Hay

Katiedid

Katiedid

Adult Guinea Pig
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What are your thoughts on hay?

I buy 3 sorts - redigrass for my boar as I struggle to keep weight on him (he has been to the vets more times than I know what to do with - it’s not teeth). Good quality Timothy Hay and then I get a large bale of hay.

The large bale is for bed areas, for tunnelling, for pooping in. Each day it is cleared out totally and thrown away I get through a horse bale a month or so. I only buy dust free, weed free UK medow hay. I only buy the quality I used to buy for the horse (horse owners are fussy - a horse with a cough due to poor hay is an expensive mistake). My hay suppliers hay this year is ‘meh’ so I posted on a local forum asking for ideas as to where else. A local rescue lady who had seen my post about Ziggy and given advice about nebulisers stepped in and sugggested small bagged hay.

It’s made me question whether I’m wrong to put medow hay in bales for them to play in?
 
I get my hay from a farm that also horse owners go to so I know it's good stuff. This years is so sweet it smells like honey! My piggies love it!
 
A vet years ago told me not to use my horses hay for piggies and rabbits as it could have mites in it so I changed to dust extruded hay that I still buy from animal feed suppliers near where I used to stay!
Lots of Forum members use horse hay though without any problem but I’m superstitious about going against Vet advice since he kept horses too!
 
I think this actually comes down to local suppliers, time of year etc.
Even the best hay suppliers are bound to have the occasional batch which is less brilliant.
Hay is a seasonal product, and so the quality throughout the year will naturally vary.
I tend to look around and buy what looks good at the time.
If you find a bale of great looking hay then buy it.
 
Thank you all, the mites point is a valid one - that said the one time I got caught I was using branded bagged hay. Here we have the choice of bags of stuff like burgess or you get a bale. My 2 suppliers - one supplies local one supplies uk have been 'meh' which is frustrating as I've seen some in a compact medium bale (so 6 bale equivalent) which is soooooooo lovely (I'm trying to persuade hubby it really needs to go in he garage).
 
I buy mine from dustfreehay.co.uk and I love it. The pigs go made for the soft meadow and timothy (they are a little meh about the stalky) But it is soo green and smells lovely and there really is no dust.
But I do find it is expensive and with 4 hay lovers they munch through it pretty quick. It costs about £32 for 8kg! (delivered) and they get through that in about a month.
 
Pemblebee said:
But I do find it is expensive and with 4 hay lovers they munch through it pretty quick. It costs about £32 for 8kg! (delivered) and they get through that in about a month.
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That’s my issue for hay they play in I get through a bale a month - so about 25kg!
 
I get my hay from hay and straw online. Organic ings hay, they go crazy for it! I don't think there's such thing as too much hay (unless it's really expensive!)
 
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