KMS' Hay ?

[JennG]

For those of you who order your hay from her, have you ordered pellets as well? I'm looking into ordering some online as well as hay. Right now I go to a feed store but they don't carry huge amounts.

Anyways, when I order it does she do the Shipping & Handling once at 21.00 if I order more than one thing? Or is it 21.00 S&H for each item. I know this may seem dumb but I've never ordered online before. Thanks.

And if I shouldn't get pellets from her, where should I get them and what kind? I get Mazuri right now but would like to switch. Thanks alot!!

[homeschoolmama]

Not yet, but several people here have mentioned that they've ordered hers & love it... apparently, it's giving Oxbow quite the competition as "the best" and I will be ordering it next time!

If you are adding something to a hay order, I would think that there would be a little more shipping, but not much. Her shipping prices look like they are pretty close to actual shipping costs.

[mab0615]

My pigs love her pellets. I was using Oxbow and switched them cold turkey. They dove in like there was no difference. Just like her hay, there's no going back.

[JennG]

Thanks for the input. If I calculated right, she's alittle cheaper than Oxbow. I'm going to try and order some at the end of the month. I just have to find a place for the 25lbs of hay that I'm planning on ordering. You can freeze pellets, right? I was going to order at least 10lbs.

[Ly&Pigs]

If you order 10lbs. of pellets and 25lbs. of hay, look at the shipping for a total of 35lbs. and add $3 for handling on to that. If I remember right, you are in zone 7 and shipping costs for 35lbs to zone 7 is $24.00 + $3 handling fee + cost of hay and pellets.

[JennG]

Thank you QHB! I was hoping you'd respond since you've dealt with her. It still seems cheaper to get it from her. I'm assuming the pellets are pretty good too?

[Ly&Pigs]

From all I hear, her pellets are even better than oxbow. She formulated these with things piggies need and left out the crap they don't need. They are on the top of the pellet list at gl.

[Percy's Mom]

The pellets are fabulous! My guys absolutely adore them. They smell really nutty and yummy, kind of like a granola scent. Even with the shipping cost (I'm in zone 8), I still get her pellets and hay because of the extremely high quality.

[TheQueen]

Her pellets are great! I even tasted one myself. xD They taste just like a granola bar or something. My girls love them. I can't order them too much, though, because I'm in Zone 8 and the shipping cost is tremendous. But they are great pellets!

[JennG]

Yeah I'm in zone 7 which is the 2nd highest zone but I don't think it'll be that high especially if I order a big order. It should last awhile. Just trying to figure out a cheaper way then going all over town to get the right stuff for my girls. Eight eat just a wee bit more than 5.

[WEAVER]

I have the same question as JennG, can we freeze the pellets and them keep their nutrients? I would like to start ordering a bigger bag of pellets if they stay "fresh".

[Ly&Pigs]

Yes, pellets can be frozen for up to 1 year I believe.

[Sweet Pea]

I wish we could get KM's stuff in Canada!

[aqh88]

I wouldn't order more pellets than you can use in preferably 6months but at most 8months. I really don't think even frozen that they would retain enough of their nutrient value after that point. Certain vitamins begin to get lost after 4-6months. First vit c, then generally the fat soluable vitamins, and so on until probably around 8-10months even the fiber would begin to break down.
Pellets will also stay fresher longer the smaller the containers you put them. The reason is that everytime you open the container to get more pellets you let more air in and it increases the speed at which the pellets break down. If you use a smaller container you expose less pellets to the air and you open it fewer times before it's gone and you move on to the next container which has only been exposed to the air once so far when you moved the pellets into that container. Kinda like leaving the bag of chips or loaf of bread open. It ends up stale faster.

Hay is much the same only it loses all vit c when dried, fat soluable vitamins within 2-4months, and then it stays pretty consistent until around 10-12months where the remainder of the vitamins, minerals, and fiber begin to break down provided it is kept at the correct moisture level with no sunlight. Letting it get too wet, drying it too much, or exposing hay to sunlight will increase it's rate of breaking down. These foods will not suddenly go bad or make a guinea pig sick in any way but their smell, flavor, and nutrient content will be reduced. It could lead to a deficiency if it lasted long enough but at the least the pigs won't appreciate basically stale food.

But when dealing with alot of pigs there's no reason to worry about food breaking down provided you freeze pellets and store hay correctly. 9 pigs ate 10lbs of pellets and 45lbs of hay last month. Ordering the largest bag of pellets it won't last 8months and will probably just make 6months. I ordered 235lbs of hay in total while it was on discount. The only real problem is where to store all the bulk orders.