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UK Safe hay?

muffin

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Hi guys, I'm posting this here because it doesn't really apply to the US hays. I feed my pigs Oxbow timothy, but I'm going to make them a hayloft and thought it would be good to line it with cheaper hay so the piggies could pee on that and eat the timothy. I found a local-ish farmer that can sell me horse standard hay, a mixture of timothy and ryegrass, for £3 a bale! Wow! Do you think this stuff would be safe providing it's dry, non-musty etc? Nutritionally it wouldn't be that great but it's just a 'liner'. Also, I can collect a fair amount of long stemmed wild grasses from the edge of my Mum's garden over the summer period to feed fresh to my piggies. Are all types of grass and their seedheads in the UK safe? This seems a silly question, but I'd hate to go ahead without asking and end up harming my piggies.:sad: I looked at rabbitwelfare.org, and they have a picture of one kind of wild grass I recognise, but no others. I checked on GL and ryegrass is lower in calcium than timothy, so that shouldn't be a worry. Knowing my piggies, they will eat all the cheap stuff and pee on the healthier and expensive imported hay! If anyone knows about humidity levels of horse hay and how good they are for piggies I'd also appreciate your input, since the farmer started talking about humidity levels, but I didn't really understand what they meant for piggies or storability of hay.

Thanks in advance.
 

cavy-cool-crazy

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I worked at a rescue which feeds timothy & rye and it goes down a treat. My own pigs loved it.

I personally use Tesco Meadow Hay bedding as the main hay. I mix a little Oxbow Orchard Grass in to give it a bit more variety. The Tesco hay is green and all in all excellent quality. One large bag (£3.60 or something) lasts me a week with four pigs. It would be a good liner for your cage if the timothy & rye doesn't work out.

Can't help out with the rest - sorry!
 

Treen

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I get hay from a horsey goods supplier, I think it's just meadow hay though.
 

Slap Maxwell

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Ryegrass is fine. It is similar to timothy, but the issue is that it turns brown the day after being cut. So they hay will be brown, but just fine to eat.
 

clover-crystal

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I never realised that they could eat Ryegrass, I have seen some of this at our suppliers (it doesn't sell animals) and didn't realise they could eat it. Thank you!
 

Ly&Pigs

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I believe Rye is a grain grass which isn't good for everyday use.
 

Slap Maxwell

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Rye is fine everyday if mixed in with another hay, like bluegrass or timothy, according to KM.
 

Ly&Pigs

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Thanks Slap, I learned something new. I have never used Rye but I know it's a grain hay. It must have lower nutrients than some of the other grain hays which makes it ok for everyday as long as it's mixed with another hay.
 

muffin

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Thanks guys. I wonder if the farmer has any broken bales. Otherwise storage could be tricky, if I keep it in my storage shed it would be at risk from mice, since there are ventilation holes on the back wall. Did anyone else know that mice can squeeze through a hole the diameter of a pencil? Yikes! I didn't believe it until I saw it on TV. No hay is safe! Mind you, I could try putting fine mesh over the holes, that would work.
Thanks for all your help everybody.
 
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