Hay, Sorry To Bore!

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Cavy Kung-Fu

Cavy Kung-Fu

Adult Guinea Pig
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I'm in the market for a new hay, as current hay has changed. I know there are loads of threads on here regarding hay, I've been reading through them. It all seems very confusing as to what is good/bad, what WAS good and isn't now, what changes in every bag etc. I've looked into various ones like Oxbow but hear various reviews, good and bad.

Does anyone know where to begin? My girls don't really like meadow, they love Timothy hay. I'd like something I can buy in bulk (eventually), is really green and smells great and that is longer than an inch or two.

I'm hoping to find a cheaper hay, but I believe that you get what you pay for so I'm not going to skimp on quality, but I don't fancy over paying either.
 
Oxbow is excellent. We've used it for ages and it smells amazing and is beautifully green. 20kg of hay from Timothy Hay | Hay Supplies UK is what I've just been looking at, heard good things about it. You can get loads of hays on Amazon, as for cost, truly good hays tend to be expensive- £40 worth can last a long time, depending on how many pigs you have.
 
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Thanks! I've heard some reviews that the large bags of Oxbow are different, more brown in colour and straw like, but have no experience myself.

Actually I seem to remember having a sample from Timothy Hay Supplies UK a year ago, thanks for the reminder! Might give them a go, think 10kg is enough for 4 piggies for at least a month?

I've had a look on the Hay And Straw website but it confuses me a bit, can you order on there?
 
10kg of hay lasts me three weeks or so for three pigs. But they have it as bedding as well as food, so I do throw a lot away
 
Guineapigfeet said:
10kg of hay lasts me three weeks or so for three pigs. But they have it as bedding as well as food, so I do throw a lot away
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Yes that's why I use meadow as bedding (it's nice and soft and usually cheaper and gives a bit of variety) but they only eat Timothy, they sometimes pull it out of the rack onto the dirty floor to eat for no good reason though so it's wasteful lol.

Thanks for that @Guineapigfeet , gives me a frame of reference. Do you use that hay?
 
I've tried them on Timothy had a normal feeding hey Burgess barn dried forage had a Burgess dandelion and marigold hey and natures touch wild mountain hey Plus Wilco Meadow hay cookies which they seem to love
I have just got them some oxbow botanical hey to try from pets at home and some Woodlands Meadow hay cookies also from pets at home which will be delivered on Saturday so I will be reporting how the boys reactions are to it plus they also like the camomile harvest today which is cheaper to get on the pets at home website rather than going into the shop to get it because it's 3 pounds cheaper on the website than it is in the shop
I will keep you posted everybody will know when the order arrives because you will probably be able to hear my pics squealing their heads off
 
Patchy & Coco are loving oxbow timothy hay (pretty much all the oxbow hay) alfalfa king timothy hay and burgess timothy hay and birch bark (their fav) although they eat around the birch bark. The oxbow and AK are really green and sweet smelling.
 
Cavy Kung-Fu said:
Thanks for that @Guineapigfeet , gives me a frame of reference. Do you use that hay?
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Mine only get meadow hay. I've tried feeding different 'better' hays from a rack but they won't eat it unless it's in the floor. My meadow hay is lovely, from Natures Own Pets, it's really long and the pigs pop whenever I refresh their hay
 
UGH I feel your frustration , so after buying the boys they were on p@h hay then they stopped eating it all together , I tried countless ,countless bags of hay UNTILL I mixed together alfalfa king and natures touch wild mountain together and hey presto they eat that till the cows come home . I also sprinkle some guineapig forgage into it so I can see them snuffling about for enrichment :)
 
@Kylie80 what size bag do you get?

I wish mine would eat meadow hay XD

Mine had Wilcos hay, it was great for ages but the ones I've received this time are a bloody joke, practically straw. That's why I need a new, reliable hay that's unlikely to change on me. Good quality is hard to find these days.

Think I'll get a bag of oxbow and alfalfa king, also the Timothy hay 2016 too. See what works! Anyone know where I can get them without supporting P@H? My local one is horrific so I try not to get from them too much.
 
Cavy Kung-Fu said:
@Kylie80 what size bag do you get?

I wish mine would eat meadow hay XD

Mine had Wilcos hay, it was great for ages but the ones I've received this time are a bloody joke, practically straw. That's why I need a new, reliable hay that's unlikely to change on me. Good quality is hard to find these days.

Think I'll get a bag of oxbow and alfalfa king, also the Timothy hay 2016 too. See what works! Anyone know where I can get them without supporting P@H? My local one is horrific so I try not to get from them too much.
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We don't get really large bulk bags over here. 1.13kg of oxbow and 400 odd grams alfalfa king. It's easy to get the Guinea Pigs here just hard to source decent hay.
 
Kylie80 said:
We don't get really large bulk bags over here. 1.13kg of oxbow and 400 odd grams alfalfa king. It's easy to get the Guinea Pigs here just hard to source decent hay.
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Hey, where have you managed to find some hay? Mine are munching their way through the timothy and birch bark at the moment, but there's no way that I'll be able to afford it when it's not on sale anymore.
 
Kylie80 said:
We don't get really large bulk bags over here. 1.13kg of oxbow and 400 odd grams alfalfa king. It's easy to get the Guinea Pigs here just hard to source decent hay.
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I hear the bulk bags are really low quality in the Oxbow, I don't know how cost effective it is to get the little bags for 4 greedy hay killers :))

I completely agree, getting consistently good hay seems impossible!
 
AlbiePercy said:
Hey, where have you managed to find some hay? Mine are munching their way through the timothy and birch bark at the moment, but there's no way that I'll be able to afford it when it's not on sale anymore.
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Petbarn has Alfalfa King Timothy hay (they sell online too) and Best Friends Pet Superstore has all (most all) the Oxbow products. Piggies absolutely looooove the burgess timothy hay, I hope they get some more in soon or theres going to be a riot. I dont mind paying full price for it because I know it will be eaten but the postage sux. Oxbow Australia sells hay on ebay as well.
 
Mine adore the 5 a day Hay from The Range, but you can also get it online on amazon. Its not the cheapest, but it goes down so well!
 
Cavy Kung-Fu said:
I hear the bulk bags are really low quality in the Oxbow, I don't know how cost effective it is to get the little bags for 4 greedy hay killers :))

I completely agree, getting consistently good hay seems impossible!
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Probably not cost effective at all for four lol, The 1.13kg bag is $45.
It actually seems like good quality hay (not that I'm a expert on hay), abit stalky maybe but the piggies love it. They are starting to eat so much hay now.
 
Flutterby said:
@Cavy Kung-Fu They come in small 750g bags but they are quite compressed so you get a good amount out of them.
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Cheers, I think I might get one to try. Not sure how long it will last with my lot XD

I think I'll have to put together a hay hamper, create a chart to compare price, quantity, hay eaten and popcorns performed! :))
 
So I've ordered a bunch of hay, namely Oxbow Timothy and Orchard grass, the Timothy Hay 2016 and the 5 A Day hay. Just realised that I forgot Alfalfa King but I might try that a different time. My purse feels a bit light now XD
 
Cavy Kung-Fu said:
So I've ordered a bunch of hay, namely Oxbow Timothy and Orchard grass, the Timothy Hay 2016 and the 5 A Day hay. Just realised that I forgot Alfalfa King but I might try that a different time. My purse feels a bit light now XD
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It would feel light after that hay purchase. The orchard grass is a particular favorite around here, and any hay they dont like gets mixed with some orchard grass and they suddenly scoff it down.
 
Kylie80 said:
It would feel light after that hay purchase. The orchard grass is a particular favorite around here, and any hay they dont like gets mixed with some orchard grass and they suddenly scoff it down.
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Yes I'd read a lot of posts on here, I didn't really know about orchard grass tbh. Let alone consider it! But after hearing great things on here I figured I'd give it a go. Shame they're so expensive, not sure I'd be able to keep it up regularly if it does become their favourite!
 
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