Feeding Oxbow Hay Exclusively

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Laura-CCC4

Laura-CCC4

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Well I am giving up on local hay. It's pretty fair quality, but with Tuppy's suspected systemic fungal and dental problems I've realised I can't afford to keep giving them "pretty fair" hay.

I'm ordering a 22kg box of Oxbow in a couple of weeks so I can put them on Oxbow hay exclusively. I'm going with the biggest amount as it is the most cost effective. I can either buy 5kg for £30, or 22kg for £70!
It'll have to be Orchard Grass as the Timothy really irritates my nose. They will still get Readigrass as their bedtime treat and main 'bedding' in their hay loos.

Does anyone else feed Oxbow hay exclusively?

I'm hoping with seven pigs, a 22kg box will last us a fairly long time...
 
I tried this last year I ended up spending triple out on Hay. I couldn't afford it. Oxbow is fab but just too much for me and I can't feed readigrass as I'm allergic. :))

Good luck with it, let * know how it goes. :)
 
I would be concerned that orchard grass or even American timothy hay fed exclusively would not be the correct balance of minerals, protein etc as it is fairly "rich"

I get my meadow hay and my American Timothy from www.dustfreehay.co.uk .The meadow hay is dearer than from the farm but is superb quality and the American timothy is every bit as good as the Oxbow. He sells English Timothy too.

Vedra told me that that the Oxbow hay is steam treated to kill fungal spores and also recommended that I use it exclusively. I telephoned Petlife International to ask them if this was the case and they said no, they do not (I wondered how one could steam hay anyway?:{) and that they do not even dust extract it.

I would guess that fungal spores are less likely to exist in their hay due to the temperature and conditions under which it is grown and kept as of course this country is rather damp!

You could look at the Polish grown hay from www.galensgarden.co.uk as well. I have given this to mine in the past. It is very fine hay, long strands and they loved it but it worked out quite expensive for bedding!

I am not disagreeing with what you are doing at all but wondered if you had tried dustfree hay as it is very good :)
 
Am interested in this as I've also been thinking about hay recently (as a result of trip to Vedra) - hers have Readigrass or Just Grass, no normal hay. Which is fine - but I thought someone said that dried grass is high in calcium last time I asked?

Also mine are in a shed and I don't know what else to use as bedding to keep them warm - Readigrass and all of those are quite spiky aren't they?

Sophie
x
 
How do you find Dustfree Hay cost wise Fi? I tried this and had no luck whatsoever I was spending more out. The hay I get now i £1.90 I go through 1 bag a day at the mo as I put extra in with it being cold. Half a bag does 1 cage for bedding. So like you Sophie I am using hay because it keeps them warm.

Bringing them in over the weekend though. Made space for Cavy towers in the spare room! :D
 
Louise-the dustfree hay is sort of an expensive layout initially (£26.99 for a large bale) but as DHL deliver it, I am sure much of this cost is delivery. I got a large bale 3 weeks before Christmas and I still have over half left. That is for 10 guineas and I am generous with it for their bedding and racks.

I can get meadow hay from my local farm for £4 a large bale and it isnt bad but does contain stones, soil and some other unwanted items! if I was out of dustfree or watching the pennies, I would use it though.

Have you looked for a farm near to you? I live on the outskirts of London and there is one a couple of miles away :)) check out the yellow pages for farms or farm shops!

Sophie-Vedra told me to use that too and Timothy from Oxbow if I have to :{ I decided not to follow her advice. Readigrass would make a very uncomfortable bedding I imagine. A good quality, fresh meadow hay is fine in my opinion. I think Laura is treating one of her piggies for systemic fungal which is probably why she is considering switching. I know hay can harbour fungal spores and become mouldy when damp but a fresh good quality hay should be fine and of course changed daily if used for bedding. If a guinea has fungal systemically, other factors could be that they have had it on the skin and ingested or breathed in the spores.

Basically, my personal feeling is that a good quality meadow hay, kept in dry conditions and changed daily from their bedding, shouldn't pose a serious risk! I avoid pet shop hays that are stored in plastic bags, probably for long periods of time as I feel it is poor quality and can be damp and mouldy. This would pose a risk :(
 
Thanks for that Fi. I should be able to find a supplier and store in the shed. I do use the bagged hay but the shop I get it from bags it up from hay bales as needed.

I did try a supplier once it was £6 a bale and very dusty it was awful. :(
 
Thanks for all your replies. It gave me a lot to think about!

I may try a combination of the Dust Free and the Oxbow. Dust Free does seem much more costly though, but then as has alreayd been said, DHL charge extortionate prices for delivery!

Fi is right, I am changing because of a pig with repeated systemic fungal infections. She has had it twice in the last 6 months, since being on the new hay, with no sign of fungal skin condition.

Orchard Grass and Timothy are the hays of choice in the US - I don't think meadow is heard of there - and it's gone down well here before. It will be richer than UK hay as it is so green, but the more nutritious the better; brown/yellow hay has lost nutrients - good for teeth but not much else.

As far as I know, products like hays are not allowed into the country unless they have been treated. The only treatment most UK hay gets is dust extraction, which still doesn't eliminate fungal spores or parasites. I don't know what they do before they package Oxbow, but I'm sure I've heard there are strict Defra rules on it to ensure the hay doesn't bring disease/parasites etc. into the country.

The hay I get is pretty green (the greenest I've seen in years!), soft and sweet/fresh smelling. It is dry and clean and stored appropriately. The hay is entirely replaced daily, with fresh hay given twice daily.
But still there have been parasites in this hay, hence why fungal spores are a distinct possiblity. If there's a chance Tuppy is ill due to the local hay, it's got to be replaced with a far, far higher quality hay - like Oxbow - which should be much less likely to contain fungal spores and other nasties.

After reading the good reviews on Dust Free, I'll try that as well as Oxbow to see how they get on. I am reluctant to withdraw all meadow hay as I do like the softness of meadow, but I'd still rather have them eating Oxbow.

Vedra suggests thick layers of soft chopped straw and Readigrass as standard bedding, but all the sick animals/in-patients are on Vetbed or towels. They also get Oxbow hay fed in a bowl. As far as I know, she keeps no pigs outdoors, so no hay is needed for the warmth side of things.

Readigrass is not the softest and I wouldn't use it entirely as bedding, but in a hay area it is fine. It is higher in most (if not all?) nutrients as it is just dried grass.
 
Why don't you give Petlife International a ring and ask them a few questions? I was suprised to hear they did nothing with their Oxbow hay before exporting it, just picked and packed!

Just wondered too: does the piggy in question live with other pigs? This was a question I raised with Vedra when she diagnosed Sunny with systemic fungal, his cagemate was absolutely fine as were all my other pigs who all had the same hay for bedding! wouldn't his cagemate have had it too?
 
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She does live with other pigs, but she has a weakened immune system and has had a very rough year. She's also senior, and is very weak and susceptible - especially compared to my other robust, healthy pigs. She hasn't eaten well for the past year due to dental issues, and after two weeks of eating the hay very well back in November she went downhill again. These past few weeks she's dropped a lot of weight and is unable to maintain any that she puts on through syringe-feeding; even on days she takes 130ml+, she cant hold any of that weight more than a few hours. Combined with an unpleasant odour (which generally exudes from her - mouth, skin, hair, poops) everything points to systemic fungal preventing the absorption of nutrients. The hay was the main thing she ate in November; a few pellets and few vegetables, but mostly hay. She's been wormed routinely for the past few months but is starting an intensive course of wormer before we try Intrafungol or Dida.

With so many health issues, and with this being a repeated issue with Tuppy, I'm just not willing to stick with the local hay any more. An added plus with the Oxbow is the thicker strands; with her missing a tooth she can't get hold of fine meadow hay so easily. Still don't want to give up on meadow completely, but it's got to be much higher quality than usual UK hay.

I'll find out more about Petlife/Oxbow/Defra and see what they all come back with.
 
Ahhh bless her, you are doing all you can for her...it does sound quite likely to be systemic fungal in her case, is it a sort of mildew type smell?

Oxbow do an oat hay to which I get for mine occasionally as a change.

Dustfree hay also grow English Timothy hay which is good quality but mine do prefer the American timothy or the good old meadow!
 
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