Is Fresh From Farm Timothy Hay Bale Safe for Guinea Pigs?

[3toedCuties]

In the first photo is the cheaper bale of hay and the second photo is the slightly more expensive option of hay (both grown in Canada)

For the cheaper hay If the the bales weigh 40-45 lbs each they should last a solid 3 1/4 - 3 3/4 months (without any waste) and I need 12 lbs a month for 2 pigs.

My question is will this source of hay be safe for my piggies? Of course it’s branded for pets but does this type of hay usually get de-dusted or will I need to shake it in one of my laundry bags designed for keeping the washing machine clean from debris? (It’s like a porous bag with a zipper that might work for removing dust but I’m really not sure if that will work, definitely not as good as any dust removing machines they would normally use!)

I ask because buying from this seller even with the shipping cost that is almost the same as the hay itself I would be saving money in the long run basically the difference is roughly 165$ for a little over 3 months vs 153$ for up to 3 3/4s months (CAD) not a huge deal but saving a bit of money on monthly expenses would start to add up and that would be nice!

I’m also searching for local hay here in Nova Scotia but I’m not sure if there is any! And it would pose the same question would the dust be a problem for piggies from direct from farm hay?

Online it recommends farm hay for price but also to be considerate of the dust so I’m just not sure… which do y’all think is the better option for here?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Yes the hay will be safe. Whether it has the dust extracted - you will need to contact the seller.

I buy bales direct from a local farm so it is not dust extracted. It can also contain weeds and the odd bit of bailer twine! I do this as it is considerably cheaper and with four to feed I get through a lot. However all the dust falls to the bottom of the bale bag that I store my hay in so it’s never an issue for me on that front.

At this point you can only roughly guess what amount of hay you will go through. My set up is a little different and calculating it down I do use more than 12lbs/5kg per two pigs per month. (I actually have four animals though).

I would say don’t bulk buy to begin with - piggies can be quite fussy and you run the risk of ending up with a lot of hay that they may not eat. Buy smaller amounts until you are sure they like it and then you can go bigger (although do be warned that at the time you feel confident to bulk buy, that will also be the same time they decide that actually that type of hay is no longer suitable for their menu - they can be awkward like that!)
First cut Timothy is very stalky and actually not all piggies like it - certainly not one of my animals will touch it and I know there are others on the forum who also won’t eat first cut.
I get just plain old meadow hay for mine.