Hay---help!

What about Oxbow hay?

amfeider said:

What about Oxbow hay?

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I didn't think about that, actually, since I have been going through KMS all the time. I will have to see if anyone around here has Oxbow. I would really like to buy it in large quantities like through KMS if possible, though, especially since my pigs eat so much and I have 5 of them. But thanks for the good suggestion, I had to resort to Kaytee hay today.....

If you are sure that someone has posted this already, go to the top of the page and type in the "Search Forum" field. Type in "Good Hay" I did, and I got great American Resources. If you are Canadian or another country and have no luck, look in your phone book for stables. Or go to a local farm. They are great resources for 3rd cut timothy.

I am glad you posted this thread because I am wondering about hay too.
I was just in a feed store today and asked about Timothy Hay.
They have it and sell it by the bail. One bail is $18.45. That is pretty good for the time it will last me. They said it comes out of Nevada where it is grown. How would I know if it is good or not?

Tipiman23 said:

If you are sure that someone has posted this already, go to the top of the page and type in the "Search Forum" field. Type in "Good Hay" I did, and I got great American Resources. If you are Canadian or another country and have no luck, look in your phone book for stables. Or go to a local farm. They are great resources for 3rd cut timothy.

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Well, thank you for the obvious solution, to do a search....which I DID...but I didn't see anything. I am sorry if it troubled you to HAVE to read my post...sheesh. I was just asking for some help, you didn't have to be snotty about it.

janetangel said:

I am glad you posted this thread because I am wondering about hay too.
I was just in a feed store today and asked about Timothy Hay.
They have it and sell it by the bail. One bail is $18.45. That is pretty good for the time it will last me. They said it comes out of Nevada where it is grown. How would I know if it is good or not?

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I actually don't really know how to tell if it is really good, but I know the KMS hay seems to be the best. It is soft and green. I went to a feed store once and the hay was dry and yellowed and had no scent at all, so to me it seemed pretty awful and I hated to feed it to my pigs. I will have to check around for some more feed stores. We don't seem to have too many of them in my area. Hopefully the stuff from your feed store will be better than my experience!

If you can't get KM's hay go with Oxbow or American Pet Diner.

janetangel said:

They said it comes out of Nevada where it is grown. How would I know if it is good or not?

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Ask to see the hay. I never buy bales without seeing it first. My feed store allows me to go back to the storeroom and I often hand choose the bail I want.

If they won't take you in back to see the hay they ask them to bring a nice big handful up to you.

Good idea Voodoo. The place is so small I think I could sample the hay first. It is two big guys who run the place. They seemed like they were customer service oriented.

Living in Hawaii its hard to get bundles of hay sent to us because most of the companies online who do sell hay won't ship to Hawaii. So I end up buying the biggest bag of Oxbow hay and buy like 4-5 at a time so that pigs have enough to have a unlimited supply of hay.

Good idea Voodoo. The place is so small I think I could sample the hay first. It is two big guys who run the place. They seemed like they were customer service oriented.

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It is a good idea, as for what to actually look for, make sure it smells good, nice and sweet, not damp or musty, that indicates mold.

I am sure looking for nice green, soft hay without a lot of other weeds in it is a no brainer. Also important is to ask how it is stored or if they know if it has been rained on. If it is stored outside or may have had "some rain" you could be looking at trouble!

I saw most of it stored outside under a HUGE ramada at the feed store. The guys there were pretty good about telling me how to store it for long term and make sure it did not get wet.
I told them if it went bad, yellow, I would bring it to the horses to snack on in addition to their regular hay and feed. There is also a goat I know who would enjoy it. They eat everything. If it got moldy I would just toss it.

May I ask what is wrong with Kaytee hay? I'm new to this and that's what I give my girls but if there is something wrong with it, I would like to give them something better. They really seem to like it and it is definitely expensive. Please share some piggie pointers, I will appreciate it.

The hay is probably the only thing Kaytee makes that isn't horrible. Their food has a carcinogenic preservative in it, and their treats are just junk food for pigs. The main problem with the hay is that is usually comes in very small bags, so it will end up costing a great deal more than buying from sources that you can order hay in bulk.

Kaytee is the best hay that can be bought in stores around here. Sometimes it is a little dusty though, and definately way way expensive! I don't think cost has anything to do with quality, just profit margins! Also, I heard that they run a pet mill and supply Petsmart with some sort of animal, but I forget which, birds maybe?

If you are in the US, your best bet is to order in bulk from someone like KM, Oxbow or even American pet dinner. In the end, it will save you a ton over Kaytee's prices!

GadgetGirl said:

May I ask what is wrong with Kaytee hay? I'm new to this and that's what I give my girls but if there is something wrong with it, I would like to give them something better. They really seem to like it and it is definitely expensive. Please share some piggie pointers, I will appreciate it.

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The Kaytee hay isn't horrible, it is just that the hay from Kleenmama's is so much better, plus I don't like to buy things from pet stores. I like the fact that the KMS hay comes straight from the farm. And even with shipping, it is SO much less expensive than the Kaytee, at least to have it sent where I live. And the KMS hay is nice, soft, pretty green and fragrant, unlike the Kaytee.