Favourite brand of hay?

[Queenjellybeany]

Hey everyone!
I’ve had my two Guinea pigs for 3 years and I’ve made an odd discovery. Mine have been on and off sick recently, I’ve took them to the vets a few times as they’ll get pain when weeing/pooping. No sign of bladder stones, but seems like they have too much calcium but the veggies they have are very low in this…. have been trying to work out what’s causing it for a few months. Yesterday I had to give them excel hay as my haybox subscription was a few days late.

On this excel hay, there bowl movements have gone completely back to normal. No pain when passing, no soft poops they have all just turned normal and consistent. Has anyone had this with hay box or is it too fresh for my pigs? If it’s been this the whole time then I’m sooo happy and relieved, but have also spent so much on vet bills for nothing….

I’d love to know what your favourite hay is. I got them a bag of excel but I’d like to get a larger box of something similar because they get through it quick
Thank you!
Ellie

 

[Piggies&buns]

Hay can contain different nutrients depending on the soil it is grown in, some types are naturally higher in some nutrients than other etc.
I don’t know what type of hay from haybox you are feeding, but, it has been mentioned on here that the soft timothy from haybox might be too rich for some. I know we had a member who was having issues with soft poops but as soon as they stopped feeding the soft timothy, things improved ...l can’t remember who it was though

Most calcium comes into the diet via pellets and drinking water, not veg. So keeping pellets limited and filtering water is a major way of keeping calcium lower. However, it is also about a local element - you need to find what works for your piggies because a diet too low in calcium can also cause white calcium pees (The balance has still been knocked out and can cause issues, it’s just in the opposite direction!)

My guinea pigs eat anything - I get bales of meadow hay from a local farm but I do mix in handfuls of haybox timothy blend

 

[Posyrose]

I had a problem with soft poo when I switched from haybox timothy blend to haybox soft Timothy. I had Vet's visits and nearly cancelled my trip to my mum's for Christmas. Once I switched back to Timothy blend all was OK again. They definitely have sensitive tummies.

 

[Aisling]

It is quite possible that the haybox was too rich for them.
Personally my favorite hay is excel.
I've been feeding excel hay to my guinea pigs for about 3 years now and,
I've never had any problems with inconsistent poos or too much calcium,

 

[Lorcan]

Stalky timothy and some orchard, because it's all my two will eat. Soft hay's a massive no-no. Happy Hay's timothy and orchard, Pillow Wad's timothy, currently it's a box of Excel timothy. The only place I've seen the Excel boxes (there's also a meadow hay sold, but I've not tried it because it'd be pointless) is online at The Hay Experts, but it's more expensive than a box of something like Happy Hay was.

 

[Free Ranger]

I just use the Pets@Home 'mixed meadow and timothy' for bedding and some fancier hays for 'treats' but my pigs all liked the P@H mix best. I don't know why. I started to use it for bedding hay because it's softer than stalky timothy but it drains through better than pure meadow. Maybe it's just something psychological about being able to eat your own bed!