Need help with Timothy Hay!

[Nikki&Auggie]

Hello! So I inherited my guinea pig from my sister-in-law a few months ago who was unable to continue caring for her. I love having a guinea pig but it turns out that I am extremely allergic to the Timothy Hay. I was surprised because I used to volunteer on a horse farm and passed out Timothy Hay all day, and my reactions were never this bad. So far I have only used Kaytee brand hay. Does anyone else know of a better brand or one that might be less allergenic? Thank you!

 

[Piggies&buns]

I currently use oxbow hay, but i will be switching to a uk company called haybox shortly. I don’t suffer with allergies myself so I am not sure whether these would help with allergies.

Secondly, you say pig rather than pigs. Guinea pigs are social creatures and should be kept in pairs. Please do consider getting your piggy a companion.
Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities

If you could please add your location as it can help us to tailor our advice.

 

[Nikki&Auggie]

I currently use oxbow hay, but i will be switching to a uk company called haybox shortly. I don’t suffer with allergies myself so I am not sure whether these would help with allergies.

Secondly, you say pig rather than pigs. Guinea pigs are social creatures and should be kept in pairs. Please do consider getting your piggy a companion.
Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities

If you could please add your location as it can help us to tailor our advice.

Thank you so much! And yes at the moment I only have one pig as my sister-in-law got her without a companion. I have been looking into getting another but I need to get a larger enclosure first.

 

[DMS260820]

Don't mean to throw too much info at you at once, but when you decide to get another sow or neutered boar ( easy to find in rescue) here is some guides to help you out.

If you use a rescue, you will not be risking buying a sick guinea pig, they will have been health checked already aswell, and they can possibly set up a date to see if you're sow get on with it, on site

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

You can go for a 120x60cm minimum ccage for a sow and neuter boar pair. But bigger is better

 

[Leafy Lou]

We use meadow hay now mainly, that doesn't set me off as bad, I had a really bad reaction to a bag of timothy hay a few months ago, that set me off kilter! Hope you feel better x

 

[Nikki&Auggie]

Don't mean to throw too much info at you at once, but when you decide to get another sow or neutered boar ( easy to find in rescue) here is some guides to help you out.

If you use a rescue, you will not be risking buying a sick guinea pig, they will have been health checked already aswell, and they can possibly set up a date to see if you're sow get on with it, on site

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

You can go for a 120x60cm minimum ccage for a sow and neuter boar pair. But bigger is better

No thank you! All the information I can get is great because I am so new to the guinea pig game. That is really helpful because it means the cage I have is already big enough to fit two pigs.

 

[Piggies&buns]

No thank you! All the information I can get is great because I am so new to the guinea pig game. That is really helpful because it means the cage I have is already big enough to fit two pigs.

Do have a look on the bonding and behaviour section of the site for bonding information. The guides on there are so useful. Ultimately the best way to guarantee success is to find a rescue centre who will help find a suitable friend for your piggy.

 

[Lorcan]

You don’t say whether your piggy is a boy or girl, but I do need to add that if you piggy is a boy, then unless you have him neutered, he will need a male friend. In which case, a 120cm cage is not big enough for two males.

A 120cm cage can be big enough for two males, it entirely depends on what the other dimensions are. The OP also mentioned the guinea pig was a female.

 

[Piggies&buns]

To clarify, it was a 120 x 60 which was mentioned above to which I was referring, which can be too small for two males.
And yes you are right, I had failed the see the mention of ‘her’ in the previous posts.

 

[Lorcan]

I apologise if I came off a bit short about the cage. Ground floor space is more important than length/width measurements but we seem to get caught up in the measurements too often, and it can get confusing for people new to the forum, or new to keeping pigs in general.

 

[DMS260820]

Yea it's a sow on her own and the member is looking for a new piglet soon. So will be big enough. 2 boars won't happen

 

[Merab]

Welcome to the forum.
I can’t help with the hay question as I don’t have allergy problems.

Glad you’ve joined the forum and well done taking on your piggy with all that entails. Hope you find a suitable companion soon.

The forum information threads have plenty of good guidance and members are always willing to share experience and answer questions.

We love pictures so please do post some photos of your piggy

 

[eileen]

if you are in the USA, Orchard grass ,meadow hay .....oxbow,or hay select both have orchard grass for sale.maybe wear a mask when giving out the hay ,taking antihistamine tablet.i hope you find a solution.welcome to the forum

 

[Nikki&Auggie]

Hi Everyone! I just wanted to thank you all for all your help, links, and suggestions! A lot has changed and I just wanted to share with you. I got a larger cage and was able to adopt another guinea pig from my local animal shelter who had gotten a few from a hoarding situation. The new piggie (Eloise) is getting along with August swimmingly and they are doing very well as cage mates. In addition thank you to whoever suggest orchard hay! I have been using it for about 3 weeks now and not a single reaction! The piggies love it just as much as the Timothy but I still have some compressed Timothy hay cubes they can munch on that someone else just places in the food dish for me. But I appreciate all the help so much!

 

[Alisa3114]

So glad you were able to find a solution to your problem and a new piggie looks like they are both enjoying the company

 

[Robin_]

So precious!

Yeah, orchard grass is a lot better on my hay allergies! Crazy how much of a difference it can make

 

[Ellie-May]

Hello! So I inherited my guinea pig from my sister-in-law a few months ago who was unable to continue caring for her. I love having a guinea pig but it turns out that I am extremely allergic to the Timothy Hay. I was surprised because I used to volunteer on a horse farm and passed out Timothy Hay all day, and my reactions were never this bad. So far I have only used Kaytee brand hay. Does anyone else know of a better brand or one that might be less allergenic? Thank you!

Both of my boars mainly eat meadow hay as they love it. They like timothy hay, but don't seem to eat it as much :/