Help! I am confused about HAY!

[tabelmabel]

Hello and hope you and your piggies are having a good day! I am a bit muddled about what hay my 9 week old Rex boar guinea pigs should be eating?

Is it Alfafa til 6 months of age? If it is - where can I get a bag bigger than 425g as that won't last long will it? I can only find that size online.


My guineas came with half a bag of hay( the breeder I got them from gave me a starter pack) from the dust free hay company and this seems to be Timothy hay. I know the Rex piggies are a fair sized breed and I am a bit concerned they won't get enough from the timothy hay at this stage in life?


I have got some alfafa cubes in the meantime from Petsmart. Should I be mixing alfafa and timothy, should it be all alfafa or does it not really matter?



Any help much appreciated.

 

[Amanda1801]

Any hay in an unlimited quantity is advised. Meadow hay or timothy hay is fine. I like the Dust Free Hay (.co.uk) stuff - I do their two pack and get one stalky, one soft and mix the two.

In terms of alfalfa hay, you're right - he does need this, but just a handful or so a day to increase his calcium intake. As far as I'm aware, he shouldn't be eating alfalfa hay exclusively, but I'm sure someone will be along to clarify this soon!

 

[Guinea pig slave]

This may be of help as they say they do larger bags:

http://www.oxbowanimalhealth.com/products/type/detail?object=1518

I would mix a little of another hay too as Amanda suggests - my piggies have tried every bloomin hay I can get my hands on and didn't care for it mallethead
I buy a variety of Meadow and Timothy then mix - they thrive so really wouldn't worry too much as long as he has a good fresh supply once/twice a day |)
Alfalfa stimulates their appetite so is good for young and convalescing/sick piggies but is not meant to be given daily as a sole hay for healthy/older piggies as it is very rich I believe in calcium.

 

[Bobby&Frankie]

I've read on here some people just give horse alfalfa i.e. a handful a day :/ It would definitely work out cheaper

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! Please feed unlimited normal grass based hay, timothy or orchard (US)/meadow hay (UK).

If you wish, you can add a handful of alfalfa/lucerne hay (which is a legume), but it is not absolutely necessary if you also offer unlimited good quality pellets until the weekly growth rate starts slowing down. The amount of extra calcium needed is actually very small.

You can help us to give you the correct links striaght away if you added your country/general area to your details (User CP/edit profile/location). We have members from all over the world and our advice/wording can differ quite a bit.

 

[tabelmabel]

Thanks so much for all this advice - specially the post immediately above. I am near to Perth in Scotland. Thanks everyone!