"Dried Grass" vs "Hay"?!

[missy]

Hi all,

Ok this may be a really silly question, but what is the difference between products labelled as "dried grass" and those labelled "hay"?! ?/ In my ignorance I'm assuming that hay is basically just dried grass, so then I'm wondering what the difference is, if any! And is one better than the other?

Specifically, if I'm using Burgess Excel Forage (barn dried grass), should I also be offering hay to eat as well, in addition to the Excel grass, or would the dried grass alone give my piggy everything he needs from that element of his diet? (He also gets dried muesli/nuggets and fresh veg every day - just wondering about the hay/grass.)

Any thoughts please?

Thank you!

 

[Becky92]

Mine have dried grass and pellets mixed in together, and a bedroom full of hay to munch

i would give both as hay is supposed to be there main food

 

[Laura-CCC4]

Dried grass is usually dried very fast, heated up, which kills off some parasites as well as locking in many of the nutrients of grass.

Hay is left to dry naturally, which is why it loses the green colour and most of the nutrients.

It's ok to feed just dried grass but personally I prefer to advise, and give, long strand hay. Mainly to work the teeth harder (longer strands = more chewing), provide the real basic roughage/fibre they need, and also to stimulate/occupy them more.

(P.S. I did get your email Missy, looooooooong few days but replying to you is first on my list tomorrow, if I don't get to it tonight.)

 

[missy]

Thanks guys.

Think I'll cut down on the grass then and reintroduce some long hay, in addition. I recently stopped using hay because I'd had a few bad batches from different places and the grass looked like a lovely alternative, looking so green and smelling so sweet!

Laura, don't worry about the email - I know you're a very busy lady x