Freezing Hey

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Polish chicken

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Just wondering, is it ok to freeze hay, to kill of any crawlers that may be there? If not what is the best hay to feed? Apart from not wanting unwelcome things on my piggies , they live in the house, any advice would be great . Thanks
 
hi, you can't freeze hay as it needs to be kept dry at all times as it goes mouldy very quickly & guineas shouldn't be fed anything that has been frozen as it causes fatal entero toxemia. I feed mine oxbow orchard grass & oxbow timothy hay. They are quite expensive but they are clean hays. Using a hay rack helps reduce waste. Hope this helps :)
 
juls65 said:
hi, you can't freeze hay as it needs to be kept dry at all times as it goes mouldy very quickly & guineas shouldn't be fed anything that has been frozen as it causes fatal entero toxemia. I feed mine oxbow orchard grass & oxbow timothy hay. They are quite expensive but they are clean hays. Using a hay rack helps reduce waste. Hope this helps :)
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Thanks for the warning, I will look into the hay you suggest can you get it shops or only on line, thanks.
 
guinea pigs have mites on them all the time anyway, and there will always be some in things like hay. they won't cause any problems unless the piggy is unable to control the numbers for any reason, like whilst ill etc.

some farmers do freeze the hay to kill off mites before using. i know the farmer at willow warren is very particular about the quality of his hay. i think there is a way to do this though, so i wouldn't try it at home incase it gets too wet or something. i'm not sure exactly how it works, but for some of the better quality hays, they do this method.

i would imagine you would have to feed it in a very small amount and change very regularly if you did it though, much the same way as some people mist the hay before feeding to reduce dust for allergy/respiratory pets.

but generally, there are lots of good quality hays around and no extra work would be needed. :)
 
biscandmatt said:
guinea pigs have mites on them all the time anyway, and there will always be some in things like hay.
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Do pigs really have mites at all times? I've never heard this (although I am quite a new piggie owner, really please excuse my moments of ignorance!) Will they still have them even if you treat for them and if they're inside piggies?
 
Lecie89 said:
Do pigs really have mites at all times? I've never heard this (although I am quite a new piggie owner, really please excuse my moments of ignorance!) Will they still have them even if you treat for them and if they're inside piggies?
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yes, they do, but the immune system will keep them under control. it's like the way we have them really. all beings have other 'things' living on them *shudder* - so they will always have some and it's not a problem. that's why in times of stress when the body is busy coping with something else, the mites can multiply and get out of control. then you need to treat them. even hay will have mites but not cause any issues unless it's a very bad batch and then the piggies might pick them up. again, treat then, but no need otherwise. :)
 
biscandmatt said:
yes, they do, but the immune system will keep them under control. it's like the way we have them really. all beings have other 'things' living on them *shudder* - so they will always have some and it's not a problem. that's why in times of stress when the body is busy coping with something else, the mites can multiply and get out of control. then you need to treat them. even hay will have mites but not cause any issues unless it's a very bad batch and then the piggies might pick them up. again, treat then, but no need otherwise. :)
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Thank you for elaborating :)! I love this forum and all the people that know so much more than me. Any amount of piggie info that anyone can research doesn't even compare to the real info you can get from people like you on this forum!
 
Lecie89 said:
Thank you for elaborating :)! I love this forum and all the people that know so much more than me. Any amount of piggie info that anyone can research doesn't even compare to the real info you can get from people like you on this forum!
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no probs :) i remember asking the same things myself :)) x
 
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