Baileys Ultra GRass

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I’ve never heard of any one using readigrass as a bedding before and i didn’t really know they were used for that haha.

I can’t comment on baileys ultra grass, but have you ever tried fitch bedding that may be worth a try ? :)
 
twiams said:
I’ve never heard of any one using readigrass as a bedding before and i didn’t really know they were used for that haha.

I can’t comment on baileys ultra grass, but have you ever tried fitch bedding that may be worth a try ? :)
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Thanks for your reply

The Readigrass is used in place of hay as it is heat treated and dust extracted and should therefore be free from mites. I have been advised that Dodson & Horrells Just Grass is a suitable alternative (but I can't get hold of any) and just wondered if anyone knew is Baileys Ultra Grass was also suitable.

As soon as Readigrass is available again I will be going back to that.
 
Guinea pig slave said:
Found another place for you:

http://www.petplanet.co.uk/product.asp?dept_id=433&pf_id=58647

I personally wouldn't think this is a good bedding - a soft hay would be more economical surely ?
We have soft hay for 'sleepy' spots and buy half bales of farm hay for our piggies to munch on.
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The large 15kg bales are out of stock locally and online due to the bad weather. The smaller size is too small for us.

We were advised to bed on Readigrass by the rescue we got the pigs from and this has been backed up by our local rodentologist/vet, it was her who suggested Just Grass as an alternative, I think I will just text her for her opinion on Ultra Grass. I had just wondered if anyone here had used it successfully.

We get through a 15kg bale of Readigrass per month, we have two pigs in a Trixie 150 (1.5m long) cage and do a complete clean twice a week. It may seem a lot to spend on grass but they have never had mites or any other type of skin complaint.

It's just a shame that Readigrass is so hard to come by at the moment due to the weather but hopefully by early May it will be available again.

Thanks for your help
 
ghostbusterbunny said:
The only thing making me question that one is the soya oil. I don't know if that's safe for piggies... It could be, but personally without someone sciency telling me it's safe I wouldn't buy it.
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That's the part that I'm concerned about, the bag says its suitable for rabbits but I'm going to speak to the rodentologist/vet for advice.

Thanks
 
No shortage in our area but I buy the big bales from a local farm store which saves a fortune on the price you pay in pet shops for the small bags. I get about 20 Kg for £12. I too have never head of it as a replacement for hay, I think hay is essential to my girls diet & again don't bother with pet shop hay which is stored incorrectly in plastic bags with a larger proportion of it turning to dust. I get a bale of hay at a time from a local farm who bail it for their horses & sell off the excess at just £4 a bail. It's far superior quality than the bagged stuff.
 
Totally understand poor weather conditions affecting supplies etc.
Have you tried vet bed for your piggies at all ? Ours love it and it is super easy to keep their pens nice with it. Lovely and warm, wards off bacteria and is lovely under their little feet :)
It seems like a lot of worry for something that you risk not being able to get on occasions, have struggled ourselves with good hay supplies until quite recently :(
Maybe consider alternatives for the times the grass isn't available, least then you have a back up plan :)
No one can tell you what is right or wrong for your little ones :)
 
Stewybus said:
No shortage in our area but I buy the big bales from a local farm store which saves a fortune on the price you pay in pet shops for the small bags. I get about 20 Kg for £12. I too have never head of it as a replacement for hay, I think hay is essential to my girls diet & again don't bother with pet shop hay which is stored incorrectly in plastic bags with a larger proportion of it turning to dust. I get a bale of hay at a time from a local farm who bail it for their horses & sell off the excess at just £4 a bail. It's far superior quality than the bagged stuff.
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Readigrass is not sold in 20kg bales to my knowledge and it is the 15kg bales that I normally buy from our local farm supplies shop that I cannot get hold of at the moment, this is the stuff I am talking about

http://www.friendshipestates.co.uk/horse-feeds/readigrass.html

Readigrass is dried natural grass so every bit as good (if not better?) than hay in terms of diet. It has the added benefit of being dust extracted and heat dried.

As I said I don't have any reason to stop using it, I have two healthy 7 year old pigs that have been bedded on it since I adopted them 5 years ago, it's just that I can't get hold of any at the moment and wondered if anyone knew if Ultra Grass was a good alternative.
 
Guinea pig slave said:
Totally understand poor weather conditions affecting supplies etc.
Have you tried vet bed for your piggies at all ? Ours love it and it is super easy to keep their pens nice with it. Lovely and warm, wards off bacteria and is lovely under their little feet :)
It seems like a lot of worry for something that you risk not being able to get on occasions, have struggled ourselves with good hay supplies until quite recently :(
Maybe consider alternatives for the times the grass isn't available, least then you have a back up plan :)
No one can tell you what is right or wrong for your little ones :)
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To be honest this is the first year in the last 5 years that we have not been able to get Readigrass and I assume it's because March was such a rotten month weather wise.

You are right though we do need a back up plan as what with all weird weather patterns we are seeing it's probably likely to happen again at some point.

I've used vet bed in the past for dog bedding and did know that it can be used for GPs but have never got round to trying it out.
 
Hi Hayley,

Did you know Readigrass is very high in calcium and too much can be very dangerous for piggies? It can cause bladder stones due to the high calcium content, it is also very high in calories. Readigrass should not be used as a bedding in my opinion, i would strongly advise changing to newspaper and hay or even something else and just giving readigrass as an occasional treat. Piggies should have access to an unlimited supply f fresh good quality hay at all times, it keeps their digestive system moving and wears down their teeth, hay is the most important part of their diet and makes up to 80% of it.

x
 
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Toffeewoffee said:
Hi Hayley,

Did you know Readigrass is very high in calcium and too much can be very dangerous for piggies? It can cause bladder stones due to the high calcium content, it is also very high in calories. Readigrass should not be used as a bedding in my opinion, i would strongly advise changing to newspaper and hay or even something else and just giving readigrass as an occasional treat. Piggies should have access to an unlimited supply f fresh good quality hay at all times, it keeps their digestive system moving and wears down their teeth, hay is the most important part of their diet and makes up to 80% of it.

x
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Hi there

I see you are not too far from Cambs. Have you heard of Vedra Stanley-Spatcher of the Cambridge Cavy Trust

http://www.britishassociationofrodentologists.co.uk/CCT.html

My pigs have seen Vedra quarterly for the last 5 years and it is Vedra that recommended Readigrass as a suitable bedding due to it being heat treated and dust extracted. Vedra warned that normal hay can contain a type of mite/parasite that can kill pigs without the owner even realising the pig was ill. This is the reason I have always used Readigrass and would be loathed to stop as Vedra is a well respected rodentologist and I am following her advice.
 
No i have not heard of her. We have a family friend who is a rodentologist and she has been keeping her own guinea's for years and years, we take our piggies to her every 3 months for check ups and nails trims etc, and our girls in particluar kept getting a calcium build up which she always managed to manipulate out, and 2 of them were rather on the tubby side, but more to the point on the sludge/calcium build up she asked me to real off their daily diet to which i explained was unlimited hay, fresh water, a bowl of nuggets, a pile of readigrass and 2 bowls of veg a day and she advised me to cut the readigrass down to 1 or 2 handfuls a week, which i did and i can honestly say in the year and a half i have cut it down the girls have not had hardly any calcium build up.

But as with everything, we all have different views, opinions and preferences. This case jut seemed odd to me as i have never ever heard of readigrass being used as bedding, on this forum or any other. Many members on here are aware of the content in readigrass and i was surprised no-one else had mentioned it.
 
You're right, my bale is in the lock-up outside I've just checked it & it is 15 Kg. My girls eat loads of it all year round but not as much in the summer months when they get lots of the fresh stuff. They also have lots of hay as Readi Grass is good but not a substitute for hay because of it's high calcium content & they need long pieces of hay for their teeth.
 
Really interesting this. Mine LOVE Readigrass but if I gave them it for bedding they'd be living on newspaper as they eat it so much! I once had one who determined as she was, managed to pull a full bag which was leant against the C&C cage against the side and chewed a great hole in the side of the bag. The herd (of four at the time) proceeded to eat through the WHOLE bag in one night.....they were not in my good books! Interesting though the naughty one did sadly die after a bladderstone op about 12 months later.

I had also heard that Readigrass is high in calcium hence the six I have now just get two handfuls a day. Vedra is quite well respected though so like I said its very interesting seeing the views. My guineas are already a little, shall we say, rotund, so they have to remain on hay (piggy by name and by nature!). I use 'dust free hay' which is good but not heated. Vedra did have a similar conversation with me once but advised on Oxbow hay as this is from the US and has to be heated to cater for import rules.

Thanks for the information.
 
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