Hay Types

[George and Max]

I have only had my boys since November, and after trying several different shop bought hays I ordered a 10kg bale of Timothy hay from timothyhay.co.uk.
It was a revelation compared to the dusty dry rubbish I had previously bought, the boys love it and eat it with gusto.
I'm ready to order more hay now and I don't know whether to try either meadow or Ings from hayandstraw as I've read lots of you use these.
Knowing how fussy these little devil's are, they've certainly rejected hays I've offerred, do I play it safe and order the same again? Or are there reasons people use the other varieties?

 

[Danielle Smith]

I think of timothy more as a hayrack-only hay (due to risks of haypokes in the eye as it's so stalky), and Ings/meadow hay as hay to put in massive piles and in litterboxes. They have different uses if you see what I mean; pigs will eat some of the Ings/meadow, but it's also soft enough to burrow in and snuggle on. You can order a sample of the Ings and meadow to see if your piggies like those hays. It's worth noting that (a) these softer hays can also be put in a hay rack and (b) you don't need litterboxes or piles of hay, if you're happy with how much timothy they're eating -- it's just brilliant for enrichment. Honestly, hay piles are each and every one of my pigs' favourite toys, haha.

 

[Hannah Boyd]

I also got the timothy hay you got and it's fantastic! Piggies love it. But I just put an eatable sized pile on their 'food tray' and it's all gone in 20 minutes or so, they get a handful twice a day or so. I bought a 20kg bale of meadow hay from eBay for £17 (inc. delivery) and it is amazing. They love it too and it's super soft - they love to burrow in it, eat it, and sleep on it!