Hay

[AutumnThePig]

Hay is for horses... and Guinea Pigs! I'm just curious. Do any of you mix different types of hay for your piggies? I give mine Timothy Hay and mix it with, Orchard Grass from Oxbow.

Speaking of hay, I'm in need of advice... I have a friend in real life that feeds her adult piggy Alfalfa. The other day, I said something along these lines: "I have a bag of Alfalfa hay left over. I heard it's only used for baby, pregnant or sick guinea pigs. I'm just going to throw it away or donate it because my piggy isn't a baby anymore." After saying this, my friend still gives her piggy Alfalfa. I'm just worried for the piggy. Will she have a lot of health issues if my friend continues to feed her Alfalfa? Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can tell or convince my friend to switch the type of hay she's using?

Thank you in advance

 

[Swissgreys]

There is an amazing guide to hay here:
A Comprehensive Hay Guide for Guinea Pigs (incl. providers in several countries)

Maybe you could print it out and give it to your friend.
Start by saying something along the lines of; 'I came across this online and thought it was really interesting. What do you think?'

 

[PigglePuggle]

The forum hay guide is really good, we feed a mix of meadow hay and timothy hay usually and recently we've started adding a bit of readigrass as a treat twice a week too on playpen/cage clean days when they get scatterfeed veggies in hay on the floor instead of pellets and veggies in a dish. We use more meadow hay (about twice as much as timothy) as it is softer to sit on and sleep on so we fill the hay areas of the cage with it after cage clean-outs and daily hay tray cleans then top up with timothy at meal times.

Maybe you could buy a multi-pack of appropriate hay then give a bag to your friend saying you have too much to store and keep commenting on how much her piggies like it? Or tell her how much cheaper it would be if you both bought a bulk buy of hay and split the cost and you choose and order the hay?