Sweet Meadow Farm?

[auburnmare5]

I was told about Sweet Meadow Farm's Hay by a member on this forum a few days ago. The petstore in my area, I just found out, sells it! I am so excited! Does anyone know about it?? Another great thing about it is that the main place where they sell/package it is only about 45 miles from my house! So it is local!

All responses are greatly appreciated!

[cavy_cuddler20]

I dont know about Sweet Meadow Farm's Hay,but I would like to ask,is it better? I currently use Hartz Nutriton All Natural Timothy Hay for my guinea pig.And because I'm new at this, I wonder if Hartz is the way to go or is there something better?

[aaronmeister]

Hay is hay. But it's the quality of hay that you should be concerned about. Brands like Kaytee and Hartz have brown bits in them. They aren't harmful, they just don't have the nutrition. Kleenmama's and Oxbow are the best hays. They are green and soft. Majority of the members here will recommend either of those brands.

I saw a big difference between Oxbow and Kaytee this past week. I had some Kaytee alafalfa left with a new shipment of Oxbow coming in. If I grabbed a hand full of kaytee, it would be pokey and hard. With the oxbow it was green and I could grab a handful and not worry about pulling out hard stems from my hand.

[Ly&Pigs]

I have to say that I don't believe in any of Hartz products including their hay. Hartz products have killed so many animals that I refuse to buy anything made by them or one of thier subsidary companies like LM Animal Farms or 8-in-1.

Edit: 8-in-1 isn't owned nor a subsidary company of Hartz. But their food and treats are still as horrible as Hartz.

[sophistacavy]

Eew, please don't feed your cavy Hartz ANYTHING anymore, ok? Lol. Ly&Pigs is right, you should switch now before your pet develops a problem.
But I don't want to seem bossy, so its up to you, but I URGE you to try Oxbow or KM. Don't feed Kaytee if you don't have to.

[Ledasmom]

I'm currently almost halfway down a big bulk-pack box of Sweet Meadow Farm timothy, and I have two pigs asleep in it at the moment.
My experience with it - I bought both their timothy and their meadow hay at my local pet-supply store before I bought the big box - is that it tends to be less bright green than Oxbow timothy while still being quite fresh, wholesome and sweet-smelling, and that the pigs love it at least as much as Oxbow. If I'm buying in a store rather than online, I always pick pick up the bag, give it a shake and have a look at how many short pieces collect at the bottom of the bag, then buy the bag with fewer short pieces and less dust; any bag of hay that's been handled a lot is likely to have dust from broken-up hay.
I have also tried Sweet Meadow's botanical hay, which the pigs preferred to Oxbow's; it may have been fresher, as the Oxbow was somewhat dusty.

[auburnmare5]

Thanks to Leadasmom, sophistacavy, Ly&Pigs, aaronmeister, cavy_cuddler20!
You responses are very helpful!

[Ly&Pigs]

auburn, instead of making a post to thank people, you can use the thanks feature instead.