Is hay necessary?

Status
Not open for further replies.
C

chilwell

Joined
Dec 29, 2009
Messages
376
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Istanbul, Turkey
So as the title says is hay vital for piggies? Shops here started to stock it but now it seems as they have stopped and won't be taking further stocks, I have no idea why.

So my question is, is it ok if they just have grass daily and as much and as often as they want as we have moved house and have a garden.

Thanks!
 
yep they need it to have it available for them everyday and an unlimited supply!
 
Would it be possible to buy it online or is it going to be too expensive?
 
Wiebke said:
Would it be possible to buy it online or is it going to be too expensive?
Click to expand...

If I could believe me I would but no one delivers to Turkey. I am really concerned that they will become ill if they don't have it, I love my piggies to bits :(

Does grass not do the same job?
 
If Chilwell dried the grass would it not then be hay? Or is hay something else? After all wild GPs (and bunnies) don't get hay.
 
Hmm, well grass would be their "natural" diet . . . but in the winter will they still be able to have grass?

Try www.zooplus.de It's a bit hard to find the way around if you don't speak german, but click on the rabbit, and hay in german is 'heu'. I think . . . they sell hay and I'd imagine they deliver to Turkey but not sure. If you can't figure out how to register to the site, cos it's in german, then you could register to the english site (.co.uk) and your details will be saved when you go onto the german site I think . . . that's what I did anyway to get hay delivered to Ireland from the german site.

Good luck :)
 
Are there any horse stables near where you live?
If you could find one I'm sure someone would let you buy hay from them if you have no other choice
 
You could feed a mixture of fresh grass and straw in a pinch. Anything from the grass family is basically OK (grains, rice etc). Hay is of course best.
 
CiaraPatricia said:
Hmm, well grass would be their "natural" diet . . . but in the winter will they still be able to have grass?

Try www.zooplus.de It's a bit hard to find the way around if you don't speak german, but click on the rabbit, and hay in german is 'heu'. I think . . . they sell hay and I'd imagine they deliver to Turkey but not sure. If you can't figure out how to register to the site, cos it's in german, then you could register to the english site (.co.uk) and your details will be saved when you go onto the german site I think . . . that's what I did anyway to get hay delivered to Ireland from the german site.

Good luck :)
Click to expand...

you may be able to use google for translation, even if the result is usually pretty garbled!
 
CiaraPatricia said:
Hmm, well grass would be their "natural" diet . . . but in the winter will they still be able to have grass?

Try www.zooplus.de It's a bit hard to find the way around if you don't speak german, but click on the rabbit, and hay in german is 'heu'. I think . . . they sell hay and I'd imagine they deliver to Turkey but not sure. If you can't figure out how to register to the site, cos it's in german, then you could register to the english site (.co.uk) and your details will be saved when you go onto the german site I think . . . that's what I did anyway to get hay delivered to Ireland from the german site.

Good luck :)
Click to expand...

Thanks I'll try the website but it's the customs regulations here that won't let it through hence the shops not importing here anymore.

My guineas can have access to grass all year round here due to the mild winters and HOT summers lol!
 
You should feed some dry food, ideally; can you get some kind of straw to completement the grass? And could you find stables for hay?
 
Wiebke said:
You should feed some dry food, ideally; can you get some kind of straw to completement the grass? And could you find stables for hay?
Click to expand...

I could try the stables up near the kids school if they understand my bad Turkish haha! I have a feeling I may be in for some strange looks lol!
 
Grass is actually ok...better in some respects. Something to do with the silicates in the grass/hay and the way the piggies chew it.

Hay should still play a major part of the diet, as the pigs can't eat grass 24/7, but in terms of digestion and dental wear, as long as it is introduced to the diet slowly (not necessary for your pigs chilwell as they are already used to it) grass can do the job.
 
Last edited:
Laura-CCC4 said:
Grass is actually ok...better in some respects. Something to do with the silicates in the grass/hay and the way the piggies chew it.

Hay should still play a major part of the diet, as the pigs can't eat grass 24/7, but in terms of digestion and dental wear, as long as it is introduced to the diet slowly (not necessary for your pigs chilwell as they are already used to it) grass can do the job.
Click to expand...

Thanks so if I cannot get hay at all then grass will be ok? I can get dry food easily at any petshop just not the hay. I care a great deal about my piggies and just want them to have the right diet.
 
Laura-CCC4 said:
Forgot to add, they'll need grass 24/7 just like hay. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks, they can have grass 24/7, up until two weeks ago they were having hay but annoyingly I can no longer get it. They get grass daily at the moment but not 24/7 so I'll introduce more within the next week until they are having it all the time.

Thank you.
 
The only thing I would add is that ideally you should transition slowly from hay to grass. If you have run out of hay, watch out for diarrhea/bloating in the first few days. If they are completely new to grass, put them out for short periods (5 minutes, then 15) so they don't overeat in their excitement!
 
ajb said:
The only thing I would add is that ideally you should transition slowly from hay to grass. If you have run out of hay, watch out for diarrhea/bloating in the first few days. If they are completely new to grass, put them out for short periods (5 minutes, then 15) so they don't overeat in their excitement!
Click to expand...

It's funny you should say that, I put two of them out for 10 mins yesterday in a small run, went out to move them and you could see exactly where the run had been :))
 
try local farms too - they are likely to stock hay, either because they produce it, or purchase it for their cattle.

Farm hay should be very cheap too, as farms store this in bulk. In northern Ireland it works out at approx one-third of the price of the cheapest hay package in the local pet shops.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top