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General Yellow Hay

effyastrid

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I bought the same brand of hay I usually buy online, its timothy and rye hay. I just received a bag of it and the entire bag of hay is yellow and has thick, prickly strands. This has never happened before. It also has a strong smell, not musty, but the normal smell, just stronger. I fed some to them and they ate it but I'm not sure if it's good for them. It was quite pricey too... Should I throw it away? And any good hay brands you guys can suggest? Thanks.
 

TheGuineaPigGal

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What brand was it?


We recommend Oxbow and KMS hay and pellets on the forum.
 
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bpatters

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I'd call them and tell them it's unacceptable. Hay should be green, not yellow. Hay that's too dry and old has no nutritional value.
 

effyastrid

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What brand was it?


We recommend Oxbow and KMS hay and pellets on the forum.

i'm from Australia, so a brand here is Peters Hay. I'll definitely order some Oxbow and KMS. Because I'm 17, money is a slight issue but I definitely don't want to feed my piggies this bad quality hay. Thank you so much for the recommendations!
 

TheGuineaPigGal

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bpatters

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You can't get KMS hay in Australia, and you may not be able to get Oxbow.

If you can find a horse farm somewhere, guinea pigs can usually eat any hay that horses can. You might be able to buy enough for your guinea pigs from the horse owner, or find out where they get their hay.
[MENTION=24757]Soecara[/MENTION], you got any ideas?
 

Soecara

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The problem with Timothy hay here in Australia is that it doesn't grow well in our climate so all the timothy hay you will find has been imported from other countries. As such it is usually very poor quality simply due to how long it is in transit, and often organic matter coming into Australia needs to be irradiated to eliminate any insects hitching a ride on the products.

I personally usually feed my guinea pigs Oaten hay, but on occasion when the Oaten hay is poor quality I will instead feed Wheaten hay. These are the only hay types grown locally to me. Avoid hays mixed with Lucerne, as Lucerne is another name for Alfalfa which is too high in calcium for guinea pigs. Make sure to visually inspect the bale before purchase for any signs of mould or excessive weed content (some weeds occasionally make it into a bale, but if you can visually see that there are plants that are not grass in the bale from the outside of the bale that is a sign of a bad bale).

Try finding a fodder store near you and ask them what hays they stock, my local fodder stores keep the hay in back sheds so you have to ask to view the bales, they are rectangle bales.
 

effyastrid

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@bpatters [MENTION=24757]Soecara[/MENTION] Thank you so much for the help, I actually found a few Australian sites that sell Oxbow hay, I'll check the reviews and definitely order a bag.
 

TheGuineaPigGal

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The problem with Timothy hay here in Australia is that it doesn't grow well in our climate so all the timothy hay you will find has been imported from other countries. As such it is usually very poor quality simply due to how long it is in transit, and often organic matter coming into Australia needs to be irradiated to eliminate any insects hitching a ride on the products.

I personally usually feed my guinea pigs Oaten hay, but on occasion when the Oaten hay is poor quality I will instead feed Wheaten hay. These are the only hay types grown locally to me. Avoid hays mixed with Lucerne, as Lucerne is another name for Alfalfa which is too high in calcium for guinea pigs. Make sure to visually inspect the bale before purchase for any signs of mould or excessive weed content (some weeds occasionally make it into a bale, but if you can visually see that there are plants that are not grass in the bale from the outside of the bale that is a sign of a bad bale).

Try finding a fodder store near you and ask them what hays they stock, my local fodder stores keep the hay in back sheds so you have to ask to view the bales, they are rectangle bales.


I apologize. I didn't know that KMS didn't deliver to Austrailia.
 
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