PAH Hay & woodshavings

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khadijah

Hi guys, I'm just a bit concerned about the hay I have from Pets At Home, half of it is soft and half of it seems more like straw ?

I always thought there were no hard bits in hay.

Where do you guys get hay from (if its used as a bedding)

Plus on that note, I want your advice of it makes a good, safe bedding or not. I thought I was doing the best for them cause I thought they liked to burrow in it and sleep, but Ive never seen them do that, they just much it all day.

Ive got a hay rack, so would it be better to just use it as food rather than bedding ?

Plus my other query is about woodshavings. i only bought it with the cavies & the cage till I can shred some paper. But I think one of my girls looks like she has watery eyes. Obviously I will get ther checked out if its still like that today but I m just curious as to wether it could be the hay OR woodshavings that have irritated her ?

I'm definitley eliminating the woodshavings but I need to know if it could be the hay.

Do u think I should remove just the shavings and have paper and hay then wait and see. Or do i just remove the both anyway ?

I just want them to be comfortable and in a natural state.. and I always thought hay was the closest they could get to "Natural" and I never realised it could be harmful.

If u have any ideas it could help.
Thanks in advance
 
Usually we get hay from a garden centre place in Lutterworth because its so much softer than PAH hay. However after work this week, I didn't have time to get to the garden centre before it shut so I had to get some PAH hay. The next morning I woke up to Whisker having a piece stuck in her eye. We managed to get it out but it made her eye bloodshot so we took her to the vet to have it checked over. She has been given some eye drops as an ulcer has now formed on her eye. I really don't reccommend using the PAH hay now and to be honest, I didn't really like it before. There is sharp pieces in there and not only that, the guinea pigs don't particularly like it because they like hay then can run under - not hay which is completely flat!
 
I get this hay and mine love it:

meadowhay.jpg


seems to be available everywhere, saw it in the garden center next to the CCT, and Yates in North Yorkshire are selling it aswell.. so pretty much nationwide.

smells a bit like peppermint? O_o

it is pressed, and a bit difficult to get out, but as its chopped into short bits, its not as bad as some stuff you get... I pay 2.50 for the pack. its nice and soft, and only one time so far I found a bit of branch, whatever that was. I am quite pleased with quality and price.

Hay as sole bedding doesnt work for me, just isnt absorbent enough.. I use woodshavings, and a layer of hay on top. so they have something to snuggle into, and burrow, and the urine goes past it into the woodshavings who absorb it all.

The only thing with hay as bedding is I think it starts to smell quite quickly. So youd have to rummage through the hay with your hand daily to find wet bits and take them out.
 
oh thanks for that... I thought the PAH hay was a bit dodgy !

I'll get it elsewhere then. Thanks :)
 
Re: farm hay ?

can anyone tell me if a bale of hay from a farm is ok. and what is the going rate nowadays ?

Thanks in advance
 
Hay from a farm is perfectly good stuff and usually far superior than the small bags you buy from pet shops, obviously the 'specialist hay' you can buy from the hay experts, bunnybasics, oxbow and other similiar places will always be really good stuff.

I buy all my hay by the bale from a local pet shop (with no livestock) for £5 a bale, this is more expensive than if you buy if bought further out in the countryside but cheaper if I take the petrol it will cost me to drive further out of London. This certainly is very good value when compared to those little bags of cheap inferior dry stuff you can buy in many pet shops.
 
ok thanks for the advice,
I have to say I'm AMAZED that hay is still £5 a bale ... it was that price 15 yrs ago when I bought it for a horse !

there are plenty of farms around here so I should be able to find some.
Thanks A alot guys :)
 
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