Where do you reccomend I buy hay?

[stef603]

I was astounded at how expensive bagged hay is @ pet stores and feed stores! Considering baled hay is about 2.75/bale, I'm going that route, unless there are major objections.

Thanks in advance for your input

[VoodooJoint]

I buy my hay (and food) online from Oxbow Pet Products | Welcome Even with shipping it is MUCH cheaper then the bags and in the end only costs about $1 per pound. You can also look for hay at feedstores and buy it by the bale. Some feedstores will also sell it by the flake.

[Percy's Mom]

As long as it's good quality grass hay, I don't see any reason not to buy a bale or flake from from feed store. You'll get a great deal that way.

I buy my hay in bulk from Kleenmama's Hayloft :: Home. Great quality hay and pellets.

[SoCalCavies]

I'm going to be switching my hay, as well, to either KM or Oxbow. While on the phone with Oxbow for a while yesterday, they helped me find a way to cut the shipping costs even more: Buy it from a local petstore that has a "preferred vendor" account with them. (They can tell you if there's one near you.)

If there is, the vendor is required to special order any items you want!! They eat the shipping costs, not you - but Oxbow can't tell them what to charge, so you want to make sure they aren't jacking the prices up so high you mide-as-well buy direct.

This saved me about $40 in shipping to the west coast. The local petstore I have is getting two 9lb boxes of both Timothy & Orchard for me in a week!

[Percy's Mom]

Originally Posted by SoCalCavies

This saved me about $40 in shipping to the west coast. The local petstore I have is getting two 9lb boxes of both Timothy & Orchard for me in a week!

That's a great option, if your local petstore is a pet supply store and not a store where you can also buy animals. If you have a supply store that will order for you, go for it. Make sure to check that they are not price gauging, as already mentioned.

Oxbow products can also be ordered from CritterStore.com - Small Pet Supplies and Products, www.petfooddirect.com, and several other online sources if you can not find it in a supply store near you.

[SoCalCavies]

I don't believe Oxbow will consider someone a "preferred vendor" if they sell live animals - only if they sell them under strict conditions. (One of them being that they are a rescue, also that they are fed with all the Oxbow products, and I also believe, under a vet's care.)

The lady I spoke with at length yesterday said they take a "preferred vendor" status extremely seriously, that's why it's hard to find one. I would just call them and ask.

Percy's Mom: Thank you for that info! You might have saved me some shipping on the Critical Care size that I need to order. My vet doesn't buy it & they said they would price-gouge me if I made them get it for me. (Nice huh?)

[Percy's Mom]

"Preferred" in retail typically means that a rather large volume is being sold. If Oxbow puts the additional criteria that animals aren't being sold on top of that, then fabulous, but I'd still recommend checking with the stores listed as "preferred" before assuming anything.

[SoCalCavies]

No, I hear ya! But honestly, after speaking with two women there and even their vet, you can tell pretty easily that they are more interested in doing the right thing, than making a profit.

Also, the pet store near me that is a "preferred vendor" only carries one of their product lines!!! They only carry Cavy Cuisine, so I think that reinforces that they don't require large volumes, but like you said, who knows. It's best to ask, I guess.

[Emily F.]

On one of the polls here on cavycages I saw a few members buy their hay from Sweet Meadow Farm, so I decided to check it out as I was looking for a place to buy hay in bulk. It's a family run business out of Massachusetts.

They have many different types of hay to choose from. I bought 15 lbs of timothy hay, and a few pounds of Sweetgrass.

My pigs and rabbit absoutely love this hay. They eat it right up, and even sleep in it! I recommend this hay, and the shipping is very reasonable, and fast! I placed my order late Tuesday night, and received it the next day in the afternoon.

Good Luck!
Here is the website:

Sweet Meadow Farm, Hay, meadow hay, rabbit food, alfalfa, straw, small animal treats, guinea pigs, hamsters.

[SoCalCavies]

Dang! They are way too expensive to ship to California. Oh well. Thanks for the tip!

[Percy's Mom]

I always recommend to not look at shipping cost as JUST shipping. Add the shipping to the price of the product and divide by the number of pounds. I did it quickly using a known California zip code and the price of the 50lb 1st cut Timothy, and got a price of $1.64/lb. It's really much more economical than you might think.

[SoCalCavies]

I hear what you're saying... I guess I'm just spoiled, because I currently get an entire box of mixed hay from a local farmer who donates all the proceeds to the House Rabbit Society for only $10.

And yes...there is a problem with it, or I wouldn't be looking for an alternative source.

Again, thanks for the info! I will definitely take what you said into account when choosing where to go, etc.

[this_lil_piggy]

I researched Sweet Meadow Farms.... I took the item price + shipping and compared between them and Kleenmama's.
I could purchase their pellets slightly (about 2.00) cheaper than KM's, but the hay worked out to be higher in price for less hay. In fact, 30 lbs of Sweet Meadows Timothy hay is 3.00 more expensive than the 45 lbs box of hay I just bought from Kleenmama's.
Considering it is normally cheaper to ship from the eastern US to me, than from the Western US, I was pretty shocked that Sweet Meadow's shipping was as high as it was in comparison.
All in all, not such a great deal afterall, at least not for me......and I just can't imagine any hay being better than Linda's!

[Jenah]

I took some folks' advice, including Percy's Mom and this_lil_piggy's and ordered from Kleenmama's. At first I too was shocked to see the shipping cost - but when I looked at the entire cost and divided by the pound - it was still cheaper than getting it locally here. AND it's very lovely and fresh and hardly dusty hay!!

[jdomans]

I but my hay from a feed store and it is local Coastal Bermuda. Until recently it has been gorgeous. Now my daughter can't get hay the pigs will eat. A feed store about 30 minutes from here can get a bale of pure Tim for $18. the pigs like it. not love it but I know it is good. It is green and not moldy at all. It is stalky but my daughter says that Tim in the field will cut your legs walking through it.

[BAll3rinA]

I have decided to stop buying hay from petco. I found an oxbow store 20 mins from my house! My pigs are out of hay so I am excited to get it tomorrow. Thanks everybody!!!!

[SoCalCavies]

Good job, BAll3rinA! BRAVO!