Is this hay good enough?

Engel

Engel

Adult Guinea Pig
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Location
Shropshire, UK
As prices are going up I'm always looking for ways to save money on piggy items. Two things take a chunk of my money, hay and vets bills. While I can't do much about vet bills, I can do something about the hay. I've tried (and failed) many times to change their hay and as they have sampled many different ones, I thought I'd do a 'review' for each hay I dare feed them. There will be a review by me, and one from the scream machines. Everything will be rated on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being very poor and 5 being very good. Reasons for the score will be given. (I'll link where to get the hay for those who are interested). If there's any you think this fussy lot will like, please let me know!

Little disclaimer: All hays mentioned are perfectly fine for your piggies to eat, this is just what mine think. This is just for fun.

Compressed bales from pets at home
Rating: 2/5
Human: Pros- cheap and normally quite soft. Cons- Smells weird, can be dusty, packaging isn't eco friendly.
Piggies: Pros- perfect for sleeping and playing in. Cons- ewww, poison. I won't eat this if it was the last monch-able thing on Earth.

Long strand timothy/meadow hay from pets at home
Rating: 4/5
Human: Pros-smells nice, has nice long strands and little dust. Cons- expensive and only comes in 1kg plastic bags.
Piggies: Pros- quite nice and the timothy has a nice amount of seed heads. Meadow is soft and we can play, eat and sleep in this. 8 out of 8 pigs would recommend. Cons- none.

Alfalfa King Timothy
Rating: 4/5
Human: Pros- smells really nice. Long strands and very green. Cons- expensive and dusty
Piggies: Pros- delicious. Consists of the finest of strands. Will sleep in this. Cons- none only disappointed that we haven't had any in a while.

Burgess Long Strand Hay
Rating: 4/5
Human: Nice smell and long green stems. Cons- expensive. Can be dusty.
Piggies:

Oxbow Timothy
Rating: 4/5
Human: Pros- Great smell and colour. Little dust Cons- expensive
Piggies: LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE IT!

Oxbow Orchard
Rating: 4/5
Human: Another gorgeous smelling hay with little dust. Cons- expensive
Piggies: No complaints here.

Oxbow Oat
Rating: 2/5
Human: Dusty, short pieces and expensive. Wouldn't buy again.
Piggies: We had no idea what to do with it. Came to a unanimous decision that its not edible
 
Been going through a similar process with mine recently. The result being if it's cheaper they won't eat it, can't say any is cheap! The best all rounder I have come up with is Natures Own Pets Meadow, other than the dust it ticks all the boxes and there was only one bag out of 5 that seemed to be very dusty. I have decided Timothy is too expensive now and will only be fed very occasionally as a treat. My OH is more allergic to Timothy than Meadow so he's happy!
 
I used to use the Hay Box company, but I've been buying quality hay in larger bales from our supplier (where we get the horse hay/haylage from) and they've been really happy with that. Far cheaper

It still astounds me just how much supermarkets and some brands mark up the price of hay!
Put it this way, I can get 400kg of quality hay (including a timothy mix - if I wanted it, not always as it's too rich for most horses) for around £40-£45. If I go into some pet supermarkets, it's nearly £10 for 4kg..... 😲 Wow! They can flippin share with the horses.... 😂
 
I had Hay Box for years on subscription but the last 3 lots I had were awful quality. I'd love to buy from a horse supplier but unfortunately we don't have room to store it. Sometimes the pets at home meadow/timothy mix is nice and green looking, I thought I would try that next time it looks good.
 
I normally buy my hay from the range or B&M bargains but have just bought some meadow from pets at home as I have a gift voucher to use that was given to me for my birthday and the money I’ve saved on hay has gone towards a new outdoor cat house for Harrison. I’ve tried the meadow / Timothy mix before but my piggies are fussy and don’t like Timothy hay although they do like meadow and I only have 4 packs to go through. Luckily my pigs aren’t too fussy with meadow hay x
 
My piggies love the hay I get. It costs £6 per farm bale from my local Alpaca Farm. (The price has just recently gone up from a fiver and Viv the owner apologised.) It's lovely and soft and smells like fresh honey.
 
Engel said:
As prices are going up I'm always looking for ways to save money on piggy items. Two things take a chunk of my money, hay and vets bills. While I can't do much about vet bills, I can do something about the hay. I've tried (and failed) many times to change their hay and as they have sampled many different ones, I thought I'd do a 'review' for each hay I dare feed them. There will be a review by me, and one from the scream machines. Everything will be rated on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being very poor and 5 being very good. Reasons for the score will be given. (I'll link where to get the hay for those who are interested). If there's any you think this fussy lot will like, please let me know!

Little disclaimer: All hays mentioned are perfectly fine for your piggies to eat, this is just what mine think. This is just for fun.

Compressed bales from pets at home
Rating: 2/5
Human: Pros- cheap and normally quite soft. Cons- Smells weird, can be dusty, packaging isn't eco friendly.
Piggies: Pros- perfect for sleeping and playing in. Cons- ewww, poison. I won't eat this if it was the last monch-able thing on Earth.

Long strand timothy/meadow hay from pets at home
Rating: 4/5
Human: Pros-smells nice, has nice long strands and little dust. Cons- expensive and only comes in 1kg plastic bags.
Piggies: Pros- quite nice and the timothy has a nice amount of seed heads. Meadow is soft and we can play, eat and sleep in this. 8 out of 8 pigs would recommend. Cons- none.

Alfalfa King Timothy
Rating: 4/5
Human: Pros- smells really nice. Long strands and very green. Cons- expensive and dusty
Piggies: Pros- delicious. Consists of the finest of strands. Will sleep in this. Cons- none only disappointed that we haven't had any in a while.

Burgess Long Strand Hay
Rating: 4/5
Human: Nice smell and long green stems. Cons- expensive. Can be dusty.
Piggies:

Oxbow Timothy
Rating: 4/5
Human: Pros- Great smell and colour. Little dust Cons- expensive
Piggies: LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE IT!

Oxbow Orchard
Rating: 4/5
Human: Another gorgeous smelling hay with little dust. Cons- expensive
Piggies: No complaints here.

Oxbow Oat
Rating: 2/5
Human: Dusty, short pieces and expensive. Wouldn't buy again.
Piggies: We had no idea what to do with it. Came to a unanimous decision that its not edible
Click to expand...
Have you thought about ordering in bulk online? It works out much cheaper than buying smaller bags from a shop.I usually order the soft Timothy from www.timothyhay.co.uk and my pigs really like it.Its £22 for 8.5kg with free delivery and usually turns up within 3 days.None of my present or past piggies have ever been keen on PAH own brand hay.Although I did try the alfalfa king Timothy hay before which they loved but it's very expensive.
 
My piggies opinion of any hay is … what hay, you haven’t given us any in the last three minutes so we are absolutely starving ….


My lot (bunnies included) have loved haybox but i was not impressed at the last price rise so since cancelled my subscription and switched to happy hay co, along with the usual bale of meadow hay from a local farm.
I know getting a bale isn’t an option for you though
 
If your mainly wanting to cut costs a bale is your best option
£5 for an entire can't beat that

I have a small car now and my previous was smaller and I could fit it in that
you can get hay bags to store it in

It always smells really good when you get it
 
Hay Review Continued....

Vale Bale
Rating: 3/5
Human: Pros- Get a lot for your money and cant complain about the price. Seems soft enough. Cons- Pigs always get a hay poke.
Piggies: Pros- We love sleeping and playing in this. Cons- Slave takes us to the vets...

Shorefields
Rating: 3/5
Human: Standard size hay bale. Not the best quality but not the worst either. Cons- So dusty and doesn't get eaten.
Piggies: Its ok for playing in. Always makes Cyril cough.

Lunnun Breeder Bale
Rating: 2/5
Human: Was actually very disappointed with this as I've heard many good things about it. Very dusty.
Cyril: ((COUGH)) I smell a ((COUGH)) vet visit...

HayBox
Rating 4.5/5
Human: Love this. Great quality, low dust. Only con is that they've upped their prices.
Piggies: Perfect! A selection of the finest of grasses. A must for all piggy kind. Never settle for less.

Small Pet Select
Rating: 2/5
Human: Another brand I'd heard many good things about. While the hay was lovely and green, it was so dusty and expensive.
Piggies: Never feed this again. 'nuff said. ((COUGH))

Happy Hay Co - Timothy
Rating: 4/5 (subject to change)
Human: Overall, very impressed. Eco friendly packaging, Nice long strands and little dust. However, doesn't seem as green or have many leafy parts.
Piggies: This isn't our usual hay. Day 3 of intruder hay, not poisonous. Will cautiously eat for now. Might change our minds tomorrow.
 
piggieminder said:
Been going through a similar process with mine recently. The result being if it's cheaper they won't eat it, can't say any is cheap! The best all rounder I have come up with is Natures Own Pets Meadow, other than the dust it ticks all the boxes and there was only one bag out of 5 that seemed to be very dusty. I have decided Timothy is too expensive now and will only be fed very occasionally as a treat. My OH is more allergic to Timothy than Meadow so he's happy!
Click to expand...
Yes I've found it to be that way too. A member of the household is allergic to hay too, except they suffer more with meadow hence why I prefer feeding timothy so when they come inside they don't suffer as much. Pigs seem to prefer it too although i would like to have them on meadow because it's cheaper. Nature's own is the next on the list to try. I'm currently using a mix of P@H meadow bale and pillow wad meadow as bedding as we've had a few chilly nights. Then they have timothy for eating. Seems ok at the moment so fingers crossed.
 
Bradshaw Piggies said:
I used to use the Hay Box company, but I've been buying quality hay in larger bales from our supplier (where we get the horse hay/haylage from) and they've been really happy with that. Far cheaper

It still astounds me just how much supermarkets and some brands mark up the price of hay!
Put it this way, I can get 400kg of quality hay (including a timothy mix - if I wanted it, not always as it's too rich for most horses) for around £40-£45. If I go into some pet supermarkets, it's nearly £10 for 4kg..... 😲 Wow! They can flippin share with the horses.... 😂
Click to expand...
I've recently stopped feeding haybox because they've upped their prices. I've often thought about getting several bales like that but I've got no where to store it. I suppose there's the greenhouse if I keep the windows open and keep them on a pallet to allow air to circulate but that'd only work in the winter. I've got to think of a way to store extra hay for the winter in case we have snow. Before I'd put the extra boxes on top of the hutch but that space is being taken up by another hutch now.
 
Claire W said:
I normally buy my hay from the range or B&M bargains but have just bought some meadow from pets at home as I have a gift voucher to use that was given to me for my birthday and the money I’ve saved on hay has gone towards a new outdoor cat house for Harrison. I’ve tried the meadow / Timothy mix before but my piggies are fussy and don’t like Timothy hay although they do like meadow and I only have 4 packs to go through. Luckily my pigs aren’t too fussy with meadow hay x
Click to expand...
Wished mine weren't so fussy. I've tried being more stubborn than they are but as soon as they all dropped 200g+ each, I had to go back to what they had before.
 
Gem789 said:
Have you thought about ordering in bulk online? It works out much cheaper than buying smaller bags from a shop.I usually order the soft Timothy from www.timothyhay.co.uk and my pigs really like it.Its £22 for 8.5kg with free delivery and usually turns up within 3 days.None of my present or past piggies have ever been keen on PAH own brand hay.Although I did try the alfalfa king Timothy hay before which they loved but it's very expensive.
Click to expand...
Yes, I usually bulk buy online. Haybox was my usual go to but with the increase in price, I'm trialling happy hay's timothy which I think is going down ok. I completely forgot about timothyhay. I think it's only that and natures own the scream machines haven't tried. Fingers crossed they don't need to change hay again!
 
Piggies&buns said:
My piggies opinion of any hay is … what hay, you haven’t given us any in the last three minutes so we are absolutely starving ….
Click to expand...
Mine will convince the whole road that I haven't fed them in a month...

Piggies&buns said:
They are all absolutely loving hay from happy hay co.
I’m buying a 15kg bale of orchard hay, it’s lasting around five weeks (for 6 animals).
Would highly recommend
Click to expand...
Would the orchard hay be soft enough for bedding hay too?
 
breakawayfromme said:
If your mainly wanting to cut costs a bale is your best option
£5 for an entire can't beat that

I have a small car now and my previous was smaller and I could fit it in that
you can get hay bags to store it in

It always smells really good when you get it
Click to expand...
The way things are going I may have to.
 
Engel said:
Happy Hay Co - Timothy
Rating: 4/5 (subject to change)
Human: Overall, very impressed. Eco friendly packaging, Nice long strands and little dust. However, doesn't seem as green or have many leafy parts.
Piggies: This isn't our usual hay. Day 3 of intruder hay, not poisonous. Will cautiously eat for now. Might change our minds tomorrow.
Click to expand...

The goblins would eat your hands off for this, but it is prone to fighting back. Last box I had, first time getting the hay out and I'm the one who ended up with two skelfs, lol. Why they like it so much is beyond me, but love it they do.

Edit: and I'm with @Piggies&buns, the orchard hay is definitely soft enough for bedding hay. The goblins love the orchard, too.
 
Mine hated Happy Hay, the rabbits over the road did well with it though. I've just tried Little Hay Co timothy, they do pick out some of it but I had to build another compost bin as I'm throwing so much away. I'm going to stick to just Natures Own meadow, it's easier to store in the house in the bags and is much cheaper. My OH has been complaining about hay boxes in his workshop.
 
Lorcan said:
The goblins would eat your hands off for this, but it is prone to fighting back. Last box I had, first time getting the hay out and I'm the one who ended up with two skelfs, lol. Why they like it so much is beyond me, but love it they do.

Edit: and I'm with @Piggies&buns, the orchard hay is definitely soft enough for bedding hay. The goblins love the orchard, too.
Click to expand...
The hay is behaving at the moment. I ended up with a lot from vale bale meadow hay. Can't be much worse than that as I had to use gloves. Also the scream machines think the goblins have impeccable taste and I think they forgive me for changing the hay over.
 
piggieminder said:
Mine hated Happy Hay, the rabbits over the road did well with it though. I've just tried Little Hay Co timothy, they do pick out some of it but I had to build another compost bin as I'm throwing so much away. I'm going to stick to just Natures Own meadow, it's easier to store in the house in the bags and is much cheaper. My OH has been complaining about hay boxes in his workshop.
Click to expand...
That's the problem with pigs. They're never content with a room or shed. They (and their stuff) take over the house, garden and garage and you'd still struggle to find space to put stuff. You need to tell OH that it isn't his workshop anymore, he's been demoted to a small corner of the garden 😉
 
Wearing gloves would have been the smart thing to do, but I'm reminded of this every time there's a new box on the go and I still never do it, lol. I'm just hoping DPD can behave themselves so I can go back to ordering it full time, it's hard to explain their enthusiasm for this over something like the Excel timothy, but it exists all right!
 
With the unannounced price hike and losing Naomi so I only have 2 piggies I too have cancelled my Haybox subscription.
I ordered some hay from the Hay & Straw Company.
The piggies love it, especially the Timothy & rye. They just bury themselves in it and eat .
 
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