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Hay Any update on KMS pellets?

pinky

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I ordered on 12/17 and got a message on 12/28 that there was a fire at the mill so orders would be delayed. There was an update on their site date 1/1 but nothing since. Anyone received timothy pellets recently?
 

pinky

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I ordered both pellets and bluegrass hay in October and received the shipment in a timely manner. But, that was probably prior to the fire.

This recent shipment of bluegrass was absolutely the worst quality I have ever seen! >( Lots of brown with no long green strands, only short pieces. Since I complained last year as well, I doubt that Linda will want to hear from me in this regard.

Because my husband is wildly allergic to timothy hay, I seem to be a prisoner of KMS insofar as bluegrass is concerned. Is there any other source???

I always order Oxbow orchard grass from either PetFoodDirect.com or DrsFoster&Smith.com. Pet Food Direct had a good sale so I ordered 50 lbs on 1/5 and I got an update saying it's out for UPS delivery today. I've always been happy with Oxbow. I'll let you know how it looks. If it gets here late, I won't be opening it today since I have UPS put it in my garage...

I found a craiglist ad for 25 lbs of Oxbow timothy hay for really cheap so I bought it. I'm allergic but figured it wouldn't bother me too much....WRONG. Since I moved the pigs up in the spare bedroom, there's less air circulation than downstairs where I have an open floor plan. I took it over to our local animal control this morning because I can't take the itchy eyes and sneezing anymore.
 

urofan

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I like the Jojo's Best timothy hay. I like the new Oxbow packaging for their hay products.
 

urofan

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Have you tired the Oxbow Organic Meadow Hay? The Sweet Meadow Hay Brand offers a lot of different types of hay for sale.
 

sallyvh

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I would also recommend the 50lb boxes of Oxbow orchard grass . I have been buying them for a couple years now and every box I get is really nice.

I just picked up a new box last week and it was beautiful. Very soft, green and fresh. My pigs won't eat any other hay now!
 

foggycreekcavy

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For those allergic to timothy, you might try the 3rd cutting of timothy. I'm allergic to timothy, but it appears to be the seed heads that cause it. The 3rd cutting timothy has very little seed heads (if any) and is mostly the nice soft leaf part of the plant. No pokey stems and pesky seed heads. I can tolerate it as well as orchard grass.

And the pigs love it!

As for the pellets, I can't wait any longer for KMS right now, so I put in an order to Small Pet Select for their pellets. I love KMS, though, so as soon as they become available again I'll go back.
 

SquigglyPigs

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This recent shipment of bluegrass was absolutely the worst quality I have ever seen! >( Lots of brown with no long green strands, only short pieces.
I agree! Unfortunately I ordered an absolutely huge box of hay this time since last time I ordered it, it was green and lovely. So now I'm stuck with a big box of brownish hay with lots of leaves in it. Oh well...the pigs are still eating it like it's the greatest thing in the world so as long as they're still happy I will be too!
 

kairi26

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Always good information, but we're talking about alternatives to timothy hay. An important distinction because many are allergic to timothy.
I second the thumbs up for oxbow's new packaging. I've been getting their orchard grass at a local farmer's co-op and the medium sized bag fits perfectly in the cubby made of grids that supports my C&C.

While I liked the 3rd cut Timothy that I ordered from KMS a few months ago, I never found a good way to store it in my crowded apartment. I considered building multiple storage boxes that I could split the contents of the bag into and slide under my cage, but I became too busy for a creative project. I know it's a bit pricier to buy smaller amounts of hay, but I like the convenience of being able to buy it whenever it runs low without worrying about shipments or supply.
 

pinky

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@Pinky......many thanks for the prompt response. Perhaps I'll buy a small quantity of the Orchard Grass and see how we fare with it. If it's a no-go, I know a guy locally who has five cavies at last count and who will be happy to have it.
I got the hay and it's beautiful and fragrant:
https://s738.photobucket.com/user/kavykeeper/media/20160107_184709_zpse05uzbcm.jpg.html (<script class="js-extraPhrases" type="application/json"> { "lightbox_close": "Close", "lightbox_next": "Next", "lightbox_previous": "Previous", "lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.", "lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow", "lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow", "lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen", "lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails", "lightbox_download": "Download", "lightbox_share": "Share", "lightbox_zoom": "Zoom", "lightbox_new_window": "New window", "lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar" } </script> <div class="bbImageWrapper js-lbImage" title="20160107_184709_zpse05uzbcm.jpg" data-src="/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fi738.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fxx28%2Fkavykeeper%2F20160107_184709_zpse05uzbcm.jpg&amp;hash=8fcfcc09b4593dd9152d6e742c5b010f" data-lb-sidebar-href="" data-lb-caption-extra-html="" data-single-image="1"> <img src="/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fi738.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fxx28%2Fkavykeeper%2F20160107_184709_zpse05uzbcm.jpg&amp;hash=8fcfcc09b4593dd9152d6e742c5b010f" data-url="https://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx28/kavykeeper/20160107_184709_zpse05uzbcm.jpg" class="bbImage" data-zoom-target="1" style="" alt="20160107_184709_zpse05uzbcm.jpg" title="" width="" height="" loading="lazy" /> </div>) https://s738.photobucket.com/user/kavykeeper/media/20160107_184730_zpsjqyvsora.jpg.html (<div class="bbImageWrapper js-lbImage" title="20160107_184730_zpsjqyvsora.jpg" data-src="/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fi738.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fxx28%2Fkavykeeper%2F20160107_184730_zpsjqyvsora.jpg&amp;hash=f32f6ce20a3240480e3e266c1da4ea23" data-lb-sidebar-href="" data-lb-caption-extra-html="" data-single-image="1"> <img src="/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fi738.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fxx28%2Fkavykeeper%2F20160107_184730_zpsjqyvsora.jpg&amp;hash=f32f6ce20a3240480e3e266c1da4ea23" data-url="https://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx28/kavykeeper/20160107_184730_zpsjqyvsora.jpg" class="bbImage" data-zoom-target="1" style="" alt="20160107_184730_zpsjqyvsora.jpg" title="" width="" height="" loading="lazy" /> </div>)
 

Paula

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I ordered both pellets and bluegrass hay in October and received the shipment in a timely manner. But, that was probably prior to the fire.

This recent shipment of bluegrass was absolutely the worst quality I have ever seen! >( Lots of brown with no long green strands, only short pieces. Since I complained last year as well, I doubt that Linda will want to hear from me in this regard.

Because my husband is wildly allergic to timothy hay, I seem to be a prisoner of KMS insofar as bluegrass is concerned. Is there any other source???
Is buying locally an option? I had to find a good source of hay and pellets after a fairly terrible customer service interaction with KMS and fortunately I'm able to find absolutely beautiful orchard grass locally. Not sure what your options might be in CT, though.
 

Rywen

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I received a really nice batch of orchard hay from small pet select, I think that was in November.
 

pinky

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I received a really nice batch of orchard hay from small pet select, I think that was in November.
The one time I got hay from them, it was very nice. The mill where KMS pellets are made had the fire so only the production of pellets was affected.
 

pinky

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I got an update with a UPS tracking number on Monday but no updates on UPS tracking whether it's in transit.... Estimated delivery is Friday so we'll see,
 

FoxOfShadows

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my most recent order from KMS which was a 45lb box of 3rd cut timothy hay was shipped out on a monday but tracking didn't update till like the day before it arrived which was annoying but the hay is awesome as normal
 

Artista

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I got KMS timothy pellets today. I hadn't bought this since I think early last year since I have 1 pig. Why is this green? I still have a little of last year's and it's brown. Anyone know if anything's changed?

At least she's eating it, but it reminds me awhile back when they changed their formula and people complained and they switched back. I wonder what's changed. Why green now vs brown of last year? At least Mooshy's eating it or I'd be upset over the wasted pellets and money.
 
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bpatters

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The color depends on the hay, I think. I've used KMS pellets off and on for a long time, and the color has always varied a little.

They changed the formula because they changed mills that were making the pellets. I've forgotten the details, but the mill she was using either went out of business or raised its prices or something. They tried a new formula, trying to reduce the soy, I believe, but pigs didn't like the pellets.
 

pinky

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I got KMS timothy pellets today. I hadn't bought this since I think early last year since I have 1 pig. Why is this green? I still have a little of last year's and it's brown. Anyone know if anything's changed?

At least she's eating it, but it reminds me awhile back when they changed their formula and people complained and they switched back. I wonder what's changed. Why green now vs brown of last year? At least Mooshy's eating it or I'd be upset over the wasted pellets and money.

I got mine Monday and they all like them. I wondered if they switched back the formula a bit because they seem more eager to eat them.
 

Artista

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Mooshy cleaned up her bowl quicker than before. I give her 1 TBSP in the am and 1 TBSP in the eve. I just hope the calcium content remains the same since I have sludge issues. That's my main concern really as I'm thrilled that it wasn't rejected.
 

FoxOfShadows

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unless KMS has changed again which i dont think they have changed the pellets since they did so about this time last year and they had figured stuff out and made the pellets tasty again and even lowered the calcium it use to like a max of .54 but now the min is .41 and the max is .43 which is really good
 

pinky

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unless KMS has changed again which i dont think they have changed the pellets since they did so about this time last year and they had figured stuff out and made the pellets tasty again and even lowered the calcium it use to like a max of .54 but now the min is .41 and the max is .43 which is really good

I have a freezer bag full of the last batch I got which was the improved recipe. The color of the new pellets are completely different. These are very green, almost like the original recipe but not as crumbly.
 
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