Where do you get your hay from?

HeatherW

HeatherW

Adult Guinea Pig
Joined
Feb 9, 2018
Messages
2,269
Reaction score
11,713
Points
1,775
Location
Manchester
I previously only fed my piggies Timonthy Hay from P@H, but after buying two huge bags of the stuff, I've heard that P@H hay is low quality and that could be why my piggies don't eat much of it unless it's mixed with other hay types. To see how they responded, I recently ordered a small bag of Oxbow Green Oat Hay and my piggies seem to really enjoy it. They even popcorn when they hear the bag open!

Is Green Oat a hay type I can feed on a regular basis? I also occasionally feed them Wilko's Meadow Hay Rolls and sprinkle the Dandelion and Green Oat amongst their hay too. For those like me who don't have the option to get it from a local farmer, what type of hay do you feed them and where do you get it from? Which brands would you recommend?

(I've seen a lot of questions about hay in this section of the forum, but there doesn't seem to be a sticky thread about it - unless I've missed it. Worth doing, perhaps? :) )
 
This is something I have looked in to a lot lately so hopefully I can help.

I feel a great choice for quality and cost is the Natures Own brand: https://www.naturesownpets.co.uk

At the moment we use their 5 a day hay and the sweet green hay and just bought their meadow hay. We will start giving them a mix of all 3 at a time. They seem to really like the hays so far. If I had the money I would buy the Oxbow range exclusively; just had some botanical hay and timothy hay mix from Oxbow and you can tell the quality is the best.

We also use the same Wilkos Dandelion mix as you :).

I would also be very interested to hear what other people recommend as the Oxbow quality level but not as expensive!
 
I've recently bought meadow hay from Sevenoaks animal feeds and it smells GREAT! And the boys love it as well. I was previously getting it from a farm, but there were always bits of straw in there.
 
I also buy from natures own, their sweet green hay and Timothy hay is very good quality.I also sometimes order a 10kg bale of Timothy hay from www.timothyhay.co.uk it’s usually lovely and green.I have used alfalfa king Timothy hay before too.Its great stuff but expensive at £9 a bag for 1.8kg.For meadow hay I sometimes use pillow wad.Its £3 for 2.5kg and is green most of the time.
 
I get the main bulk of my hay from Just for Pets, it's about £4.50 for a bag this size (pictured) and my 10 go through 2 bags per week, it's lovely and green.
On top of that they get oxbow orchard grass, a £10 bag does them a week when used as a treat, the natures own sweet and green hay looked and smelled lovely but my lot didnt really like it so I had to give it to a friend for her rabbit. They also love wheat, oat and spelt grass hay which they get from time to time, usually from Galens Garden, although that's quite an expensive one at just under £20 for 2kg.
32085102_10211638103808967_9221942998156181504_n.webp
 
I was buying 9.5kg bags of ings hay from hay and straw online but now I have been to our local plant nursery and they have a whole bale for £6.50 which should keep them going a while
 
This is a huge frustration for me here. I've never had guinea pigs before now and we only recently relocated here over the holidays. We have some pet stores around us but they all have the same brands and choice of maybe 3. Guinea pig feed and supplies aren't really high in variety here in this area, at least. I've had timothy hay (because one of our stores literally only caries kaytee and timothy brand) and I've mixed Oxbow I can order online . We had a brand close to no name that I tried and now trying other online pet avenues. My first choice is to find a farm nearby and just get some bales of hay hauled over here :-).

Not much help I'm afraid on the best brand to use.

My girls give the name 'piggy' it's full meaning though lol. They literally run for anything and chow it down without a second glance.
 
My boys love the Alfalfa Timothy Hay from pets at home, it’s the best hay we’ve found and really encouraged them to eat more, it’s lovely and green and such good quality. (It’s not Alalfa hay it’s just the brand) :)
 
I currently buy meadow hay by the 10kg bale via a seller on eBay, and get it delivered. I only have 5 guineas at the moment, and don't have a car, so I have to go to this expense! It is beautiful hay though, soft and green and smells gorgeous. When I bred guineas I used to buy 6 bales at a time from a local farmer who delivered, and of course that was a lot cheaper!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top