How Should Meadow Hay Smell?

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Kylie80

Kylie80

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Bought some cheap meadow hay for the piggies because it was on sale and I got extra off with my VIP card. I'm just wondering how it is supposed to smell as this one is not a sweet smelling hay and not particularly green but feels really soft and fresh. Piggies a bit fussy with it which is typical with them and cheap hay, they will nibble it but it's probably not good enough for their posh appetites (i will mix it with some oxbow orchard grass and all off a sudden they will think they are fine dining like i did with the oat hay they didnt like and now love).
 
It looks like they are not going to eat this anyway no matter what I mix it with.
 
ah, that stinks. Perhaps it was just a bad batch. Your piggies sound wonderfully spoiled ;)
 
They are ridiculously spoilt. They turn their nose up at all the cheap hays. They must have really had a sook over this meadow hay because last night I mixed it with the orchard hay and their favourite burgess timothy hay and they refused to eat any of it even their favs. I chucked the uneaten stuff in a brown paper bag I added to their cage and apparently the meadow hay is deemed good enough by Coco to sleep and toilet on.
 
I have had a few batches like that too.
And sometimes when I think it looks wonderful and smells good I am clearly wrong, as they still refuse to eat it :roll:

And as a total aside reading the word sook made my day - so fantastically Australian :D
 
It's super soft though. Coco has been snuggled up all arvo in it in her paper bag.
 
In my household, if it smells like I'd wanna eat it, they'll eat it :)). I've had a couple of batches that have looked dull and bitty but smelled gorgeous. Humans and pigs here aren't fussy, it's the fish that are picky :))
 
This one smells feral, I know I wouldn't eat it. I can't explain the smell but it doesn't smell mouldy just not fresh even though it feels fresh.
 
Medow hay should smell pleasing , sort of sweet like a good quality tea , avoid any that smells in the least bit mouldy
If you are buying 2 stringer bales from a farm, feel the weigh, the lighter the bale the less moisture ,
whatch what the experanced Horse keepers keeper chose, they won't feed anything but the best , though you may find them protective of there supplies
 
Ok I got a photo of it. I'm giving them one last try tonight and then I will biff it if they still aren't interested. It was embarassingly (if that's a word) cheap for $7aud.
 
I will keep offering it then and hopefully they will eat it eventually.
 
I am so fed up with not being able to find decent hay in Australia! And it costs a fortune to get it imported... I just want my old American Pet Diner stuff back....
 
I know it's so frustrating. I thought of getting some off ebay uk but or anywhere that will send to australia but I wondered about whether there would be a customs issue. Ive read that you need some sort of licence. It would be nice to get something cheapish here to give the piggies as a main hay instead of just the expensive stuff.
 
AlbiePercy said:
I am so fed up with not being able to find decent hay in Australia! And it costs a fortune to get it imported... I just want my old American Pet Diner stuff back....
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Did you try the petbarn website? They have alfalfa king timothy hay but its only the 465gms i think but you have four piggies dont you so that would work out abit expensive. Piggies love it though. I would keep an eye out on the "my pet warehouse" website too because I went to their store in Stafford a couple weekends ago and they had various burgess hays there but it's not on their website as yet.
 
Kylie80 said:
Did you try the petbarn website? They have alfalfa king timothy hay but its only the 465gms i think but you have four piggies dont you so that would work out abit expensive. Piggies love it though. I would keep an eye out on the "my pet warehouse" website too because I went to their store in Stafford a couple weekends ago and they had various burgess hays there but it's not on their website as yet.
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Oooh why is the only NSW store in Sydney! Might have to do a road trip in the near future! And yeah 4 piggies would devour that in a day haha!
 
Kylie80 said:
Where are you getting your hay from now then?
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I bought like 15 bags of that Timothy and Birch bark stuff that was on sale from guineapigsaustralia. So I'm coming to the end of that now... Will have to check and see if they've still got some.
 
AlbiePercy said:
I bought like 15 bags of that Timothy and Birch bark stuff that was on sale from guineapigsaustralia. So I'm coming to the end of that now... Will have to check and see if they've still got some.
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I'm on my last bag of that too. Piggies love it, not so much the bark though.
 
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