Hay Poll II (Where you buy your hay)

[widallas]

Excuse my ignorance, but what exactly do you ask for when trying to buy hay from a stable or farm? I called a few places, and as soon as I mentioned a guinea pig they went straight to hay and I couldn't convince them that it was, indeed, hay I was in need of for my "rats".... Is horse hay suitable? Or do I ask specifically for timothy hay? And, how hard is it to transport and store hay from a farm? (I just ordered from KM's hayloft, and although I know her stuff is great, we don't have a lot of extra money kicking around for stuff like this....)

[Slap Maxwell]

Hay is pretty much hay. When you call ask them what the color and texture, and smell are like. It should be green, soft, and good smelling. Ask what cutting it is. 2nd and 3rd are better than 1st for pigs. Average price will be around $3-$10 depending on quality. A bale runs from 35-50 lbs. If it feels heavy don't get it. You can use any type of grass hay, like orchard, oat, brome, bluegrass, or timothy. The bales they store it in come in flakes that seperate from each other when you cut the strings. Bales are around 1.5x3.5 feet square.

A peice of a bale seperated into flakes: http://www.windward.org/notes/notes63/bale01.jpg

An excellent hay supplier (my personal favorite) is www.sweetmeadowfarm.com. It is closer to you than KM's.

[Ly&Pigs]

I get bermuda grass hay locally and the bales weigh around 75-90 lbs. It's only $3.50 a bale and lasts 6 pigs for about 4-6 months.

[Sabriel]

At the moment I buy from PetSmart/Vets but next month I'm getting a bale from a friend that has a hay farm. That should last me a long time.

NewPiggieLover- Which PetValu do you get your hay from? My Pet Valu (Bloor and Keele) has the worst hay on the planet. It's so yellow my husband thought it was straw. I find PetValus tend to varry in quality.

[NewPiggyLover]

Originally Posted by Sabriel

At the moment I buy from PetSmart/Vets but next month I'm getting a bale from a friend that has a hay farm. That should last me a long time.

NewPiggieLover- Which PetValu do you get your hay from? My Pet Valu (Bloor and Keele) has the worst hay on the planet. It's so yellow my husband thought it was straw. I find PetValus tend to varry in quality.

I agree - they do vary greatly in quality. There is one near me (Davisville & Bayview) that I never go to because it simply doesn't stock decent small animal supplies. The one location where I have found that hay that I like was at Lawrence & Bathurst. I haven't been there in a while though - I got my last hay at PetSmart, a big bag that is lasting a long time. If you are happy with the hay you get from your friend - stick with that. It's bound to be cheaper than hay from any store around here!

[TheQueen]

I get mine from Agway. It's pretty cheap. Sometimes if they're out, I'll buy from Walmart, Target, or Pet Depot. I think I'm going to try some of KM's though.

[LuvMyPiggers]

Recently switched to sweet meadow hay.

[TheMadWheeker]

I have been buying my hay from Walmart but after this bag will be getting some from KM

[Piglet]

I get mine from a feed store/farm. They order me guinea pig pellets, have readigrass and bedding, which is pretty useful!

[C&R5567]

It appears that there's been a slam-oxbow and join-our-bandwagon thing going on so I'll be the one who sticks with what I consider to be true quality product, as well as the others and say that I love oxbow's hay, my pets do and I'll continue to buy from www.oxbowhay.com.

And their customer service is stellar.

[claypig]

We get our Oxbow Timothy hay from a local pet supply store (that does not sell animals). The owner is a doll and orders the 9 lb. box for us (she also gives us a discount on CareFresh if we buy 4 bags at a time). If any of you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, we'd highly recommend "Sunset Pet Supplies" on Taraval at 31st Ave. in the City.

claypig

[ilovemykisses]

Chain store.. although, I didn't know target and walmart sold hay. Gosh, I got to walk around the stores more often. *blinks*

Thanks for the information.

[jdomans]

Unfortunately my guys (chinchilla included) won't eat the hay my daughter feeds to her horses! I get mine at PetsMart. The same Kaytee at Wal-Mart didn't look good to me. I think it sits there longer or something.

[Rodents_TX]

I get mine at the feedstore i get the haybale and have in a nice haybale cover so it won't go bad i figure since i got horses and other livestock i just get it there and also they sell items for guinea pigs at the pet store i go .

[Cavie Cove]

I get mine from the local sadderly(sp?) It costs £2.60 for a huge bale.
Some people freez their hay in small ammounts to kill off any mites that maight be in them. Personaly I haven't done this so I'm not quite sure how you go about it but apparantly its a very good way to kill off any mites that might be in the hay.
Has anyone ever done this?

[Ly&Pigs]

I don't think I would freeze hay. Freezing things tend to change the nutritional value in them.

[Fluff_n_roll]

CAn any one tell me if the American Pet Diner type hay is good. I have been useing the hay from my petshops, but have been thinking about changing because it's not much more.

I also have another question.

What makes the hay different? Or better?