Hay and Pellets.

[PooTrishy]

Hey, I'm just wondering what people think of the brands I am currently using.
Pellets: Living World - Extrusion

Hay: Kaytee Natural Timothy Hay

Any thoughts would be apreciated, thanks.

[Keekers]

I think you should switch to oxbow or kleenmama's for your pellets. The pellets you're using now are based on alfalfa meal, not timothy hay. It also has bad stuff in it like salt. Maybe one of the mods can do an analysis on it, but it doesn't look very good.

Kaytee's hay claims to be high quality but really it isn't. The hay is stalky and has hard strands that can poke your pig's eyes. You could try buying in bulk from a local farmer or even better try kleenmama's, but the shipping can be very costly. Oxbow also makes good hay like orchard, but I think buying in small bags is expensive.

[PooTrishy]

Thanks Keekers! when I was reading over the ingredients the other day of my pellets, that's what I thought about the alfalfa. It's very fattening, right?
I live in Canada, is Oxbow, or Kleenmama's available up here? Thanks for the help!
Oh, and the hay. The person who I'm buying cage liners off of, knows someone who sells really good hay (apparently) for good prices. So, I'll check that out.
I'm in a big city, and I don't have a car, so It can be hard to find someone who is selling like that. How can I tell what makes good timothy hay by looking at it?
And thank you one more time =D

[Aussie_Dog]

The problem with living in Canada is that all the good hay is based in America, and shipping laws prohibit the shipping of hay over the border (sucks, I know). But we can still get pellets. Oxbow pellets AND hay are both available in Canada, typically in pet stores you'd get other pellets/hay from. (In my city, Oxbow hays and pellets, and other Oxbow toys are available in both Petsmart and Petland). Kleenmamas is available online only, but you can still order (just not the hay). I placed an order for pellets earlier this week, and am just waiting for payment to clear paypal. Until then, we're using Oxbow pellets.

It really bites not being able to get the Kleenmamas hay. You hear over and over and over again how soft and nice it is, all the while you know it's just out of your reach.

[Onetwo]

Hehe maybe we need to run a black hay market ring. You bring down cheap RX drugs and we'll Bring up high quality Kleenmamas hay! Hehe just kidding. If I were to smuggle anything into the country it would be a skinny pig from a canadian that says that there are loads of them by her (she has 6 already) and here I am sitting on a waiting list at 7 different rescues in the area for over 3 YEARS! It definately sucks that you guys cannot get certain things. Aside from illegal drugs and weapons and what not why do they really care if we ship a bit of hay over. Eventually the animals, bugs and what not will cross that massive impermiable invisible line some day. Look at the damned zebra mussles here in MN. Look at the darn rabbits in Auzzy. Weather we bring them intentionally or not they will get there.

O well. Good luck on finding local hay and oxbow pellets. Those are still way better than what you have.

BTW the living world pellets that have alfalfa are sweeter than the timothy and they have tons more calcium which for piggies older than 6 months could cause MAJOR health issues.

[xLindsay46]

Sorry to jump in, but I just have a question- I bought a bag of Kaytee Timothy hay for my pigs that I'm getting next week. I looked at the Oxbow hay, but it was double the price. Should I return the Kaytee hay and get the Oxbow?

[krystalmoore86]

I buy oxbow pellets 15 pounds for 14.99 so basically 1$/pound and fresh local orchard grass they bag up parts of bales in a big clear bag and they weigh approx 2-3 lbs for 2.99. That means I pay 1-1.50$/pound. I buy one food and 2 hay and this lasts about a month. I have only found prices this good at my local feed store (aloha feed). When I shopped at petsmart I got 5 pounds of oxbow for 11.99 (more than 2$/pound) and 1 oxbow orchard grass was 6.99/pound It's much cheaper if you buy local hay and oxbow from a local feed store . Hope that helps.

[krystalmoore86]

Also kaytee Timothy hay is very dry short strands which fall through the hay rack making lots of waste, I ended up throwing the majority of it away daily when I swept up the droppings it was mixed in. The local orchard grass is fresh and green, long soft strands which since teyre long they stay in the hayrack until the pig pulls it out to eat it and I have very little hay waste now.

[Onetwo]

yes or find a local horse place and get timothy hay from them or a local farmer. Although from now until August it will be very very hard to find as they are now grazing on real grass and harvest for second cut isnt until July and drying time. If you can find any now snatch it up.

[kathlaaron]

Sorry to jump in, but I just have a question- I bought a bag of Kaytee Timothy hay for my pigs that I'm getting next week. I looked at the Oxbow hay, but it was double the price. Should I return the Kaytee hay and get the Oxbow?

Hello there !

Since you live in Massachusetts, ( I grew up and lived in MA until I married in 98' and moved eventually to Wisconsin !) you could try ordering hay from Sweetmeadow Farms and since you live in MA the shipping cost should be pretty cheap ! Here is a link below for you :
Sweet Meadow Farm | Rabbit and Guinea Pig food | Horse Riding Programs

Kaytee anything is junk. I would go with either Oxbow ( personally I think their hay is just "ok") or Kleenmama's hay. Here is the link for Kleenmamas below:
Kleenmama's Hayloft :: Hay

Or you could try looking around at the local farms in your area too, like above posters mentioned, that may take some trial and error and a little looking up front, but if you can find a good local quality hay supplier, you could save a lot of money !

I am currently waiting for my shipment of sweetmeadow hay, just bought a small 20 oz. bag to try it out, for the first time. I am also waiting on my shipment of Kleenmama's 2cnd cut timothy hay to arrive, and ordered pellets from her too for the first time.

So far, I cannot find any hay as great as Kleenmamas. Right now my girls are at or around 6 months old and have started them both on Oxbow's Cavy Cuisine pellets ( they have been eating Oxbow's Cavy Performance for many months and loved it, but lately have been uneasy about certain ingredients in the brand, so will be trying Kleenmama's pellets soon)

Hope all this helps some ! Good luck !

[PooTrishy]

Thanks everyone for all the great advice! I'll do my best to find Oxbow pellets, and I will switch my hay asap.

[FlowersGrandma]

Also kaytee Timothy hay is very dry short strands which fall through the hay rack making lots of waste, I ended up throwing the majority of it away daily when I swept up the droppings it was mixed in. The local orchard grass is fresh and green, long soft strands which since teyre long they stay in the hayrack until the pig pulls it out to eat it and I have very little hay waste now.

I use orchard/ fescue mix and it's not as bad on my allergies as the timothy is either. We ran out and had to get some Timothy from the store until the feed mill got in fresh, and the timothy just about killed my allergies. The pigs eat tons of the fresh hay. They like to make a nest in it so I still have waste, but I paid $6 for a bale of hay, whereas I was paying $6-8 for a small bag of timothy, so I don't mind a little waste on the bale of hay. It's soft and they love to lay in it and pig out. (Pun intended)

[Kim37040]

I am thinking about getting a 50 lb box of Oxbow Timothy from Drs. Foster and Smith.
My piggy Charlie seems to like it and Patch and George will eat any type of timothy hay.
F&S has free shipping on orders over $49.99 so it would be a excellent deal with the hay is good.

Has anyone every purchased it from them?
Thanks