Can You Feed Oat Hay In Place Of Timothy/meadow Hay?

VJ&Flower

VJ&Flower

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Hi all

My boys don't like hay that much. I've tried lots and lots of different places now. They don't seem to like timothy hay at all really and like meadow only slightly more. They do, however, love alfalfa and oat hay. Now I know I can't give alfalfa too much but could I potentially feed oat hay instead of timothy/meadow? Or is it not the right type for their teeth/digestion?

Thanks for your help xx
 
I Feed my Piggies Oat hay and my Guinea Pigs Love it! but didn't know there could be potential problems or that there or better for them hay, So I am following this thread to also know this information :)
 
I have to admit I've only checked Google, but Google says it's okay to replace timothy or meadow hay with oat hay,as long as the piggies in question will eat it.
 
Thank you Lorcan. I saw that on one site too. There doesn't seem to be too much info on it does there? To be honest the one I've been buying is expensive so maybe it's not sustainable anyway it's just so obvious they are not very keen on timothy and meadow once you've seen them with oat hay! Fussy little monkeys. Xx
 
Bump in case anyone else has any more info. Xx
 
It's not a suitable replacement sadly. Its good for a treat hay that's not high in calcium (I feed oat hay to my elderly sows as a treat with extra calories whereas I feed readigrass as a treat hay to my youngsters as it's super tasty but too ricH for my oldies tummies and.bladders)

It's lower In fibre too so really not suitable as a staple hay. Have you tried readigrass? Another option is oxbow orchard grass. Its expensive but excellent quality hay that all mine adore. Its over £10 for a little 1kg bag but I buy the big 22kg bale which is £72. Lasts forever!
 
Do you give your piggies the oxbow orchard hay everyday @Adelle or just a couple of times a week. My piggies love the oxbow orchard hay but I only feed a couple of times a week and they are loving hay at the moment and i'd like to keep it that way because it's been a many months of struggling to get them to eat much hay at all. You know I've probably just jinxed my self now and they will stop eating it again lol.
 
Kylie80 said:
Do you give your piggies the oxbow orchard hay everyday @Adelle or just a couple of times a week. My piggies love the oxbow orchard hay but I only feed a couple of times a week and they are loving hay at the moment and i'd like to keep it that way because it's been a many months of struggling to get them to eat much hay at all. You know I've probably just jinxed my self now and they will stop eating it again lol.
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Yeah they get 2 fresh handfuls of their main hays every day (timothy hay.Co.UK timothy, ings, alfalfa king timothy and oxbow orchard grass) then 1 handful of b&m Timothy and a hay that changes every 2 days to keep interest up. Usually oat hay, chamomile hay, nettle hay, woodlands herbage hay or rose hay!
 
Thanks! That's such a shame. They literally pounce on the oat hay but have little interest. I've tried so many including the oxbow one you mention!

They like ready grass too.

I guess I will just have to keep mixing them around to give them a good variety.

Xx
 
My girls went through the same stage as you're describing, I went mad trying to find them something. Luckily now they're not quite so fussy, I think it helped that I gave them less treats like readigrass and rosewood stuff. Mine were probably holding out for treats :))
 
Is western timothy hay ok in place of timothy does anyone know? Xx
 
Cavy Kung-Fu said:
My girls went through the same stage as you're describing, I went mad trying to find them something. Luckily now they're not quite so fussy, I think it helped that I gave them less treats like readigrass and rosewood stuff. Mine were probably holding out for treats :))
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I think mine are the same to be honest! They seem to like western timothy hay though and I'm hoping that's ok as a 'normal' hay! Xx
 
Have you tried the company called hay and straw? They sell a lovely soft hay calledd ings which my guinea pigs love.

Also freshly picked grass goes down very well indeed!
 
VJ&Flower said:
Is western timothy hay ok in place of timothy does anyone know? Xx
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I just checked online, the website I found said that they are the same hay - ones that add "Western" just say that because theirs is grown in the Western USA.

I have bought both Oxbow Western Timothy and a UK-grown timothy hay before now, and the Oxbow was definitely greener, though that might have been just that particular batch of UK stuff.
 
flowerfairy said:
Have you tried the company called hay and straw? They sell a lovely soft hay calledd ings which my guinea pigs love.

Also freshly picked grass goes down very well indeed!
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Yes I did thanks! They didn't like it ghe fussy little things. Xx
 
Qualcast&Flymo said:
I just checked online, the website I found said that they are the same hay - ones that add "Western" just say that because theirs is grown in the Western USA.

I have bought both Oxbow Western Timothy and a UK-grown timothy hay before now, and the Oxbow was definitely greener, though that might have been just that particular batch of UK stuff.
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Thank you! Yes the oxbow is really green. They seem to love it and of course it's much more expensive
 
Qualcast&Flymo said:
I just checked online, the website I found said that they are the same hay - ones that add "Western" just say that because theirs is grown in the Western USA.

I have bought both Oxbow Western Timothy and a UK-grown timothy hay before now, and the Oxbow was definitely greener, though that might have been just that particular batch of UK stuff.
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I have been feeding the oxbow western timothy hay to the piggies for 10 months, it's always green like that and fresh smelling.
 
My first 3 pigs liked Oxbow Western Timothy , I usually had no problems with it, except if you buy the really big bags it isn't 'hand-selected' so there tends to be more weedy bits in it. (Once though, the moment I opened one of the big bags I felt it set off my hay-fever really badly - by the end of the evening it was almost like an asthma attack, breathing was so wheezy. In the end, I had to stop using it, as those effects didn't go away, and I donated the rest of the bag to a rescue. I think there must have been pesticide drift from a nearby field, or something similar.)
My current two fussy boys don't like timothy hay - I have to buy them Oxbow Orchard Hay instead which is similarly expensive!
 
Yes it does get a bit dusty. I usually try and give it a good shake a day or two before opening to try and get the dust to settle to the bottom. I find it a bit stalky as well. The oxbow orhard grass is alot less dusty and very well received by the piggies. I can never get my piggies to eat cheap hay, they prefer to be posh and only eat expensive brands :doh:
 
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