Farm hay

mls18

mls18

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Hi, recently ive been looking alot into getting hay from a farm. I heard that only horse hay is ok, is that correct? What other kinds of things should i look for in getting good quality hay? How do i know they haven't put any chemicals in it? What kinds of hay have people managed to get from farms?
 
I get hay from my local Alpaca Farm. Its just normal meadow hay and costs £6.50 (around $9) for a bale. It's lovely stuff and my pigs love it. It should smell like honey if you have a good sniff of it. I keep it in a hay bale bag that I got from Amazon to help minimise the mess.
 
mls18 said:
Hi, recently ive been looking alot into getting hay from a farm. I heard that only horse hay is ok, is that correct? What other kinds of things should i look for in getting good quality hay? How do i know they haven't put any chemicals in it? What kinds of hay have people managed to get from farms?
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If you go to your local farm and explain what it is for then they should show you what they have.
You want standard meadow hay - nothing fancy.
Any hay used to feed livestock should not have chemicals added.
 
Betsy said:
I get hay from my local Alpaca Farm. Its just normal meadow hay and costs £6.50 (around $9) for a bale. It's lovely stuff and my pigs love it. It should smell like honey if you have a good sniff of it. I keep it in a hay bale bag that I got from Amazon to help minimise the mess.
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Oh i didnt know guinea pigs could eat the hay alpacas eat! I didn't think of getting a hay bale bag, that's a great idea!
 
Swissgreys said:
If you go to your local farm and explain what it is for then they should show you what they have.
You want standard meadow hay - nothing fancy.
Any hay used to feed livestock should not have chemicals added.
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Is the only option meadow hay? Ive never given my guinea pigs meadow hay before so i don't know if they like it. Is it as healthy as timothy and orchard?
 
mls18 said:
Thank you! it says on their that meadow hay contains plants that could possibly be harmful, if i do end up getting meadow hay what should i do to prevent that?Have you ever had that problem?
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I did find bits of thick twigs, thorns, twine etc very occasionally when I used to buy bales from a farm shop but it was not a constant. They stopped selling to the public and I switched to subscription supplier. I pay more than I did from the farm shop but I always receive excellent quality hay and I’ve not found any foreign objects since using them
 
I buy meadow hay by the bale from an equestrian supplier it is £6.50 and the piggies love it. I occasionally have to remove a few thicker twigs and the odd thistle but it has never been a problem.
 
Would timothy hay from
Piggies&buns said:
I did find bits of thick twigs, thorns, twine etc very occasionally when I used to buy bales from a farm shop but it was not a constant. They stopped selling to the public and I switched to subscription supplier. I pay more than I did from the farm shop but I always receive excellent quality hay and I’ve not found any foreign objects since using them
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Ok thank you so much! When you bought from the farm shop did you look through the hay before giving it to your guinea pigs?
 
mls18 said:
Would timothy hay from

Ok thank you so much! When you bought from the farm shop did you look through the hay before giving it to your guinea pigs?
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Id pull a handful off and notice if there was anything sharp in it.
 
Piggies&buns said:
Id pull a handful off and notice if there was anything sharp in it.
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A bale of hay lasts my 4 piggies around 2-3 months. I just pull of handfuls too. If there are any thistles, thicker twigs etc I just take them out before giving it to my piggies. Lexi and Thea didn't have much hay before I adopted them in November, they can't stop eating it. They must eat at least twice as much as Betsy and Meg as I have to fill up their hay tray much quicker than Betsy and Megs.
 
Betsy said:
A bale of hay lasts my 4 piggies around 2-3 months. I just pull of handfuls too. If there are any thistles, thicker twigs etc I just take them out before giving it to my piggies. Lexi and Thea didn't have much hay before I adopted them in November, they can't stop eating it. They must eat at least twice as much as Betsy and Meg as I have to fill up their hay tray much quicker than Betsy and Megs.
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Thanks for the reply!
 
I have an allergy sufferer in my house and surprisingly, she doesn't suffer as much with Timothy compared to meadow however I know usually meadow is ok and Timothy is an issue. Try it and see? Have antihistamines at the ready just in case though.
 
Engel said:
I have an allergy sufferer in my house and surprisingly, she doesn't suffer as much with Timothy compared to meadow however I know usually meadow is ok and Timothy is an issue. Try it and see? Have antihistamines at the ready just in case though.
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Ok thank you so much!
 
I emailed alot of farms and only one of them replied. This one is a horse rescue, is horse hay ok for guinea pigs? I'm going to be calling them, is their anything i should ask them?
 
mls18 said:
I emailed alot of farms and only one of them replied. This one is a horse rescue, is horse hay ok for guinea pigs? I'm going to be calling them, is their anything i should ask them?
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I know that ive asked this before but none of the alpaca farms i emailed answered so I'm unable to get from one of those.
 
mls18 said:
I emailed alot of farms and only one of them replied. This one is a horse rescue, is horse hay ok for guinea pigs? I'm going to be calling them, is their anything i should ask them?
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as long as they have hay not haylage (haylage is processed differently and while is fine for horses to eat, it is not something piggies should have).
 
Piggies&buns said:
as long as they have hay not haylage (haylage is processed differently and while is fine for horses to eat, it is not something piggies should have).
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Ok thank you. They told me that the hay is "mostly Timothy not alot of alfalfa" is that fine? I know that alfalfa hay isn't good becouse of the calcium but is a little bit bad?
 
Also can someone tell me some things to look for when I go to the farm to make sure the quality is good?
 
mls18 said:
Ok thank you. They told me that the hay is "mostly Timothy not alot of alfalfa" is that fine? I know that alfalfa hay isn't good becouse of the calcium but is a little bit bad?
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If it’s likely to always contain some alfalfa then I personally wouldnt use it.

mls18 said:
Also can someone tell me some things to look for when I go to the farm to make sure the quality is good?
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You are looking for hay which is dry, not too dusty, not mouldy and smells fresh (any musty smell, then avoid it)
 
Piggies&buns said:
If it’s likely to always contain some alfalfa then I personally wouldnt use it.



You are looking for hay which is dry, not too dusty, not mouldy and smells fresh (any musty smell, then avoid it)
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Ok thanks so much! If I make sure to not give any veggies with calcium do you think it'll be ok?
 
mls18 said:
Ok thanks so much! If I make sure to not give any veggies with calcium do you think it'll be ok?
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It’s all going to depend how much alfalfa there is mixed in it - it may be fine and may only be tiny amounts and not enough to worry about, but there could also be too much in it for guinea pigs. I’d certainly be wary and would rather look for a different hay source if there is going to be alfalfa in it regularly.
Pellets and water contain more calcium than veg, but all veg has calcium in it to some extent.
 
Piggies&buns said:
It’s all going to depend how much alfalfa there is mixed in it - it may be fine and may only be tiny amounts and not enough to worry about, but there could also be too much in it for guinea pigs. I’d certainly be wary and would rather look for a different hay source if there is going to be alfalfa in it regularly.
Pellets and water contain more calcium than veg, but all veg has calcium in it to some extent.
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Ok thanks so much!
 
mls18 said:
Also can someone tell me some things to look for when I go to the farm to make sure the quality is good?
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You need to ask when it was cut, make sure it is 2021 hay and not some left over from two years ago etc. Also ask if it was stored inside.
 
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