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Mixing Hay

Ellie-May

Ellie-May

Teenage Guinea Pig
Joined
Oct 18, 2019
Messages
981
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Location
Essex
Hi everyone,

Quick question..is it okay to give guinea pigs a mixture of different hays?
 
Piggies&buns said:
Variety often encourages them to eat more
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I am currently using meadow hay and they really like it. It was bought for me (well the piggies) as a gift, but I just want to know if Burgess Excel Feeding Hay with Dandelion and Merigold is good quality timothy hay?
 
Yes it’s fine to use.
I have used it in the past but I get through so much that I don’t find it an economical way to buy hay. I did find the odd bag of the burgess hay to be a bit dusty towards the bottom, but otherwise fine.
 
You have young pigs don't you? You can feed alfalfa too until a certain age. I can't remember the age, but I thought it was about 6 months old
 
Piggies&buns said:
Yes it’s fine to use.
I have used it in the past but I get through so much that I don’t find it an economical way to buy hay. I did find the odd bag of the burgess hay to be a bit dusty towards the bottom, but otherwise fine.
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The meadow hay I am using at the moment is not duty at all, but I find that timothy hay can be quite expensive and wanted a good brand for value for money
 
SkyPipDotBernie said:
You have young pigs don't you? You can feed alfalfa too until a certain age. I can't remember the age, but I thought it was about 6 months old
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Yeah I do, but I would prefer to buy something that I can use longterm. They will be four months next month
 
It’s not worth using alfalfa. It isn’t a grass hay and while it can be used for pregnant sows and very young pigs, it can’t be a main hay in any event.

Yes, Timothy is more expensive. A lot of us on here now use haybox.club for our hay purchases (there are a couple of other online providers too). I haven’t yet had Timothy from them (I’ve still got one more bag of oxbow to finish) but I have had meadow from them. It is really lovely hay - soft, green, sweet smelling and dust free and due to the fact it can be bought on a subscription service, it means no more worrying about running out!
 
I thought it might be beneficial to healthy bone a teeth growth, ( higher in calcium) I don't know, but mine never had it at all and I got them both very young.
 
Piggies&buns said:
It’s not worth using alfalfa. It isn’t a grass hay and while it can be used for pregnant sows and very young pigs, it can’t be a main hay in any event.

Yes, Timothy is more expensive. A lot of us on here now use haybox.club for our hay purchases (there are a couple of other online providers too). I haven’t yet had Timothy from them (I’ve still got one more bag of oxbow to finish) but I have had meadow from them. It is really lovely hay - soft, green, sweet smelling and dust free and due to the fact it can be bought on a subscription service, it means no more worrying about running out!
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Yeah, I would rather not buy something that I can only use for a short period of time. I have heard of that company, but I feel buying in bulk is better for me anyway.
 
SkyPipDotBernie said:
I thought it might be beneficial to healthy bone a teeth growth, I don't know, but mine never had it at all and I got them both very young
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I think it is good, but I would rather buy something I can use long term rather than for a short period of time that will go to watse
 
Ellie-May said:
I think it is good, but I would rather buy something I can use long term rather than for a short period of time that will go to watse
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True🙂. You must be buying alot then, I'm different I buy 2 bags and then when it's half way through running out of the last bag, I go out and buy more. But I'm not an Internet shopper👍

Plus I live bang in the middle of 3 petshops
 
SkyPipDotBernie said:
True🙂. You must be buying alot then, I'm different I buy 2 bags and then when it's half way through running out of the last bag, I go out and buy more. But I'm not an Internet shopper👍

Plus I love bang in the middle of 3 petshops
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Amazon does a lot of deals for really good value of money. I also have prime so I can get it next day for nothing. Lucky! I live like half an hour (bus journey) from two pet stores. Yes I know you do not like internet shopping lool 😂
 
I buy my hay from Hay Box now.
Each order is 5kg each of meadow hay and Timothy hay.
I also get some other hays like the Herby Harvest and Camomile hay as an occasional treat.
They seem to like it all
 
Merab's Slave said:
I buy my hay from Hay Box now.
Each order is 5kg each of meadow hay and Timothy hay.
I also get some other hays like the Herby Harvest and Camomile hay as an occasional treat.
They seem to like it all
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I went on the Hay Box website and I just find it expensive (in my opinion). It probably is really good, but I like to try and find deals
 
Ellie-May said:
I went on the Hay Box website and I just find it expensive (in my opinion). It probably is really good, but I like to try and find deals
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Absolutely see what you mean!
It isn’t cheap but for me the quality is there. I’ve tried the cheaper hays ie pet shop bags and they have never worked out. It’s either not had the quality (or its been very hit and miss) or I use so much of it that it works out more expensive.
I do get through a lot of hay though with a two storey piggy hutch and a 6ft rabbit hutch to fill. I use about 10kg a month of meadow (can be either slightly under or slightly over depending on the time of year) for bedding plus Timothy hay. The bag of Timothy at my local pet shop is a whopping £9.99 for a bag that lasted a grand total of seven days. I have been buying 2.5kg of oxbow which costs £21 and that lasts about a month, but haybox Timothy I can get 5kg for £19 (on subscription) which in theory is going to last two months, so for me it works out as good value!
 
Piggies&buns said:
Absolutely see what you mean!
It isn’t cheap but for me the quality is there. I’ve tried the cheaper hays ie pet shop bags and they have never worked out. It’s either not had the quality (or its been very hit and miss) or I use so much of it that it works out more expensive.
I do get through a lot of hay though with a two storey piggy hutch and a 6ft rabbit hutch to fill. I use about 10kg a month of meadow (can be either slightly under or slightly over depending on the time of year) for bedding plus Timothy hay. The bag of Timothy at my local pet shop is a whopping £9.99 for a bag that lasted a grand total of seven days. I have been buying 2.5kg of oxbow which costs £21 and that lasts about a month, but haybox Timothy I can get 5kg for £19 (on subscription) which in theory is going to last two months, so for me it works out as good value!
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That's really good then. Bedding I don't mind buying from Pets at Home as they sell it pretty cheap and it is good quality. However, I find their hay to be quite expensive, especially when you need lots of it. That is why I use Amazon because I get deals and that is where I can get the cheap bulk buy from
 
SkyPipDotBernie said:
My local farm shop sell a large bin bag size of fresh meadow hay, for £1.50, best hay around Northampton, that I know of
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Lucky! Nowhere I live does anything like that. I have to either go online or pay the commercial prices
 
SkyPipDotBernie said:
RIGHT THAT'S IT, I'm becoming an Internet shopper 😉
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You really should, you are missing the joy of Haybox and also Amazon's subscribe and save offers on carrot cottages, haycubes and hay cookies... I buy everything online except cheap Asda veggies that I send piggy daddy to pick up, cant remember when I last went in a shop lol :)
Anyway @Ellie-May if Haybox is too expensive then Amazon do PillowWad meadow hay and Science Selective timothy hay that are nice, and readigrass as a treat hay :)
 
PigglePuggle said:
You really should, you are missing the joy of Haybox and also Amazon's subscribe and save offers on carrot cottages, haycubes and hay cookies... I buy everything online except cheap Asda veggies that I send piggy daddy to pick up, cant remember when I last went in a shop lol :)
Anyway @Ellie-May if Haybox is too expensive then Amazon do PillowWad meadow hay and Science Selective timothy hay that are nice, and readigrass as a treat hay :)
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I'm one of those people that always sees reccomendee things, and go naaaaa🤔. And then when I do it, I realise how good it is, then go on and on about it lol
 
I use a mix at times just incase I cant get a hold of a particular type. I use meadow hay from B&M and the Dandelion & Marigold from there too... also hay from the Range & Burgess....
 
I've seen a bag of obxow hay in my local horse feed and small furrry feed store, and it was £32 🤣. Obv its imported, but come onnn
 
PigglePuggle said:
You really should, you are missing the joy of Haybox and also Amazon's subscribe and save offers on carrot cottages, haycubes and hay cookies... I buy everything online except cheap Asda veggies that I send piggy daddy to pick up, cant remember when I last went in a shop lol :)
Anyway @Ellie-May if Haybox is too expensive then Amazon do PillowWad meadow hay and Science Selective timothy hay that are nice, and readigrass as a treat hay :)
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Thank you! For veggies I go Lidl or Aldi as it is cheap and you always need loads lol
 
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