Meadow Hay Vs Timothy Hay

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bex's gpigs

bex's gpigs

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I always ensure my piggies have unlimited hay in their cage, however I give them meadow hay as it can be brought in bulk cheaply. However, I do worry about there teeth becoming overgrown, for this reason is timothy hay better. Advice on what you use, or what you think is better. The more wore down their teeth I can get the better! Some people say to only use meadow hay as bedding, where as I use it as food.

Any advice appreciated :)

I have read through about timothy being better for the gut but I am concerned about teethx
 
We use Timothy Hay almost exclusively as food as it has less impact on wife and daughters hay fever in comparison with meadow hay and they live on fleece (both important when away in the confines of a touring caravan). They do get readigrass as a treat and on occasion hay cakes. This is not the cheapest option for hay but it works for us.
 
Ok thanks, its just one pig has spurs on teeth, vet looked at them in late Jan and I want to try to wear this down as much as possible. Weirdly the vet done nothing about them saying their not too bad. Should I go for a check up as its nearly 6 months. No obvious problem with her
 
aslong as they are eating alot of one or the other then they will be fine. i feed both though to encourage them to eat as much as possible and for variety :)
 
@biscandmatt Ok thank you, I will purchase some timothy so they have a mixture of both and like you, encourage them. Also when you put them on the grass do you put hay out as well, I normally put no biscuits out or hay and give them veg or dandelion/milk thistle ever other day.
 
How long is the spur on your pigs tooth? If it gets very long, it will impede his ability to eat. Keep an eye on it and don't let it get too long.
My late Clyde developed one which had to be filed down twice. I believe the abscess that later developed under his jaw was due to this.
 
A selection of hay types is good. Several years back I believe it was mooted about that it was the silica in grass and hay that wore the teeth down - how true this is I don't know, just something for someone more knowledgeable to research. Something we're featuring in the magazine also.

Meadow and timothy are both suitable. I use Orchard Grass and have done for at least six years, no dental issues with my current lot. It's usually on the soft side, not half as coarse as Timothy, which I can't feed anyway due to allergy (contact and respiratory).
 
7squeakers. said:
How long is the spur on your pigs tooth? If it gets very long, it will impede his ability to eat. Keep an eye on it and don't let it get too long.
My late Clyde developed one which had to be filed down twice. I believe the abscess that later developed under his jaw was due to this.
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Funnily enough I took the girls to the vets today as I noticed small white larva on one of my girls. They have mites and have been given spot on (any good?)
The last time they had there health check only Marbles (1 year 3 mnths) had very small spurs, now they are still small so no growth in 6 months. Now luna her sister and Rolo who is younger she was born mid December (not related). They all have spurs at least one side but very small and no irritation/abscess all is ok. Luna has one growing on the inside so the vet said she should be ok? Feel like a bad mum :( They all have them, I give them hay at all times, Good quality food :( Apart from spurs they are healthy. Will they definitely grow and cause problems? @7squeakers. Was your piggy put under general an. I'm feeling very down:( Do all piggies have this?
 
bex's gpigs said:
@biscandmatt Ok thank you, I will purchase some timothy so they have a mixture of both and like you, encourage them. Also when you put them on the grass do you put hay out as well, I normally put no biscuits out or hay and give them veg or dandelion/milk thistle ever other day.
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yes i give some hay when they're outside aswell, again just for choice really. our grass is a bit rubbish so alot of the time they have to go on the paving or half and half so need hay aswell in our case :)
 
Hi I can't help on the teeth but you asked whether spot on is any good for mites. Again, I'm not an expert but the impression I've got from reading other threads on here from those who are more in the know is that spot on is far from the most effective option to get rid of mites. When ours had mites, our vet gave them a single injection which cleared them up very well.

Can I suggest you start a thread in the health and illness section for each of the mites and teeth questions as there are some great people on here who I am sure will be able to help you with your questions on those.

It might also be worth checking if your vet is on the piggy savvy vet locator list.
 
@bex's gpigs No, my boy Clyde was not anaesthetised when he had his spurs filed down. I asked if they were going to put him under as I was worried due to his age of nearly 5 years. He first had a filing in January and again in March, and I found the abscess in April. It was opened up and cleaned out. They said that he reacted badly to the surgery, because neither the vet staff nor I at home could get him to eat again. He died two days after the surgery.

You should get your vet to file down the spur on the inside of your Luna's mouth. Is it on a molar? It will grow sharp and cut the inside of her cheeks.
All spurs will make eating very difficult if not impossible if left to get too long.

All pigs can get spurs on the teeth if not given plenty of hay and other things like fruit tree branches to gnaw on. Spurs can also indicate a misalignment of the jaws, resulting in the teeth not wearing against each other properly.
 
No contest with mine , meDow hay is by far there faverate ,
I received a fresh order this morning an the have eaten all that I gave them
were with the Timothy , they alway leave a far amount
 
gizzy said:
No contest with mine , meDow hay is by far there faverate ,
I received a fresh order this morning an the have eaten all that I gave them
were with the Timothy , they alway leave a far amount
Click to expand...

Cool I will look into it, is that the brand or what its called? The do these interesting things in p@H but its very expensive looks real natural and yum
 
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