Hay vs Dry Grass

[Amanda1801]

ok, bear with me, I'm not as thick as the title sounds!

Do your pigs prefer hay, or dried grass? I've currently got a bag of ecvel fresh forage, but it doesn't seem to be going down very well! They are eating it in with their normal hay, but having done a "consumer test" on jeff, and filled half of his hay rack with hay, and half with dried grass, the hay is gone, the grass still remains!

What are the benefits of dried grass vs hay? How much does the drying process affect "natural" grass? (I'm moving into a flat without a garden soon, and I won't be able to grow grass fast enough to keep my little fatties with a constant supply!)

 

[Midge&Panda]

I've used this before when I had to increase Maisie's fibre intake. Like your piggies mine didn't find it all that appealing the bag lasted ages. I don't buy it now it tend to stick to timothy or excel timothy with chamomile.

 

[Curlycritter]

my lot love dried grass ive had a small bag lasting me weeks and weeks but i only give it to them as a treat once maybe twice a week... but they all love their hay... silly thing is they prefer the cheaper brand i buy as i tried them on a more expensive one (thinking it was better for them) they hardly touched the stuff, so i stuck to the cheapy brand at least i know they eat this one. rolleyes

 

[Little Piggles]

My lot love Oxbow Orchard Grass the most out of any hays that I've tried. They do seem to like a change and if I put in another hay they will usually have a good go at it, but then pretty much ignore it on the second day!

They don't ever seem overly keen on the Excel Forage either though. I've tried it a couple of different times and they usually leave quite a bit of it untouched.

I think I just have fussy pigs though!

 

[scottishthistle]

I wish my lot would eat cheap hay! I buy a bale of hay from a local horse supply place and use it for their bedding and they love burrowing in it, but all 4 refuse point blank to eat it. Instead the get either Oxbow Orchard Grass (can't believe I spend £63 on a bale of hay! :red ) or Willow Warren meadow hay.

I live in a flat and the only garden I have is a communal back green where lots of dogs are let out to do their business. So, as I don't have access to clean fresh grass, Readygrass is the closest my lot get to it. They get a handful every few days and love the stuff. So far I've only ever bought the bags available from The Hay Experts but, now I have 4 hungry piggies, I think I'll buy a bale of it at the horse supply place.

Having said all that I don't think that Readygrass should replace hay completely as it's much richer (more concentrated, so to speak) so could lead to sore tummies if they eat too much. Normal grass is full of water which means it is not as rich, so less likely to upset them. Plus, I would imagine the water in it would fill them up quicker so they'd eat less of it than if they were given unlimited Readygrass.

 

[Niki]

Mine eat meadow hay & dry grass. They love their hay but they do love to dive in a pile of dry grass

 

[Teejay]

Oh, mine go bonkers for their dried grass....wheeks all round when I fill up their bowls!

I bought a huge (horse-feed sized) sackful of Graze-On, and they're slowly munching through it, but I reckon it'll last me....oooh, at least 10 years at the rate they're getting through it!

I limit their consumption of it though, cos I understand it's high in Calcium....but I could be mistaken.

As for hay.....forget the cheap stuff, it's stalky green Timothy hay all the way for my four....they live the Alfalfa King Timothy hay, and I can't say I blame them, it does look yummy, even from a human perspective!

Tracey

 

[Amanda1801]

I tried them on readigrass, they went mad on it so at least thats an option!

Mine much prefer the hay I buy in a bale from the local livestock place over oxbow or excel stuff!