Hay: timothy hay w/clover?

[DinnyPids]

I have 3 pigs and I'm starting to realize that they go through a lot of hay! I've been ordering mine online- but it's starting to get expensive. I've seen some other members buy their hay locally. So what I'd like to do is keep ordering their pellets online (Oxbow pellets aren't sold locally here) but find a good hay supplier and buy it a bale at a time. So I think I've found a supplier and she's getting ready to do her 2nd cutting of timothy and is only charging $3 a bale! She told me that one of her clients uses the hay for her rabbits so I thought that was a good sign. She informed me that her fields are a timothy/clover mix. I told her that I'll research it to see if that would be safe for my pigs. What little bit I've read so far says that clover can be given in moderation (high in calcium). So my plan is that I'll go ahead and buy a bale & try my best to pick out as much of the clover as possible. My thinking is that even if half the bale gets picked out, I only spent 3 bucks- hardly a waste money! Has anyone else encountered clover in their hay?

[**salutations**]

I am also considering buying my hay locally and was wondering the same thing. Would the clover be too much of a problem? Any insight would be helpful. Thanks!

[AnimalHouse36]

Originally Posted by DinnyPids

I have 3 pigs and I'm starting to realize that they go through a lot of hay! I've been ordering mine online- but it's starting to get expensive. I've seen some other members buy their hay locally. So what I'd like to do is keep ordering their pellets online (Oxbow pellets aren't sold locally here) but find a good hay supplier and buy it a bale at a time. So I think I've found a supplier and she's getting ready to do her 2nd cutting of timothy and is only charging $3 a bale! She told me that one of her clients uses the hay for her rabbits so I thought that was a good sign. She informed me that her fields are a timothy/clover mix. I told her that I'll research it to see if that would be safe for my pigs. What little bit I've read so far says that clover can be given in moderation (high in calcium). So my plan is that I'll go ahead and buy a bale & try my best to pick out as much of the clover as possible. My thinking is that even if half the bale gets picked out, I only spent 3 bucks- hardly a waste money! Has anyone else encountered clover in their hay?

I would say, don't risk it with the clover. It would take a long time for you to pick enough out. When you buy in bulk online, yyou end up saving alot more money. I'm not sure where your located but have you tryed Kleenmam's? Its a great place. The shipping for me is pretty outrages but when you figure in the cost of gas, and the amount you get from petstores, its much better.

[DinnyPids]

I don't buy hay from petstores- I've always used an online source as it is about the same price but better quality than what you'd get at a petstore anyway.

I decided to go ahead and buy a bale of local hay over the weekend. The clover is really easy to spot and there really isn't a whole lot of it. It's not a big bother to go through it because I have to go through it anyway- to pick out the twigs and fox tails. I did consider buying KM's hay, but for now the local hay is way cheaper and the pigs eat it just fine. I can pay $3/bale for local hay or $60 for KM. I'd rather spend the sixty bucks on fresh veggies.

[suzilovespiggie]

$3:00 dollars, oh boy! That is a real buy! Your piggies are gunna be in heaven. I don't know much about the clover. I would think the pigs would like it because it is sweet but not sure if it would harm them. To buy a bale in my area is $26.00 a bale for the timothy. Alfalfa and bermuda are much much cheaper. We did not have a good hay season for the timothy this summer. So I got my pigs the bermuda.
At first, my pigs thought I was punishing them. Silly piggies. I have always fed the timothy, which they love. They are now eating the bermuda but it is still under protest...silly pigs. They are just too spoiled.

[DinnyPids]

I know what you mean Suzi. I started my pigs out on 2nd cut timothy from an online source. The hay always smelled wonderful, was nice and green, and barely had any brown strands. I did a little experiment by doing a cage cleaning and then fully stocking the cage with hay, veggies, and pellets to see what they preferred going to. They always went to the hay and vegs first and resorted eating the pellets when the other stuff ran out. When I ran out of timothy, I went to a local feed store to buy a small bag of timothy just to get me by until I got a chance to get the bale of local hay. They weren't thrilled with this new change. It doesn't look any different than the online hay- in fact it has no brown strands at all! They just aren't thrilled about it. Now I'm mixing the local hay with the store-bought hay and I can see that they are actually picking out the local hay and eating it first. This has to confirm that store-bought hay is second rate! I just did another cage cleaning & food stocking today and I saw that they are still going to their veggies & pellets first. My piggies are spoiled too. If I can continue buying $3 bales, it is going to really help me with buying veggies & possibly more grids for a cage expansion!

[Ly&Pigs]

It basically depends on how much clover is in the hay. If it's just small amounts, then no problems. If it's 50% or more then you could use it as a treat type hay given a couple times per week. Clover is a good forage if used properly, but it is high in calcium.