Brown hay?

[Zetros]

Hi, I've been a pig owner for about 6 months now, so I've gone through only a couple bags of hay, originally I was getting the packaged oxbrow hay, however last batch I switched to horse sized Timothy grass for horses and saw no difference in quality for a much better price. However, on my second bag of Timothy grass I've noticed the hay is a bit brown and finer cut and I'm wondering if anyone could tell me if this hay is good enough quality to feed my pigs or if I should just buy another bag, thanks!

 

[piggieminder]

I just noticed after writing a long reply that the bag says grass not hay. I have a feeling grass feed is richer because it's dried differently so should only be fed occasionally as a treat. Hopefully a diet expert will be along soon.

 

[Truffolo]

I think you are right to query it. It should probably be introduced very gradually if it's something they are not used to.

 

[Piggies&buns]

This is not something we seem to have in the UK but we did have a similar thread a while back -

Is Timothy Grass okay instead of Timothy Hay?

The general advice is as long as hay isnt damp and doesn’t smell mouldy then it should be fine. However your piggies are also the test - if it isn’t palatable then they’re going to let you know!
Keep up with their routine weekly weight checks (as it’s the only way to monitor their hay intake) as if they don’t like it then they are potentially going to lose weight which means they are not eating enough.
I’d also want to keep an eye on the length of the strands - it says chop but piggies need good lengths of hay for good dental wear so you don’t want short pieces really

 

[Janey]

I think this might be what UK horse owners call chaff and it’s fed as a mixer with a horse’s hard feed.

 

[Piggies&buns]

If Janey is right and it is chaff then it wouldn’t be suitable as a main hay source as the strands aren’t long enough to work their teeth