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Australia Petstore-bought hay

manda2paran

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Just a little tip for all of you who live in the big smoke (auckland) and buy hay from the pet store (especially animates), buy the 5L compressed hay instead of the the big bags. These smell fresher, sweeter and don't have the hard twiggy bits. They're a bit costlier, but your piggies will love it.

But if you have access to a farm where you can get hay from, that's still the best option.
 

Skylarnz

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Hi I must say that I have tried the new compressed hay bags from Animates and was not impressed at all!! They do not hold the same amount of the big bags and the hay was not any better....maybe just the one I tried! I am looking for hay from the farm but not sure where to go. Don't want to end up with the bad stuff!
 

kananaka

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(broken link removed)
 

kananaka

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If you go to the web site it has some retail locations that say they stock pellets and/or hay at least in Australia. Idk about NZ but I thought it might be worth a shot....
 

mari11

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The Oxbow website needs some serious updating - make sure you call before going out of your way if you're looking for Oxbox. I like the quality of their pellets though. Haven't tried the hay.

Skylarnz, are there feed/farm/horse shops near you? The quality varies anyway depending on the season but they all usually have types of hay and you can check the bales before you buy - avoid any stored directly on concrete floors if you can.
 

Skylarnz

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HI [MENTION=15597]mari11[/MENTION] thanks, I will see if I can find a horse shop that stocks hay, I have found a lot on our auction site "Trade Me" but not sure how to know if they are any good? How old should the hay be? I have found hay that was from Jan 2012 and Mar 2012.... sorry I don't know that much about hay!!
 

bpatters

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A hay field is harvested two, maybe three times a year. Any hay you buy right before the first harvest is nearly a year old. And that's fine -- hay will keep without losing its nutritional value for nearly two years if it's stored properly.
 

mari11

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I read a while back about a strawbale house in the mid US, built in the early 1900's that was damaged and being pulled down a few years ago - the cows in the next paddock were eating the walls in preference to their fodder because the hay was so well preserved under the render.

Try asking where they store the hay if you can't see it before you buy. - anyone doing it properly will be happy to tell you.
 

Skylarnz

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Hi
What I am wondering about is that everyone says we should look for the greenest hay but all the hay I have found is mostly yellow/brown in colour. I always look for the greenest bag but its hard at times......I was asked by a pet store staff ones what I was doing looking at all the bags and she told me "Oh hay should be yellow/brown because if its green then its not hay but grass!" Ok so what is the story with the hay? Is the brown/yellow stuff bad? From my horse days I can remember that all the horse hay was this brown/yellow colour and not green!!
I will be looking around and asking about where it is kept etc. thanks everyone for the input!! :)
 

madelineelaine

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hay should be green soft and fragrant !
 

RodentCuddles

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Wait? So hays meant to be green? I've been buying mine from animates but will stop now as it sounds like its no good what so ever.
 

Skylarnz

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Wait? So hays meant to be green? I've been buying mine from animates but will stop now as it sounds like its no good what so ever.

[MENTION=23045]RodentCuddles[/MENTION] yes green!! Its hard to find it here I don't know if its a NZ thing? Is all the hay in the US green? I also get mine from animates and I always look for the greenest bag.....I was thinking to try the Petex brand sold at fourseasons pet shop. Maybe they are better? Has anyone tried it? Or does anyone know of good hay from horse stables?
 

CavyMama

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I was asked by a pet store staff ones what I was doing looking at all the bags and she told me "Oh hay should be yellow/brown because if its green then its not hay but grass!"

Some hay is brown or yellow because it's drier than others. Fresh hay though should be green and soft.
 

Skylarnz

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@CavyMama is the brown/yellow stuff then no good for our piggies? What if we can't find any fresh green hay? All hay that I have see in pet stores and on our auction site (Trade Me) is all the brown/yellow stuff and that is hay used for small animals and/or horses...... I asked the people selling the hay and they all say they don't have any green ones!! If anyone in NZ have found green hay please let me know!! Thanks
 

mufasa

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I would never buy brown or yellow hay. I was in Target yesterday, and they had Kaytee hay and hay-stuffed cardboard tubes on closeout. I looked just in case I could get a bargain, as I've seen fairly decent Kaytee hay occasionally, but this stuff was the pits! Totally yellow/brown and unappetizing. I could see why they were closing out those products. I don't think anyone bought any since they opened the store. It's a shame because my piggies love it when I stuff their hay in toilet paper tubes, so I would have liked to get some of the big pre-stuffed tubes for them as a change of pace.
 

mari11

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Fresh hay is green, most bales will be yellow on the outside and green to varying degrees inside. Lucerne stays very green, pasture hay less so. The colour doesn't make too much difference if they're eating grass or other greens as well.

This time of year there's probably not much fresh cut hay around anyway so don't worry too much about the colour. As long as it smells grassy and not musty you're good.

My two have fresh (growing in the ground fresh) hay grass and they still like to eat the yellow hay in the rack too.
 

RodentCuddles

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I've been thinking and seeing as the only hay I can find for my piggies is really bad and expired, is it okay not to feed it to them? As for the second time they have gotten mites from the hay, both hays were brought at different stores. Will it be okay if I don't give them hay?

Pellets I feed them:

pizap.com10.144847922492772341340257259560.jpg

The pellets I feed them is a life-stage mix designed for adult pet piggies over 8 months of age. It is as complete a diet as you can manufacture for guinea pigs, the only addition it requires if a small piece (approximately 25grams) of high Vitamin C fresh veg - they recommend Red Capsicum, Spinach & Kale – and fresh water.

Ingredients include; Mixed hay’s & herbs.

Nutritional overview...
Fibre - 29%
Protein - 15%
Fat – 1%
Note; Due to the nature of the ingredients the exact nutritional breakdown can fluctuate from season to season depending on growing conditions.
 
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Skylarnz

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Hi I would think that you would still need to give them hay. I know I said before that I found the 5L compressed measdow hay from Animates not to be any better than the big bags but I must say that I bought 3 packs on a special and they have been much greener and fresher than the big bags!! Yes they are more costly but really worth it!! Have you tried that one before [MENTION=23045]RodentCuddles[/MENTION]?? Its the only hay I will buy now!! P.S. how do you find that pellets? Does your piggies like them??
 

RodentCuddles

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I've tried the 5L compressed bags but they didn't seem any better, but I'll try them again. :)
My piggies got the mites from their big bags this time so just want to be on the safe side..

My piggies love the pellets!!! It is Little Chintas Guinea Pig Food, just search it up on Trademe.
 
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