Is straw safe for piggys?

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Amysguineapigs said:
Hay isn't healthier if they eat too much of it and become overweight!
My opinion though:)
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A piggy is not going to become overweight by eating too much hay! It's too much pellet or muesli that can cause problems. As has already been stated, 80% of a pig's diet should be made up of hay, they cannot have too much. Like Amanda and some other members I tend to bed my piggies on hay - and yes, it is farm hay, which I buy by the bale, it is the greenest, freshest hay I have seen and the pigs love it and we have never had any health issues in all the years we have been using it. I also buy "specialist" hay such as Oxbow which is offered in addition to the normal hay.

Straw, unless it is something like Russell Rabbit which is chopped and much finer than normal straw, is incredibly sharp and having witnessed an horrific straw poke eye injury to a piggy it's not something I would choose to bed my animals on, but each to their own.
 
this might be a bit off topic, but how do you tell the difference between hays?

I've always used hay from a local farm, lovely green and lush (i'll be buying my next lot just after the harvest, it'll be heavenly!) not like the dodgy looking brown, crusty stuff in pet shops

But i have no idea what the difference is between meadow, timothy etc.

On the topic in question though, i've often thought about using straw in winter as an extra bedding, but after having dewey badly damage his eye on only hay, i think i'll stick with hay to be safe.
To be honest, it's just as cheap for me anyway
Plus it would be difficult to store the two different materials. 8 bales is my absolute maximum storage
 
I've always bought my pigs a bale of hay at a time from a family farm shop near me. It lasts them ages and it's really good stuff, and its value for money deffinatley.:(|)

I wouldn't use hay, I just think its too thick for them to eat, I guess as bedding it would be fine
 
Pandora said:
this might be a bit off topic, but how do you tell the difference between hays?

I've always used hay from a local farm, lovely green and lush (i'll be buying my next lot just after the harvest, it'll be heavenly!) not like the dodgy looking brown, crusty stuff in pet shops

But i have no idea what the difference is between meadow, timothy etc.

On the topic in question though, i've often thought about using straw in winter as an extra bedding, but after having dewey badly damage his eye on only hay, i think i'll stick with hay to be safe.
To be honest, it's just as cheap for me anyway
Plus it would be difficult to store the two different materials. 8 bales is my absolute maximum storage
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How do I tell the difference? I look at what it says on the bag :))

It's just different grass types I believe (although may be wrong? ?/)
 
Miss Figs Pigs said:
I've always bought my pigs a bale of hay at a time from a family farm shop near me. It lasts them ages and it's really good stuff, and its value for money deffinatley.:(|)

I wouldn't use hay, I just think its too thick for them to eat, I guess as bedding it would be fine
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I meant I wouldn't use straw.. doh!
 
Pandora said:
this might be a bit off topic, but how do you tell the difference between hays?

I've always used hay from a local farm, lovely green and lush (i'll be buying my next lot just after the harvest, it'll be heavenly!) not like the dodgy looking brown, crusty stuff in pet shops

But i have no idea what the difference is between meadow, timothy etc.

On the topic in question though, i've often thought about using straw in winter as an extra bedding, but after having dewey badly damage his eye on only hay, i think i'll stick with hay to be safe.
To be honest, it's just as cheap for me anyway
Plus it would be difficult to store the two different materials. 8 bales is my absolute maximum storage
Click to expand...

I deem "specialist" hays to be those that I purchase on line from The Dust Free Hay Co., SPH Supplies or The Hay Experts. These hays tend to be coarser than meadow hay from the stables, can have more seed heads and can sometimes be very fresh and green in colour. Here you go, something along these lines http://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/edibles/hay-grasses.html I have yet to find a hay that my gang don't like! Just be careful with Alfalfa hay, it's aimed at young piggies as it has a higher calcium content.
 
Hay is the best thing you can provide for your guinea pigs. They can't eat too much of it and burrowing in it provides natural stimulation.

I would never use straw as bedding due to the risk of injury.
 
I'm going to try the dust-free hay next. I bought my last bale from Hay for Pets, and they love it, but it's very dusty and one of my pigs can't stop sneezing, poor little thing. Think I sneeze more with it as well.
 
Straw might be cheaper but the cost of treating an injury in the future would far outweigh that!
 
Would just like to point out that "hay" or "straw" could mean a myriad of different products depending upon source, whether processed, dust-free etc etc.

Straw can be the stalks of wheat, oats, barley etc. Barley straw (especially if "finely chopped"...and "processed for small animals") is very soft. This is the only one i would feel comfortable using....the rest can be harmful to piggies in many ways...and I would never buy a straw bale from a farm as it;s normally the worst type of straw for piggies.

Barley straw (and other straws) have a higher carbohydrate content than hay and if piggies eat it, it can help them pile on the pounds as does their pellets/meusli and high carb veggies (corn/carrots). If they don;t eat it (because you are giving them enough hay) then soft barley straw could be used as part of the "cage litter" (but not as a food source)....so using barley straw as litter shouldn;t cut down on the amount of hay you need to feed.


Hay can be meadow hay, timothy hay, alfalfa, green oat etc etc. Again some are more "stalky" and rough than others. My eye injuries are normally as a result of feeding timothy hay (meadow hay is much finer) and a result of getting the grass seeds "stuck" in the eye.......but I continue to use it as part of their diet because it is really good to keep their teeth ground down.


Guinea pigs need 80% hay in their diet to keep their teeth ground down and their guts moving properly...........and it doesn;t make them fat.

Hope this helps clarify some of the confusion.
x
 
Thanks for the clarification Pebble :)p

To put my two penneth in I don't think it's necessary to have straw anywhere near your guineas full stop. They don't eat it, it's not good for bedding, so what's the point?!

You may as well get hay so they can eat it and lay on it and poop on it and wee on it. I always give fresh hay every night for them to munch and lay on. They basically have unlimited hay and they wont get fat on it, their metabolisms are too fast for that!

So a definite NO STRAW vote from me and my pigs x
 
I see now that they don't get fat on hay:)

Just thought that because they have Burgess pellets and i have cut down on their veg, yet they still seem to put on alot of weight. Think i'll put that down to them just been 'big pigs'.

Of course my piggies have unlimited hay all the time, fresh hay every night:)
But i would still use straw any day.

We've had at least almost 10yrs experience with straw and no injuries (touch wood).

But everyone knows what they feel is best for their pigs.:(|)
 
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Amysmom said:
I would be concerned about how they store hay at a farm if your going to use it for bedding. We used to buy bales from our local farm years ago and our two Piggys eventually got dreadful mite-we lost the one after he had a bad reaction to his treatment. The hay bales were stored in a big shed and not covered so anything could crawl in.
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They store straw in exactly the same way.
 
Amysmom said:
I never said we had bales of straw did I?
We buy bags of WASHED straw!

Wrong of you to presume-perhaps you could have ASKED in a less blunt way?
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Dont think there's any need for this! Keep it a friendly forum please.
 
Excuse, but amanda wasnt asking a question she (like anyone else on this thread) was just staying a fact and i find your reply quite threatening and unpleasant.
 
Please keep this thread on track and polite, it is getting far too personal. I think it has probably run it's course and hopefully everyone is now aware of the benefits of hay, the different forms of hay and straw that are useful for piggies and the type of straw that should probably be avoided.
 
I don't understand why it is that people here can't see that Amanda does have a certain way about her that causes 'dispute' and it's not just with me.

I will not comment on this matter further
 
Amysmom said:
I don't understand why it is that people here can't see that Amanda does have a certain way about her that causes 'dispute' and it's not just with me.

I will not comment on this matter further
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I think maybe you are reading too much in to her replies or perhaps reading them the wrong way - ive met Amanda on a couple of occassions and she is the nicest person ive met - i find her posts very helpful and to the point....

perhaps stepping back and re-reading what's been written will help - i dont think anyone was being blunt with you least of all Amanda...
 
Amysmom said:
I never said we had bales of straw did I?
We buy bags of WASHED straw!

Wrong of you to presume-perhaps you could have ASKED in a less blunt way?
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I don't think Amanda was presuming anything- you said you'd be concerned about how hay is stored at a farm and she was pointing out Straw is stored in the same way at a farm- no comment on your use of hay/ straw. Let's just keep this nice :).
 
Amysmom said:
I don't understand why it is that people here can't see that Amanda does have a certain way about her that causes 'dispute' and it's not just with me.

I will not comment on this matter further
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Who's disputing what? I was happily minding my own business making my tea? ?/
 
I think if Amanda hadn't quoted what I said it wouldn't have looked like it was directed at me!
 
Amysmom said:
I think if Amanda hadn't quoted what I said it wouldn't have looked like it was directed at me!
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What I was saying, was directed at you, hence why I quoted. I merely stated that hay and straw are stored in the same way. I fail to understand how that is disputing anything, or being blunt?

Anyway, I have garlic mushrooms calling my name.

If you listen really carefully, you may hear them, so I'm off.


Amaaaaaaandaaaaaa..... Come and eat us!
 
I'm sorry but some people let their fingers get carried away with them on the keyboard. I have seen examples of Amanda being blunt and upsetting other members of this forum during their threads. Perhaps some people do it to cause a debate as some people come on the Internet to do just that.
 
Amanda1801 said:
What I was saying, was directed at you, hence why I quoted. I merely stated that hay and straw are stored in the same way. I fail to understand how that is disputing anything, or being blunt?

Anyway, I have garlic mushrooms calling my name.

If you listen really carefully, you may hear them, so I'm off.


Amaaaaaaandaaaaaa..... Come and eat us!
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Oh now I'm confused
Other members just said it wasnt directed at me!

I just think there are better ways of putting things without coming across blunt.
 
The quote was clearly used so that it was clear what she was refering to as the topic has strayed from that since... ? I really dont understand the issue here.
 
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