help with kind of hay

[cavy is better]

Hi
where i live, not in USA, they don't sell timothy hay. so i am trying to decide which hay should i buy.
how bad is it to buy Alfalfa hay?
other kinds i can get are-
Vicia
Clover
Setaria
Oat
Wheat
my cavies are the ages of 1 month and 8 months. the hay should fit for a long time because they sell it in large amounts.
Thanks for advice

[kananaka]

http://www.guinealynx.info/hay.html

http://www.guinealynx.info/hay_chart.html

I would pick something close to timothy (probably the oat) and just feed them extra calcium veg till they come of age.

[j1a1i1smit]

Setaria
Oat
Wheat is the food as i think

[pinky]

Oat and wheat hay are cereal grain hays and are very fattening. They are best offered as a treat. Clover is a legume hay and is very high in calcium so it can be fed up to six months of age but should only be offered on a very limited basis after that since large amounts of calcium can lead to stone formation. From what I read about Setaria, it's high in oxalates so that's not a good choice, either, since oxalates bind with calcium to cause stones. It can poison cattle. There are different varieties of Vicia (legume hay) but it sounds like it's not safe to feed. Online I read that cattle can get oral ulcerations, diarrhea, weight loss. I'd stay away from it since it sounds like it can harm animals. Alfalfa (legume hay) should not be fed to adults since it's high in calcium. You want to feed grass hay such as timothy, meadow grass, orchard grass, bluegrass.

[bpatters]

Wheat hay is similar in nutritional value to timothy, except that it's lower in calcium. I'd probably pick the wheat and throw a handful of alfalfa in every few days.

[cavy is better]

i hope it will be easy to buy the wheat. (Alfalfa is the easiest)

[Mastershroom]

Can you get orchard grass or meadow hay? Those are both safe options, and in my opinion better than timothy hay anyway.

[bpatters]

Alfalfa is not a grass hay -- it's a legume, like peas. It's too high in calcium to feed regularly to adult pigs, and it doesn't have the same nutritional value as grass hay.

What country do you live in?

[cavy is better]

i live in Israel.
does any one have experience with wheat hay for cavies? will they like it?

[cavy is better]

so how bad will it be to use Alfalfa? I am trying to find wheat hay but only Alfalfa is sold in cubes of 25 Kg, all other hay is sold in bales of about 450 Kg

[Mastershroom]

Alfalfa has too much calcium and protein for a healthy adult cavy. That excessive calcium can cause kidney stones.

[LeePetVet]

oat hay should be fine

[bpatters]

@LeePetVet , what do you base that on?

[LeePetVet]

@bpatters Oxbow sells oat hay.

[bpatters]

Oxbow also provides hay for any number of animals, small and large. Those animals have differing nutritional requirements, so the fact that Oxbow sells it isn't a recommendation for feeding it to a particular exotic pet.

[cavy is better]

so i got today from a farmer wheat hay and it looks that they are munching away on it even though it is brown. should i give them the wheat itself or to cut it out?

[bpatters]

I think probably just the hay, @cavy is better . The grain itself has a higher concentration of fat than GPs need, but they need the fiber in the hay strand to grind their teeth down and keep their guts moving.

[cavy is better]

i hope it was a good idea the wheat hay. they are eating a lot less from it then from alfalfa hay.
should i change back?

[cavy is better]

So I got a bale of oat hay and it is going great. Can it be that they are eating to much of it? when I see it empty I refill and they just go on eating.. it looks as if they love it

[CourtArtanis]

Any good quality meadow hay or grass hay type flora - Wheat, orchard (besides Alfafa). Whether it's local sourced or store bought.

1) Green hue, the greener the better
2) No stems, debris, sharp bits or seeds
3) Little to no dust (All hay has dust, but if you can see the dust it's normally a good indicator it's kept in poorer conditions)
4) Doesn't smell mouldy, damp, musty or chemical.

As far as i know, Isreal doesn't have the ideal climate for Timothy hay... (Too hot and dry)