Current Hay and straw meadow hay -anyone using it?

Gadzy

Gadzy

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Hello,

I have been using hay and straw for ings and meadow hay which has been good. The current batch smells very musty and off to me. It’s quite brown as well.

I was wondering if anyone else who uses them has had the same recently? The colour has always been on the browner side (meadow hay) only used them a couple of times recently. The ings is lovely and green and fresh smelling though

Thanks
 
Gadzy said:
Hello,

I have been using hay and straw for ings and meadow hay which has been good. The current batch smells very musty and off to me. It’s quite brown as well.

I was wondering if anyone else who uses them has had the same recently? The colour has always been on the browner side (meadow hay) only used them a couple of times recently. The ings is lovely and green and fresh smelling though

Thanks
Click to expand...

Hello
I haven’t used any of the meadow hay but a sample I bought of meadow hay from The Little Hay Company is brown strands and my piggies done bother with it.
I’d not use any hay that smells musty ….go back to Hay and Straw company and hopefully they’ll replace it.

I use the Cotswold sweet and silky soft hay from The Little Hay Company and they’re very reliable , soft sweet smelling green hay.
My piggies love both types
 
I always have to remind myself that this time of year is tricky for buying hay, as the various companies just have the end of last years hay harvest & hopefully starting to do the first hay harvests of the year soon.
We are running low, and I only made a small order recently (natures own )hopefully to tide us over until new hay is available.
 
My latest batch of meadow hay from Hay and Strawberry is browner than usual but doesn’t smell musty.
It’s that time of year as @AidaB says
 
Merab said:
My latest batch of meadow hay from Hay and Strawberry is browner than usual but doesn’t smell musty.
It’s that time of year as @AidaB says
Click to expand...

You had a recent batch? Doesn’t look as nice at the moment which is strange
 
I have just had to bin a bag of hay which was very musty smelling.
It’s a rare occurrence with Hay and Straw but hay quality does vary and sometimes we have a bad batch.
The new bags I’ve just received look lovely
 
Gadzy said:
Hello,

I have been using hay and straw for ings and meadow hay which has been good. The current batch smells very musty and off to me. It’s quite brown as well.

I was wondering if anyone else who uses them has had the same recently? The colour has always been on the browner side (meadow hay) only used them a couple of times recently. The ings is lovely and green and fresh smelling though

Thanks
Click to expand...

Hi

Please report any musty looking hay bags to the provider and do not feed the hay that smells off as it contains fungal spores. Bags can occasionally have small rips or pin pricks for some reason or other, or the hay is kept in a place where moisture can get at it.

The bag should be replaced for free.
 
Merab said:
I have just had to bin a bag of hay which was very musty smelling.
It’s a rare occurrence with Hay and Straw but hay quality does vary and sometimes we have a bad batch.
The new bags I’ve just received look lovely
Click to expand...
Yes exactly the same, was this ings?
 
Wiebke said:
Hi

Please report any musty looking hay bags to the provider and do not feed the hay that smells off as it contains fungal spores. Bags can occasionally have small rips or pin pricks for some reason or other, or the hay is kept in a place where moisture can get at it.

The bag should be replaced for free.
Click to expand...
I didn’t know that when I binned my off bag.
Thanks @Wiebke
 
Merab said:
I didn’t know that when I binned my off bag.
Thanks @Wiebke
Click to expand...

Most providers will replace faulty products. That is normal trading practice.

Off smelling/tasting hay often depends on how it is processed and stored and whether moisture can get at it during that time or not. I must say that one of the reasons I have switched to Nature's Own that this has never been an issue with them due because of the way they deal with these issues.

It can also alert them to a problem with a batch of hay or faulty bags, in case it is not a one-off with just one customer.
 
Wiebke said:
Most providers will replace faulty products. That is normal trading practice.

Off smelling/tasting hay often depends on how it is processed and stored and whether moisture can get at it during that time or not. I must say that one of the reasons I have switched to Nature's Own that this has never been an issue with them due because of the way they deal with these issues.

It can also alert them to a problem with a batch of hay or faulty bags, in case it is not a one-off with just one customer.
Click to expand...

Good point :) I’ll have to try some of that natures own. I have some flipping fussy pigs! They like it then don’t then like it. I have orchard Timothy and meadow to cover haha. I just put a handful of each in and they can pick. You ever got on with orchard or Timothy?
 
Gadzy said:
Good point :) I’ll have to try some of that natures own. I have some flipping fussy pigs! They like it then don’t then like it. I have orchard Timothy and meadow to cover haha. I just put a handful of each in and they can pick. You ever got on with orchard or Timothy?
Click to expand...

Mine have always been on meadow hay but I go back to the days when you only had 'hay' (i.e. meadow hay) in pet shops that was it. Mine also like the sweet meadow hay as treat hay or as a richer hay base for frail piggies of mine but they would NOT ever touch timothy hay when I trialled different suppliers a few years ago. I had to give away quite a large box because it totally bombed.

The suppliers I trialled didn't offer orchard or ings hay but they are generally a bit richer hays and better used as a supplement, mix or treat. Nature's Own turned out to be the best in terms of delivery cost and being liked by my piggies. With the numbers I used to have, free bulk deliveries were a major factor. All I want is decent hay that is never musty.

Timothy is the hay that is easiest digested/most efficient but meadow hay is a mix of grasses and therefore caters to a greater variety of digestive microbiome so there are advantages for either. As far as I can see on the forum, it has made a difference in general health or longevity which of the two you use, to be honest. But I have found good quality meadow hay perfectly adequate for keeping a healthy ideal long term weight. The same goes for the slightly richer hays; each of them makes a good supplement or part of a mix but it comes down to what your piggies prefer.
They have double the number of taste buds compared to humans, so they can be somewhat picky...

I
 
Thanks all, I’m just going to use a Timothy blend from hay box and a cheaper meadow hay from hay and straw to cover both ends. Although having said that natures own I did try once. Can’t remember how I got on. I recall it smelling really really sweet and nice

I believe haybox Timothy blend according to them is 9.6 protein and 0.23 calcium and orchard 11 protein and 0.25 calcium. They couldn’t tell me of meadow because it contains loads of grasses.

Do you think orchard is more of a supplement for them then than a everyday feeding hay?

In all fairness I can’t judge at the moment because they are more quiet with the heat. It’s crazy hot where I am. I got cool pads and all in there but they seem not as energetic and wanting to eat. I just gotta try get them through this heatwave
 
Gadzy said:
Thanks all, I’m just going to use a Timothy blend from hay box and a cheaper meadow hay from hay and straw to cover both ends. Although having said that natures own I did try once. Can’t remember how I got on. I recall it smelling really really sweet and nice

I believe haybox Timothy blend according to them is 9.6 protein and 0.23 calcium and orchard 11 protein and 0.25 calcium. They couldn’t tell me of meadow because it contains loads of grasses.

Do you think orchard is more of a supplement for them then than a everyday feeding hay?

In all fairness I can’t judge at the moment because they are more quiet with the heat. It’s crazy hot where I am. I got cool pads and all in there but they seem not as energetic and wanting to eat. I just gotta try get them through this heatwave
Click to expand...

Orchard hay is a bit richer than meadow hay. But as you are feeding a mix of two hays, it doesn't frankly matter much as long as their weight is stable and their ribcage feels in the ideal range for a healthy size/weight ratio.

You can get a bit too stuck on things because you can never predict exactly how much hay your piggies eat on a given day. Hay quality can also vary from year to year because of the weather conditions, which have become a lot more irregular with more prolonged and intense periods of drought or rain. ;)
 
Nature's Own hay has always been great and their customer service second to none, tbh. I only stopped buying it because the skinnies wouldn't eat it, the fussy sods 🙄 and then with the Quartet they've been eating the same hay anyway so I haven't tried a switch.

Happy Hay replaced a box of hay for me a few weeks back that got left outside during a day's worth of rain, because I hadn't realised it was there (the tracking info was a bit weird). Took a photo of the remnants of the box and a photo of the puddle the hay left on my floor once I'd removed it from the wet box and I had the new box within a couple of days. Not so much as a quibble, just hey here's your new box.
 
I spoke to my local rescue who provided me with the c and c cage and have been so helpful and it also helps them out so I paid them a little extra for their help. They gave me a massive sack of fresh meadow hay they get from their local farmer for 5 pounds! The smell etc is just divine and for a fiver it’s amazing. They go straight to that one and it’s nice and soft.

I’ll put some ings in there too as a treat or orchard and they are sorted. Fussy ! Haha
 
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