Is Timothy Grass okay instead of Timothy Hay?

[Tofu_Consumer]

It’s cheaper but I can’t find much info online. It’s the Timothy bale from Standlee.

EDIT: MOD Comment Link not working and removed by SB

 

[Wiebke]

It’s cheaper but I can’t find much info online. It’s the Timothy bale from Standlee.

Hi and welcome

Sorry, your link is not working.

Personally, I haven't heard of timothy grass so I cannot comment without any further information. You can however safely feed other hays like orchard or meadow hay or a mix of any of timothy, orchard and/or meadow hay.

A Comprehensive Hay Guide for Guinea Pigs (incl. providers in several countries)

 

[A Guinea Pig]

Welcome to the Forum.

They have Timothy Grass at Murdoch’s (like a ranching and farm store), which I go to. I was originally going to get the Timothy Grass for my guinea pigs, but the lady working there informed me not to. Timothy Hay and Timothy Grass are the same plant, however, Timothy Hay is fully dried. Timothy Grass is also dried, but not to the same extent. Since I “only” have three guinea pigs, the grass would be more likely to mold or go bad by the time my girls would be able to finish the entire bale.

If you have a lot of guinea pigs then I recommend getting it since the smaller boxes can be costly.

 

[Merab]

Welcome to the Forum.

They have Timothy Grass at Murdoch’s (like a ranching and farm store), which I go to. I was originally going to get the Timothy Grass for my guinea pigs, but the lady working there informed me not to. Timothy Hay and Timothy Grass are the same plant, however, Timothy Hay is fully dried. Timothy Grass is also dried, but not to the same extent. Since I “only” have three guinea pigs, the grass would be more likely to mold or go bad by the time my girls would be able to finish the entire bale.

If you have a lot of guinea pigs then I recommend getting it since the smaller boxes can be costly.

Thanks for the information
We may not be able to get Timothy grass in the UK so it’s helpful t another US member to be able to help.

Welcome to the forum @Tofu_Consumer

 

[Piggies&buns]

I wondered if it may be similar to readigrass - which is something they can eat but is not suitable to replace hay

 

[piggieminder]

I think it is similar to Readigrass and would be too rich to feed as anything other than a treat.

 

[A Guinea Pig]

It is the same thing, Timothy Grass/Hay. They are the different forms of the same plant. Timothy Grass is just processed differently when drying.

 

[piggieminder]

It is the same thing, Timothy Grass/Hay. They are the different forms of the same plant. Timothy Grass is just processed differently when drying.

The different way of drying is why it is richer and not suitable to be fed instead of hay.

 

[A Guinea Pig]

The different way of drying is why it is richer and not suitable to be fed instead of hay.

Oh interesting

 

[Mikatelyn]

Hi, sorry, a little late to the party. US member here. Yes, lots of people in the US use the Standlee Timothy Grass 50 pound bales. I wondered the same thing when I started keeping piggies about 4 years ago, and after researching the threads of multiple online piggy groups, concluded that it was safe and eonomical. It only costs around $27 last time I was there a couple of months ago (before all the economic turmoil started). I get mine from Tractor Supply for my 2 piggies. Each bale lasts me something like 2-3 months, and I give my piggies A LOT of it. As in each week I am tossing the stuff they didn't deem worthy into a big 30 gallon bag of it, since they like to burrow in it, pee in it, poop in it. I also recently started giving them some Standlee orchard grass for variety, which also comes in 50 pound bales. Be careful that you get the one that does NOT have alfalfa, which is too high in calcium for adult piggies.
Hope that helps!