Might be a silly Question...

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jburgess

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Hello, First i will tell you that i do not have a piggy, i want one but need to solve an issues first :)

I'm VERY allergic to hay/grass/pollen.... I wanted to know if there was a non hay/grass substitute? I'm ok with the pellets as food, but could not tolerate hay/grass.

The reason why I'm even asking this question is because... i though chinchillas NEEDED hay, but when i talked to me zoo keeper friend who looks after their Chin habitat, they said they never gave them hay, only willow, apple and blackberry branches, as it does the same job as hay for chinchillas...

So I'm wondering if i could switch the hay/grass for willow, apple and blackberry branches? Iknow they need hay to keep their teeth down and for fiber intake...

Have any of you experimented with this? Or should i just delete the need/want of a couple of piggies?

Thank-you!
 
Unfortnatly piggies definatly do need hay. I have never heard of any sucessfull substitutes It should make up 80% of their diet and not giving them hay can cause problems with teeth, digestion and general health.

I'm very sorry as piggies are a lovely pet, but perhaps not the pet for you. :(
 
I feed mine haycubes. Haycubes are compressed hay fibers. Haycubes have less dust and are as hard as hay. I also will feed mine some fresh grass, apple wood etc from my backyard. (My pigs are 3 and 4 and I have had them for 3 years)
IHorse
 
I was under the impression that it was chewing down the long strings of hay that wore the piggies teeth down. Hence the need for hay rather than an alternative. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable can confirm?
 
I have very bad allergies to pollen and grass but I'm ok with the hay. As long as it's been dust extraced and I keep it away from my face I'm fine
 
Yep they need hay.
There is a company called the Dust Free Hay company which puts the hay through a process to reduce the dust and it does make a big difference. I have a piggy with allergies and it's the only hay I've found he's ok with.
I can get quite wheezy with the farm hay that the others have but I'm always fine with the Dust Free Hay. It's quite pricey but lovely stuff.
 
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