Hay,Hay, heyyyyyy!

[cavynator]

I'm about to adopt some piggies in a few weeks/months, and I'd thought I'd better ask some questions about hay!

I know that hay is better off buying from a feed store/directly from a farmer.
I have a REALLY cheap feed store that I know of may 10 minutes away,
I emailed the owner (his family has run this store for yearsss), but I'll have to get back to you on the prices.

I found a guy that is only maybe an hour away from me who is selling Hay.
Hay,Hay,heyy! What kind of hay would be the best hay? The piggies that I'm getting are going to be rescues, and their estimated ages are a year or two years old. I'm aware that alfalfa is best for the young'ns, and timothy for the older ones.

This guy sells the following:
Alfalfa, Alfalfa/Brome/Timothy, Fescue, Timothy, Reed Canary Grass.

I still have to wait for his response on how much, and the cuts. Which would you think would be best?

[PiggieMom]

Well they shouldn't have free feed alfalfa since they are older than six months. Timothy hay would get my vote but that is only because I have never feed Fescue or Reed Canary Grass. As far the hay from the farmer you would have to go see the quality for yourself. It should be green, leafy and smell good. It shouldn't be wet or moldy at all. Here's a good link with information on hay: http://www.guinealynx.com/hay.html

[cavynator]

Thankyou very much for all of the information! I've just read over it, it has helped a lot! Thanks once again =)!

[Ly&Pigs]

The plain timothy is your best bet.

[aqh88]

Fescue and canary grass don't really make good quality hays or forages. I've never actually seen them used for hay but they are very hardy grasses and so are sometimes used in pastures where the animals will be walking over them and tearing them up. They might make good treats but I'd feed the timothy for their main diet.

[cavynator]

This one guy is selling Alfalfa bales for 5 dollars each, and this store that carries everything sells Timothy by 5lb and 50lb bales, but they don't know what cut it is. Looks like I have more looking to do!

[Percy's Mom]

The cut isn't really as important as what the hay looks like. If it looks fresh and green and doesn't see overly stick like, you're fine.