Good quality hay?

[Splat n Dexter]

I find it hard to choose from the array of hays available in the pet shops. I can't buy online since I don't have any cards to do so.

Of the hays generally available in pets shops in the UK, which are the best quality affordable ones to choose?

My piggies came to me from their previous owner with a large bag of My little friend meadow hay which I find to be quite dusty. I've bought a bag of Burgess Excel Fresh Forage which they seem to enjoy and recently a small bag of Woodlands Meadow hay (Irish company) which hasn't been opened yet, so not sure of quality.

We don't have room to store a big bale of hay, so it has to be packaged stuff from petshops. Prices are ridiculous there compared to when I was choosing hays for horse feed! And it's difficult to choose a decent one when it's all wrapped up, you can't pull a bit from a bale and have a good look and a sniff.

 

[flips]

P@H sell Alfalfa King timothy hay. It's nice and green and goes down well with my pigs. It's quite pricey so I use it as a sprinkling hay for them to forage for amongst the normal meadow hay I get from my local feed supplier. Some pet shops sell Oxbow hays but in the small bags, which work out ridiculously expensive.

 

[Midge&Panda]

I have the same problem as not being able to buy/store large quantities of hay, what I tend to look for is a hay that is light to medium green in colour and i will gently pull the seems on the bag and have a sniff to make sure it doesn't smell musty, it might look a bit strange doing it but I hate buying poor quality hay. Go to 'Equisite.com Choosing good quality hay' for some tips on what to look for.

 

[Romily]

How many piggies do you have? If only a couple then you can treat them to a few different varieties so they have new things to nibble each day.

 

[Splat n Dexter]

I seen that Alfafa King hay, it did look good, but tbh I wouldn't spend that much on hay if I could avoid it. :red I haven't noticed the Oxbow stuff, but if the price is on par with the AK stuff, I'd rather give it a miss.
(I sound like such a skinflint!)

 

[Splat n Dexter]

Just the two (female and neutered male). I may adopt another female if the right one comes along.

 

[Abi_nurse]

My girls get burgess excel herbage, marigold and dandilion, its not too expensive, comes in a reasonable sized bag and smells lush lol. If I were a piggie i'd eat it. Its up t you though really.... all of the above are good quality hays.

x.

 

[Cgilchrist]

have you tried the local farm shop? i get a bag from mine for £1.50 and it is lovely they should be cutting right now so it should be lovely and fresh not too dusty at £1.50 if not i think the pets at home timothy hay is quite good too. Oxbox is the best but very pricey at £8.70 for 1.1kg.

 

[flips]

Oxbow is way more expensive than the AK. I do have it but my pigs only get small amounts as a special treat.

If you have a local feed/ equine supplier it might be worth trying there. One of my local ones splits up bales into more manageable size bags- about half a black sack for £1.50. One of the local stables also splits bales in the same way. I'm lucky in that my friend and I buy a bale together (for about £5) and then we split it into bags between us. I can just about manage to store that much in the cupboard and hallway. I use this for the pigs' bedding and eating hay, then supplement it with readigrass and some special hays to maintain a more varied diet and stimulate my piggies' interest.

 

[Splat n Dexter]

I haven't asked at the local farm shop where i buy their bedding, must ask next time I'm there. I also have a friend who has horses and always has good quality hay; maybe if I ask her if she'd sell me a few sections from a bale every now and again....

Perhaps for now I'll stick to the Burgess Excel hay, but if anyone know of something around the same price (or cheaper) that is better for piggies, please let me know!

Thank you all for your input, it's much appreciated. x>>

 

[Joey&Gizmo]

You could also have a shop round and look for other pet shops or places that sell animal feed etc.

As i have only recently discovered that the shop by my vets sells readigrass and the small bags of oxbow hay, along with alot of other choice's of hay. So rather than order off line i can now get different hays from their. Also try the range as they sell some guinea pigs food and hay.