Hay: Can grass replace hay?

[morumotto]

Sorry if this seems like a silly question to you but I'll ask anyway. I live in Australia and the only hay I have access to is the RSPCA brand Peters Pasture Hay. This is quite expensive for a small amount. I have access to clean, unsprayed green grass that I can get most of the year, except possibly winter.

Therefore I'm wondering is grass a suitable replacement for hay? Does it provide the same nutritional values? When there is no grass available I would buy some of the RSPCA hay. Or would it be possible to feed mostly grass with a small amount of hay, and veggies and pellets of course.

[AnimalHouse36]

I don't beleive grass is a suitable subtance. The reason for hay is to grind down the molars. I'm not sure if the grass would do that.

[cavy-cool-crazy]

I don't advise grass as a complete substitute, simply due to the fact that grass isn't coarse enough to wear down the teeth. I prefer to treat grass as an extra veggie instead of extra hay. Have you tried asking local farms if they sell bales of hay?

[Ly&Pigs]

Fresh grass is one of the very best forages you can give. But it would take a huge amount to satisfy a pigs hunger. Hay is dried grass but it seems to have a bit more fiber than grass but grass has more nutritional value because it's fresh. When starting to feed fresh grass, you have to introduce it slowly in small amounts and work up to larger amounts so as to not cause stomach upsets. I'd add in grass as a forage, but I wouldn't replace they hay totally with it.

You can maybe look around for horse stables, feed stores, etc. and see if they have hay you could buy in large amounts. Hay, stored properly can last several months.

[auburnmare5]

It can but it would need to be in large amounts. I would try looking at stables, feed stores, etc... Because eventually, you may run out of grass, etc... Do feed a grass hay such as Timothy or bermuda, and not Alfalfa because of the risk of stones.

[AnimalHouse36]

Originally Posted by auburnmare5

, and not Alfalfa because of the risk of stones.

You can feed alfalfa until around 6 months of age.

[hueyeats]

But fact...

In nature, horses, cows, guinea pigs etc. do survive on grass pastures & have done so for tens of thousands of years even way before mankind aquire the agriculture knowledge to process grass to keep through winter for their domesticated lifestock. They were all "wild" once before human domestication & you can still find them in the wild as well today.

So, I would think hay as a human made processed grass hay to keep through winter in replacement of natural grass types in the summer/in season to keep their lifestock alive till spring/summer when they can feed again in abundance.

Of course if it is for the correct wearing of teeth & claws (I do agree that hay will wear a guinea pig's teeth better than just fresh grass), animals in nature can wear their teeth & claws by themselves (provided it is with their own habitat to their kind eg. guinea pigs cannot survive in certain areas as they are not "local" to the area/climate etc.).

But since human choose to domesticate these animals & remove them from their natural environment, we the humans become their source to provide what is best "stimulation" (a.k.a. manmade requirements of what "we say" they need with our research to back it up {through trails & errors etc.}) of what they would require in the wild. Be it hay, chunks of natural safe wood for their teeth, vitamin C etc..

But just my humble POV. Grass or grass hay is fine (ask farmers how they graze their cows & why they release them in the pastures in the summer), fresh is best (better nutrients... it only make sense), free of pesticide & any contamination (pet poops, chemical fertilizers etc.) is best. But unfortunately is quite hard to find areas with grass pastures that is not contaminated in the cities, more luck rural area-wise.

The more natural / close to nature (without human chemicals / additives) the better (think why free-range chicken is better & more humane if one is not a vegan).

What human provide that is not found in nature... tons of for our wonderful piggies of course!

[5guinea5pig5]

True but you forgot guinea pigs, horses, cows etc. spend almost 24/7 eating grass. But, in barns and homes they spend a few hours eating hay. Also, when the farmers take them out to graze most of them graze for dusk to dawn.

[internetjunkey]

When all else Fails you could always obtain it from the internet I believe Oxbow sells hay, Along with Ebay, But my concern with Ebay was how old it is. I know shipping can be quite a pain but... If nothing else works!


Any who, hope I helped!

[1frankie7]

Thats the brand I buy and i thought it was cheap! It was 8$ For a 20 oz bag. Is that expensive or cheap?

[JD In Van]

I would totally recommend checking with local horse owners. I'm getting premium timothy/blue grass hay for FREE from a local stable owner now because to him a garbage bag's worth a month is pretty damned negligable.

[heartpiggies]

That's a good question. I've been wondering the same. I really don't like messing with hay and it doesn't seem natural anyhow. Is it actually the hay itself that wears their teeth down or is it just the frequent grinding? Because it seems that grass would suffice if it's just the grinding. My piggy loves fresh grass and doesn't have any trouble digesting it.

[Ly&Pigs]

Please pay attention to dates on threads before responding to them.

The problem with fresh grass is that you really can't get it in the amounts needed all year round. Cavies would need fresh grass in unlimited amounts just like hay. So we provide the next best thing- hay, which is dried grass. Hay is not unnatural.

[heartpiggies]

Isn't grass a part of their natural diet moreso than hay? And I'm not sure where you're from but we have grass on our lawn all year. We don't use any chemical fertilizers or pesticides. I'm really just curious if it's an appropriate substitute.

[Ly&Pigs]

I live in Arkansas and we get cold temperatures, snow and ice every year which kills off the grass.

Also you have to remember that the cavies we have are domesticated. They aren't the same as their wild cousins. You can feed grass but I still wouldn't entirely replace the hay with grass.

[1frankie7]

a farmer about 30 minutes away from my house is giving me free hay ( I dont know how much yet i wasnt there my mom planned it so..)