Meadow Hay?

  • Thread starter Thread starter baby-wilson
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
B

baby-wilson

Just wondering... can piggies and bunnies eat meadow hay?

We were looking for timothy hay today but the guy said they didnt have any.. he suggested meadow hay instead :)

Thanks!
 
Awesome! Is it actually good for them or just omthing to eat? :)
 
I'm not sure, hay is always good for the wearing down of teeth anyway, they can eat most hay i think..like oat hay/alpine hay/meadow/timothy etc..as long as its not too stalky and sharp meadow hay can be used as bedding too.
 
my pigs like timothy, its a rare treat though as its quite expensive to buy from the net, and theres only pets@ home which stock it near me..which isnt local so i dont go v often! :(
 
oh ok..well unless i win the lottery mine only have it as a treat lol, they get normal hay from a farm shop daily, which is normally a nice colour and smells good but this time it was awful and a bit brown, the pigfs still like it but maybe the weather has something to do with it..
 
spudnik said:
oh ok..well unless i win the lottery mine only have it as a treat lol, they get normal hay from a farm shop daily, which is normally a nice colour and smells good but this time it was awful and a bit brown, the pigfs still like it but maybe the weather has something to do with it..
Click to expand...

yeah, I think it's like that the more drier/older it is?
 
yeah, its a baragin price and normally really nice hay a massive bag for like £2.00 which lasts at least 2 weeks for all my 7 pigs who have lots of it everyday, one of the bags looks greener than another one, so maybe we got an old bag :(
 
i got a bale once, just made a mess eveywhere and i had too much it went off..i noticed btw when i was on bunny basics they are doing a bale of timothy hay approx 17kg for £15.99 i was tempted but its storing it..thats quite cheap i thought for that amount.

i just checked its meadow hay not timopthy haha..stupid me
 
i only give timothy hay for eating not bedding, get it from pets at home, and it's not very soft,quite prickily. use softer stuff for bedding
 
ye i got some timothy from there, i onyl give them that to eat, i use soft hay for bedding as theres a risk of it poking them in the eye or something is its sharp..although it gets eaten quickly so even if it was used as bedding they'd be cold overnight! ;D
 
spudnik said:
i got a bale once, just made a mess eveywhere and i had too much it went off..i noticed btw when i was on bunny basics they are doing a bale of timothy hay approx 17kg for £15.99 i was tempted but its storing it..thats quite cheap i thought for that amount.

i just checked its meadow hay not timopthy haha..stupid me
Click to expand...

That's quite expensive! FOCUS do a bale for £9-50 and when we get to the farm it'll only be £5 at the most!
 
i'd phone some farms, ours costs 2.50 a bale or 3.00 for a better quality
 
ye i agree..for meadow hay that is expenisve lol

i thought it was timothy hay haha obv not..I'm having a dumb moment :D
 
:) thanks everyone!

We just have normal hay at the moment and because it is raining over here half my bae went mouldy!

The guy at the shop we went to yesterday said you have to be really careful with hay and how you store it.
He said that they had a few people in there that had a mould on their arm that eas your skin or somthing :o YUCK! lol
 
eeewww
i think hessian sacks are good for storing hay in, i bought some off the net and that kept for ages really fresh
 
We stored out bale on top of the bunny cage, under a big tarp and under the pergola ;D but the rain STILL go through ;D
But the rest of the bale is being stored in a plastic (water-proof) bin ;D
 
maisydaisystar said:
i only give timothy hay for eating not bedding, get it from pets at home, and it's not very soft,quite prickily. use softer stuff for bedding
Click to expand...
Same here :) I get baled hay which is lovely quality and smells devine too.
 
Timothy hay is made from Timothy Grass which is better suited to guineas than the usual Rye grass which is more commonly grown in the UK. Trouble is a lot of the so called Timothy hays are actual mixes of Timothy, Rye and other grasses. First cut Timothy is not liked by my guines as much as second, the second is leafier. I can get Tim hay locally from a farm in Reading but its mixed with other grasses and is stalky.
I'm about to redo the hay and herb shop on :

Planet Guinea which sells Pure Tim Hay plus Alpine and Herbal (which my pigs pick out the hay and leave most of the herbs) all profits going to our rescue guineas to buy quality hay for them.
 
I feed timothy hay, because once they get a taste for it, they never go back to meadow hay (no matter how poor I am!). But, Karen, I'd be interested to hear why it's so much better for them than rye - I've never known. Thanks! :)
 
:) Tim Grass has the correct Calcium to Phosphorus ratio- so important in a piggies diet, in the wild they eat poor quality dry grass constantly to aid digestion and keep teeth in order, Rye could perhaps be described (very loosely!) as the 'quick fix' of grasses because it is so rich which is fine for horses and cattle (well mostly) but not ideally for guineas.

BUT Rye is not Toxic, not bad for guineas and should be fed in preference to veggies! It is just inferior to Orchard and Timothy!
Hope this helps :)
 
Thanks Karen - very interesting.

A vet once told me that grass was much better for pigs than veggies, so ever since then I have fed grass all the year round. I have noticed definite improvements in their health as a result. :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top