Hay Cubes

neoma · Jan 22, 2011

I have asthma, which rarely bothers me. Since I got the piggies, I have been experiencing a lot of problem with my asthma. I don't think that the piggies themselves are the problem; I think it's their hay.

I learned today that a local pet store sells lots of Oxbow products including hay cubes. I am thinking that tightly compacted hay cubes would be much better for my asthma than loose hay with all of the associated dust.

Does anyone feed their piggies hay cubes? Is this a viable replacement for loose hay? Will it give them the nutrition that they need?

lexybee91 · Jan 22, 2011

I'm not sure of an answer for you,I just wanted to say I'm sorry you're astha's bad.

I hope a smarter member than I will be along soon

xox

neoma · Jan 22, 2011

lexybee91 said:
I'm not sure of an answer for you,I just wanted to say I'm sorry you're astha's bad.

I hope a smarter member than I will be along soon xox

Thank you, lexybee91. :rose

This morning, as I was cleaning their cage, I started wheezing as soon as I took their hay out of the bag. This particular brand is even dustier than the previous one. I will switch back, but I was having problems with the old one, too.

I contacted a British company that sells dust-free hay. They don't sell in the *.S.

I did some digging around on the internet last night, and everyone seemed to be in agreement that hay cubes cannot replace loose hay. I would love to hear from the folks here regarding this topic.

I'm not going to give up my piggies. But I do need to find a way to avoid the asthma trigger -- hay.

flips · Jan 22, 2011

I think long stranded hay is essential for wearing down the back teeth. Short stranded hay is not very good for this, so I assume hay cubes would be the same.

Do you wear a mask when you're handling the hay?

neoma · Jan 22, 2011

flips said:
I think long stranded hay is essential for wearing down the back teeth. Short stranded hay is not very good for this, so I assume hay cubes would be the same.

Do you wear a mask when you're handling the hay?

Thank you, flips. :rose

No, quite frankly, I didn't even think about a mask! That's a great idea. Thank you.

Squigle · Jan 22, 2011

Mine have hay cookies, which I'd imagine are pretty much the same. Mine all love them

One piggie currently only has a hay cookies as he gets longer bits of hay stuck up his doodar

I'm going to get a square fat feeder (normally used for birdies to put the square fat blocks in) to put some longer hay in, which will hopefully stay in one place easier.

neoma · Jan 23, 2011

Squigle said:
Mine have hay cookies, which I'd imagine are pretty much the same. Mine all love them
One piggie currently only has a hay cookies as he gets longer bits of hay stuck up his doodar I'm going to get a square fat feeder (normally used for birdies to put the square fat blocks in) to put some longer hay in, which will hopefully stay in one place easier.

Squigle, I have a hay rack and my guys end up spreading it all over their cage floor anyway.

Squigle · Jan 23, 2011

Aww haha, maybe I won't try that then :p

neoma · Jan 24, 2011

Squigle said:
Aww haha, maybe I won't try that then :p

I think the hay rack is good in that most of the food that they eat is clean. It's certainly cleaner than if I just dumped it on the floor of their cage. But it is still messy.

hellsbells82 · Jan 24, 2011

can they have their hay soaked? I know years ago we used to soak horses hay in water to make it less dusty for them, but have no idea if this is suitable for piggies or not.

neoma · Jan 24, 2011

hellsbells82 said:
can they have their hay soaked? I know years ago we used to soak horses hay in water to make it less dusty for them, but have no idea if this is suitable for piggies or not.

Good question, hellsbells.:rose I honestly don't know. I would think that it would increase the likelihood of mold, etc. I'd like to let some of the more experienced (than me) members weigh in on this.

amy104 · Feb 2, 2011

A vet told me to soak the hay for my bridge piggy Fudge as he had severe dust allergies, he wouldn't eat it like that, but as far as know its safe to do.

neoma · Feb 2, 2011

amy104 said:
A vet told me to soak the hay for my bridge piggy Fudge as he had severe dust allergies, he wouldn't eat it like that, but as far as know its safe to do.

Thank you, amy104. :rose