Best way to buy hay in Bulk

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DavidEscapes

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Hi everyone

I am based near stockport, can someone recommend a supplier of hay for bedding and eating?

Either somewhere I can collect maybe 20kg at a time, or a good online supplier for similar amounts :)

Thanks in advance!

David
 
I got my 50lb (22.7kg) box of Oxbox Orchard Grass from The Hay Experts - They also sell the Timothy Hay in this quantity. Service is great, quality of the grass is superb.
 
hmm.. At those prices it looks like it is actually cheaper at petsathome.

They sell 3kg of hay for £4.99 (£1.66 per kilo)

Large Two String Bale of Meadow Hay at Dust Free Hay is £27.99 for 15 - 18kg, which comes in at £1.69 a kilo assuming an average of 16.5kg in the sacks.
 
Have you tried your local farm? I got a massive bale today for £3 freshly harvested, sweet smelling & green :)
 
Yeah, was thinking exactly that.

Are farm bales good though? I am concerned about dust, spores, microbes etc.
 
We do a 5 pack of Dust Free Hay (each bag weighs between 2 to 2.5kg) so between 10 to 12.5kg for £15 as opposed to £19.95 for 12 kg from P@H and even adding the postage on it still comes out cheaper:)
 
It really depends where you get it from, I've tried a few farms - some are good others are not so good. So far I've never had any probs with spores/lice etc (touch wood) had one that was a bit dusty once but this last one is by far the best yet.
 
DavidEscapes said:
hmm.. At those prices it looks like it is actually cheaper at petsathome.

They sell 3kg of hay for £4.99 (£1.66 per kilo)

Large Two String Bale of Meadow Hay at Dust Free Hay is £27.99 for 15 - 18kg, which comes in at £1.69 a kilo assuming an average of 16.5kg in the sacks.
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The quality of Oxbox is excellent, although I don't use it for bedding, only for in the hayracks. It would be too expensive to use as bedding as well (my 7 are on fleece). I expect it to last my lot just under 6mths. If you buy it in smaller quantities it is VERY expensive (£4.49 for 425g) but as you increase the amount, the prices drop a lot. It works out cheaper for me as it is £2.73 per kilo (if you buy the biggest box ) whereas I was buying the 1kg Excel Herbage which was about £3.50 per kilo and they got through one bag of this in a week when I had 6 piggies.

I would also see what your local farms have on offer. Lots of people have been getting bales for a good price lately.
 
Holidayhutch said:
We do a 5 pack of Dust Free Hay (each bag weighs between 2 to 2.5kg) so between 10 to 12.5kg for £15 as opposed to £19.95 for 12 kg from P@H and even adding the postage on it still comes out cheaper:)
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Thanks for your answer, however you have your figures wrong and you no longer sell the 5 pack, however based on the 10 pack:

£37.99 with shipping and an average of 2.25kg per pack comes in at £1.68 per kilo.
 
KimberleysWheekers said:
The quality of Oxbox is excellent, although I don't use it for bedding, only for in the hayracks. It would be too expensive to use as bedding as well (my 7 are on fleece). I expect it to last my lot just under 6mths. If you buy it in smaller quantities it is VERY expensive (£4.49 for 425g) but as you increase the amount, the prices drop a lot. It works out cheaper for me as it is £2.73 per kilo (if you buy the biggest box ) whereas I was buying the 1kg Excel Herbage which was about £3.50 per kilo and they got through one bag of this in a week when I had 6 piggies.

I would also see what your local farms have on offer. Lots of people have been getting bales for a good price lately.
Click to expand...

If the quality of the dust free hay mentioned above is better I certainly don't mind paying more for it. And too be honest I can't see myself storing an entire bale. If I don't see anything cheaper I think i'll order a pack from dustfreehay and see how we get on :)
 
DavidEscapes said:
Thanks for your answer, however you have your figures wrong and you no longer sell the 5 pack, however based on the 10 pack:

£37.99 with shipping and an average of 2.25kg per pack comes in at £1.68 per kilo.
Click to expand...

We do actually sell a 5 pack at £15 plus £4.50 shipping:p
 
Holidayhutch said:
We do actually sell a 5 pack at £15 plus £4.50 shipping:p
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Yeah, its there now. Yesterday it said you were out of stock and would no longer be selling that item. However it is even more expensive that way at £1.73 a kilo.

Just to note that I didn't come here to knock any shops prices. You posted that you were cheaper that pets at home and I think it's totally fair to point out that this is incorrect and that you are actually more expensive.
 
I buy bales from my local feed merchants and use that for the outdoor piggies to snuggle in, then I get packs of different hays for them to eat so they always have a variety of hay to nibble on!
 
Just to say though, the quality of dust free hay is 10 times better than p&h.
The strands are kept long so good for piggies teeth, and you will find some timothy mixed in with the meadow on most batches.

All your Oxbow is excellent eating hay but expensive for bedding hay.
 
DavidEscapes said:
Yeah, its there now. Yesterday it said you were out of stock and would no longer be selling that item. However it is even more expensive that way at £1.73 a kilo.

Just to note that I didn't come here to knock any shops prices. You posted that you were cheaper that pets at home and I think it's totally fair to point out that this is incorrect and that you are actually more expensive.
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NO WE ARE NOT! - you quoted P@H £1.66 a kilo based on £4.99 for 3 kilos

Ours is £3 a bag for a 2 to 2.5 kilo bag. I beleive £3 divided by 2 is £1.50 a kilo and if you want to be so particular as to take an average weight of a bag. £3 divided by 2.25 Kg's is £1.33 a kilo

I am quoting product price where you seem to be taking into account postage, so like for like on product price we ARE cheaper and HAVE NOT liedmallethead

I dont know why you got a message saying we are no longer selling the item as it is our biggest seller and we currently have 73 outers (Packs of 5) in stock.


Just to say though, the quality of dust free hay is 10 times better than p&h.
The strands are kept long so good for piggies teeth, and you will find some timothy mixed in with the meadow on most batches
Click to expand...

Totally agree
 
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When comparing the price you also need to compare the quality - To compare Oxbox hay prices to P@H brand hay prices for example on a like for like bases isn't possible, the quality is completely different. You can see the difference in quality/prices by just being in P@H - They sell Timothy Hay (can't remember the brand, might be Alfalfa King?) for around £8 a kilo if I have remembered correctly. It also depends on the type of hay, the P@H brand of hay is £4.99 for 3kg (or £2.99 for 1.5kg so £1.99 per kilo at the most expensive) yet the P@H brand of Timothy Hay is £3.39 for 1kg.

As HolidayHutch has said, you have to compare the price of the product, not including delivery. The link I gave for the Hay Experts was £62 for 22.7kg (£2.73 a kilo) of either Oxbox Orchard Grass or Oxbox Timothy Hay but I paid another £4.49 in P&P. With the volume of hay you are looking to order, unless you get it somewhere you can pick it up from, you are more than likely going to have to pay delivery charges on top due to the weight and physical size of the order.

I would recommend that you decide how much you are prepared to pay and then buy the best quality that you can for that amount. I would also recommend that you buy some sample packs so that you can see the differences between the brands/hay types. The Hay Experts and Animal Magic Pet Supplies both do sample packs.
 
DavidEscapes said:
If the quality of the dust free hay mentioned above is better I certainly don't mind paying more for it. And too be honest I can't see myself storing an entire bale. If I don't see anything cheaper I think i'll order a pack from dustfreehay and see how we get on :)
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I've never actually seen a bale so I have no idea how big it is :{ I imagine it to be huuuuuuuuuuuuge! But the 22.7kg box of Oxbox came in a box 47 x 62 x 61cm (not the Dust Free Hay, although I think they had pics on their site to show sizes). I keep my hay in the shed and have a plastic storage box with a lid in the house that I top up.
 
Holidayhutch said:
I dont know why you got a message saying we are no longer selling the item as it is our biggest seller and we currently have 73 outers (Packs of 5) in stock.
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When I went to your website on that day it said the item was not in stock. It also said something about it not coming back into stock. Discontinued or whatever, I can't remember the exact message. Obviously a temporary site error and not worth worrying about :)

Holidayhutch said:
NO WE ARE NOT! - you quoted P@H £1.66 a kilo based on £4.99 for 3 kilos

Ours is £3 a bag for a 2 to 2.5 kilo bag. I beleive £3 divided by 2 is £1.50 a kilo and if you want to be so particular as to take an average weight of a bag. £3 divided by 2.25 Kg's is £1.33 a kilo

I am quoting product price where you seem to be taking into account postage.
Click to expand...

I quoted the figures taking into account actual cost. Is there something wrong with me doing that? Sure the actual cost is the most relevant figure to anyone actually buying a product! And the actual cost from P@H is cheaper. There it is. Almost everyone in the country will collect from P@H as they pas one every day, from you most people will need to order online and are therefore going to have to pay postage. I did say clearly where I was in the UK so any product from you is going to have to be shipped. So the cost TO ME is going to include that shipping. What matters is the amount that leaves my bank account when I buy something. Not how it is divided up by the store.

Again, not trying to knock your business. But you came here to advertise a bit, drum up some business (nothing wrong with that, i'd do the same) and what you were saying was not 100% right for me as a customer. Lets leave it at that eh?
 
I think farm hay can be great but you need to check a few ads in your surroundings and then be prepared to drive around for half a day to check them out. I never knew one bag of hay could be so different from another! Even if you find one farm where you like the hay you can't be sure it will be as nice next time you come around. When I find hay I like I buy heaps, enought to last me a few months. Prices vary a lot. I've bought farm hay for between 15p and 70p kilo. This is in Sweden, but I imagine it's similar in the UK.
 
Salt n Peppers mum said:
Just to say though, the quality of dust free hay is 10 times better than p&h.
The strands are kept long so good for piggies teeth, and you will find some timothy mixed in with the meadow on most batches.

All your Oxbow is excellent eating hay but expensive for bedding hay.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the stuff from dustfreehay looks good. Unless the farm shops I am planning to visit this week surprise me I am going to order from there :)
 
Holidayhutch said:
NO WE ARE NOT! - you quoted P@H £1.66 a kilo based on £4.99 for 3 kilos

Ours is £3 a bag for a 2 to 2.5 kilo bag. I beleive £3 divided by 2 is £1.50 a kilo and if you want to be so particular as to take an average weight of a bag. £3 divided by 2.25 Kg's is £1.33 a kilo

I am quoting product price where you seem to be taking into account postage, so like for like on product price we ARE cheaper and HAVE NOT liedmallethead
Click to expand...

Sry, I forgot to note.

1) I wasn't calling you a liar! I was simply saying you were mistaken.
2) Not trying to say P@H are better at all either. Just cheaper in this case. I hate that store to be honest.
3) I am planning to buy in bulk, probably about £60. At P@H you pay no postage if you spend over £49, so even if I order online, I, and everyone else pays more. This is an indisputable fact no matter how many times you say 'we ARE cheaper' etc.

ok. Said all I want to say. gl with your business :)
 
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