quality but are 5 hours drive from me lol so bulk ordering for me is a must.
If you have the option to get oxbow hay i strongly recommend it,my pigs loved it and i swar they love me less at hay top up time nowrolleyes
 
Joey&Gizmo said:
After reading tattyruncy story about her one piggy suffering an awful lice problem
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Was the 'silent killer' affecting her piggy an internal parasite problem, or an external lice problem? If it was internal, I would have more grounds to be concerned, because my weekly coat checks wouldn't help for something internal.
 
I emailed the dust free company about the American timothy and they said that the boxes contains at least 2kg of hay and that it is one of there best sellers and is compared to a more expensive brand which i am assuming is oxbow.

Have you tries the American timothy hay from the dust free hay flower girl?
 
It's internal parasites, not external - although lice and some mites can come off poor quality hay. The Excel Herbage hay (which is normally assumed to be good quality) was examined under a microscope and found to be covered in parasites, so have been causing weight loss despite Poppy eating normally.

The test comes when you look at hays under a microscope and see what is living on it. You could get the greenest meadow hay and it could have parasites on. Hence my determination to investigate...!

I cannot afford to buy every brand of hay so once I've got stocked up on the microscope supplies, I'm hoping some of you will send me a small sample of your hay so I can have a look. :)) :))
 
Laura-CCC4 said:
It's internal parasites, not external - although lice and some mites can come off poor quality hay. The Excel Herbage hay (which is normally assumed to be good quality) was examined under a microscope and found to be covered in parasites, so have been causing weight loss despite Poppy eating normally.

The test comes when you look at hays under a microscope and see what is living on it. You could get the greenest meadow hay and it could have parasites on. Hence my determination to investigate...!

I cannot afford to buy every brand of hay so once I've got stocked up on the microscope supplies, I'm hoping some of you will send me a small sample of your hay so I can have a look. :)) :))
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Thanks for the clarification; it's quite worrying that it's internal. I can't understand why her regular worming procedure wasn't getting rid of them. Do you know why? Also, do you know the name of the parasite that Vedra has dubbed 'the silent killer' as I would like to read up on it? Thanks.

Oooh. I love looking at things under a microscope. If I can't get hold of a light microscope (as I'd really like to examine my hay for my own experience), I'll send you a sample. What magnification do you need to use?
 
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Admittedly, I need to research and set things up here over the next few weeks. I will give Vedra a call tonight and ask her all your questions as well as finding more out about the magnification etc.

I had the idea, I gotta learn how to carry it out. :)
 
I would send you some of my hay when you start your investigation i would love to know the best hay to get my piggys and its good to know that someone has the knowledge to do this!

Let me know when you want the hay and i will definitely send you some.
 
I would think a while about 4 months? But I'm sure Laura can answer that i would also like to know as I'm going to get some for the boys.
But i cant believe i will spend so much money on hay. :p
The hard part is parting with my cash haha, but i suppose if it has benefits for them its worth it and should work out cheaper in the long run.
 
candywishes said:
How long would an 11kg bag of oxbow hay last 3 piggys?
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This is what laura wrote on page one of this thread ''An 11kg box of Oxbow hay and a bale of Readigrass (15kg) would cost you around £60 but last two pigs a good 4 to 6 months at least!''
 
11kg should last three pigs around 3 months. It varies depending on whether you give hay only in hay racks or give some on the floor as well; it doesn't last as long if you put some on the floor of the cage as more is wasted.

I calculated how much my pigs eat per week - 22kg lasts an average of 8 weeks, each of the 12 pigs eats around 0.2kg hay per week. Doesn't sound like much, but hay doesn't weigh much! Based on the same amount of hay eaten per pig per week, 11kg should last 3 pigs around 3 months or so.

22kg costs only £10 more but should last you around 6 months.

Of course these are only estimates, the reality will probably be different, but it gives you a rough idea. The readigrass is dried grass. Some people just prefer to give readigrass alongside hay.
 
Thats great Laura thanks? where do you order from to get the best deals? I dont want to have to pay a fortune in p&p! ?/
 
candywishes said:
Thats great Laura thanks? where do you order from to get the best deals? I dont want to have to pay a fortune in p&p! ?/
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I too would like to know the best deal on oxbow.

I would like to fed readigrass too help with the cost and to give them a bit of variety.:))
 
Personally I prefer The Hay Experts if I am only ordering hay. The 11kg costs £45 while the 22kg costs £60. Postage price is usually around £5. So the average cost when I order the larger size is £65, but the postage increases slightly with additional items. When I added a "small" 4.5kg bag of pellets to my latest order the postage increased to £8.

If I am buying other things e.g. pellets, health products etc. as well as the hay, I prefer SPH Supplies. The 11kg costs £54 while the 22kg costs £64, so a bit more costly - and the postage for items marked bulk buy is quoted as £6. Thus the average cost for the biggest box of Oxbow is £70 but - if I remember rightly - you get free postage on anything else you buy making it better value than The Hay Experts.

In short, The Hay Experts if you are only buying hay. SPH Supplies if you're buying more than just hay.

Confused...? I almost am. :))

P.S. I did call Vedra at 4.30 on Wednesday, she said to call back at 6 but by that time I was so exhausted from running the house while the twins were ill that I couldn't focus on what I needed to discuss, so I thought it best not to call. Yesterday I had no time to myself, and when I finally did I went straight to bed. I'll try and get through to Vedra tonight and hopefully get some answers for us all!
 
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I had a wonderful chat with Vedra and got a few answers for some of the questions we had. I have posted this in tattyruncy's medical thread as well as here, it applies to questions asked in both!

1. Why does a pig develop intestinal parasites despite being wormed with both Panacur and Ivomec?
Worming only deals with the parasites in the system at that particular time. If the pig eats hay that is contaminated, the parasites will enter the system once again, and remain until the pig is wormed again.

2. Bathing a guinea pig with mites causes them to burrow deeper into the skin.
Vedra has not heard of this happening and doesn't believe it to be true. Some mites and parasites can be washed off with the use of an anti-parasitic shampoo, provided that the pig is given three baths spaced no more than one week apart.

The examination of the hay under the microscope is to check for all manner of parasites, as well as fungal spores. Hay grown in the UK is often damp at some point due to our climate; at that stage it's an invitation for parasites to live off the hay and for fungal spores to develop.

The parasite dubbed the "silent killer" gives no outward symptoms while it is burrowing, until it causes severe weight loss; it slowly damages the animal by burrowing deeper and deeper into the pig, eventually reaching the organs leading to organ damage and eventual failure. The presence of this parasite is not noticed until a significant amount of weight has been lost and the parasite has done a certain degree of damage. Routine worming and feeding a sterilised hay (readigrass or oxbow) helps prevent this parasite from invading the pig. As explained above, the pig can still be affected by the parasite despite being wormed hence the importance of feeding a hay that does not host the parasites - if you continue feeding hay contaminated by them, the pig can still be affected.

I think that covers much of what was asked and answered. Vedra was truly wonderful to talk to, we even got chatting about my agoraphobia and my record folders...made me even more determined to beat my demons and spend some time at the CCT, where I want to be!
 
Makes sense really.

I am going to finish all of my other stuff then worm them then stick to Oxbow and alfalfa king (I am presuming it's the same standard as Oxbow as it's imported from the usa)

Thanks Laura for getting so much information from Vedra - also on burrowing external mites. I was going to coconeem my suspected mite carriers but will be waiting now as the Xeno has arrived. I will bathe them in a couple of days then again after the next Xeno treatment.
 
Just wanted to thank everyone for taking such an interest in Poppy's problems and for those of you that have been helped to come to decisions about hay changes, worming, bathing etc.
Thank you Laura for gathering all the information for us to all learn more and be able to make informed decisions for our beloved pigs. All my girls are absolutely loving the Oxbow hay - Poppy's appetite has increased the last couple of days. Both Poppy and Peggy have had their 2nd baths tonight. Mildred, Holly and Bright Eyes turn tomorrow :)
Despite the horrible outlook with "the silent killer" I am really positive that Poppy is going to get better, she is definately more active, more hungrier, less lethargic :)
 
BRILLIANT! That's excellent news that she's doing so well. :)
 
Glad to hear she's improving. :) Thanks for posting about Poppy; it has alerted me to these intestinal parasites.
 
Just a thought, but has anyone thought of microwaving hay before giving it to piggies? I'd imagine that would kill anything nasty lurking in there. Has anyone tried it?
 
No I haven't thought about that - may work?

I just threw away some hay that felt slightly damp to me as I didn't want to take a chance on it.

My lot are loving the Oxbow stuff - it's going down a treat and that's good as I have loads of it now!
 
Thank you for the information Laura and for taking time to do some research.
I will definitely be finishing off the hay i have now and then buying the oxbow makes sense really.

Tattyrunchy - Glad to here that Poppy is feeling better and getting stronger by the day. :))
 
Glad to hear Poppy is feeling better.

I've found this whole thread really helpful, as I have tried a number of different kinds of hay with differing results. Luckily, I haven't come across lice or anything (finger's crossed) but it seems Pippa and Willow definatley know what they like!

I stumbled accross Oxbow Orchard Grass by chance and now it's pretty much all my two will eat (hay wise). They have half a bag of readigrass here which I try to sneak in and they very rarely touch it. They look at it, take one bite then look at me as if to say.. 'Okay, nice try, but where's our usual stuff!' :))
 
I am on my second lot of american timothy hay from dust free hay our girls love it it is nice and green and is sent out in two boxes packed very tight with plenty of hay that lasts my two at least 3 months! it is long hay so they have plenty to get their teeth into they love it squeaking when they hear more coming! I hate the finer hay as its just too messy...:)
 
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