Hay Suggestions on hay

Re: New hay... lukewarm welcome - How long do I give them to adjust?

Kim37040 said:

So, the sweat meadow came in today.
Like I mentioned previously, my boys used to eat it back when I first got them.
But today you would think I gave them poop.... and not the good kind that they like.
Patch sniffed at it. Nibbled a little. But that was it.
George has nibbled at it a little, but it is obvious that he is not gonna have any gusto for it.

The girls sniffed and did not even bother.


I have 30 lbs of this hay and no idea when Kleenmama will have any timothy for sale.
So, how long do I give them to adjust to the new hay?

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Give them time to adjust to the difference in taste. I switch back and forth between timothy and orchard grass, depending on price, and they take a day or so to eat the new one. After that, they gorge themselves on it. Just freshen it or offer it in a different spot in the cage.

Kim37040 said:

So, I had 45 lbs of 3rd cut sitting in my KMS shopping cart for a week.
I have been super busy with work as a prep for a new semester.

So, now KMS is all out of 3rd cut hay.

My piggies are down to the scraps.

I don't have fresh local hay at my access.
So, I am looking for suggestions on what hay I should get for piggies since their all time fav is not available.

Would it be beneficial to do the bluegrass? Or should I go to another company altogether?


Thanks a bunch

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My pigs love small pet select, its $79.99 for 60 lbs with free shipping.
(broken link removed)

bpatters said:

Small Pet Select may be awesome, but I'm not paying $3 a pound for hay when I can get KMS for $1 a pound, and several others for not much more than that.

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I buy 60 lbs and it comes to $1.34 a pound because of free shipping, kms with shipping came to like a $1.50 a lb.

Wanted to chime in and say thank you for this thread because I may need more hay and KMS is out.

Kim, do your piggies chew on other things a lot with the 3rd cut? I ask because my babies have had KMS bluegrass but I switched to 3rd cut timothy and now it seems they gnaw on things much more than before. I wonder if their teeth aren't getting worn down enough. What happens with your herd?

@lunarminx, thanks for posting that. The other sizes don't offer free shipping, and I wasn't looking at the 60 pound size. Since KMS is out, I'll order some today.

I am afraid mine are not gonna warm up to Sweat Meadow enough to keep the teeth health benefits of the hay, so, I went ahead and ordered 60 lbs of the small pet select as well.
I will continue to try the sweet meadow. Will probably mix a little of it in with their other hay. I refuse to let it go to waste since I just spent $49 for 33 lbs of it.

So, when the small pet select comes in I swill have around 90 lbs of hay for these greedy, but surprisingly picky, little pigs.

Thanks for your suggestion I like the price of this 60 lb box

lunarminx said:

My pigs love small pet select, its $79.99 for 60 lbs with free shipping.
(broken link removed)

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I think mixing it with the other hay is a good idea to trick them into some of it. I get sweet meadow for my boys sometimes too, but they don't prefer it. After a couple days though they realize that's what they are getting and then will 'pig out' on it. It always, I think, smells so fresh and is not dusty and is soft, but they love the seed heads and the really hard pieces they get in their kaytee or oxbow. I am always like, I don't understand you boys if I were you I'd eat this hay lol

Kelly9 said:

Wanted to chime in and say thank you for this thread because I may need more hay and KMS is out.

Kim, do your piggies chew on other things a lot with the 3rd cut? I ask because my babies have had KMS bluegrass but I switched to 3rd cut timothy and now it seems they gnaw on things much more than before. I wonder if their teeth aren't getting worn down enough. What happens with your herd?

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I haven't really noticed a lot of extra gnawing from the girls. The boys have these chew toys that they seem to love and George especially likes to chew on his.
The last time I went to the vet with the boys she did a check of their molars. Not by putting them to sleep but by prying their mouth open and shining a light in.
She said they looked good.

I might look into seeing how they like bluegrass at some point if it has a texture that is between 2nd and 3rd cut timothy.

Update on hay situation

So, I ordered 60 lbs of hay from Small Pet Select.
It won't be in till the 30th. Seems like forever but it was free shipping so I won't complain.
I am hopeful that the pigs will eat it cause they are serious hay snobs. The boys simply will not eat the Sweet Meadow. The girls are nibbling at it cause I can smell it on their face. It is some really good hay.
I was down to the dusty scraps in their KMS 3rd cut box. So, I put it in a mesh laundry bag and took it outside and shook it till all the dust was out. They have quickly gone through all of that.
So, it looks like I will have to go tomorrow and get a bag of Oxbow

I will never let myself get low on their favorite hay ever again.

bpatters said:

@lunarminx , thanks for posting that. The other sizes don't offer free shipping, and I wasn't looking at the 60 pound size. Since KMS is out, I'll order some today.

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@bpatters
Did you end up ordering yours? Have you received it yet?
Just curious. I ordered some around the same time and wondering how long it usually takes.
The tracking info is not that clear on my order.

Thanks

KMS has blue grass back in stock and tim hay 2nd cut should be in stock in a couple weeks! yay! Here's the latest updates:

(broken link removed)

Their hay is so popular that they ran out of everything!

Re: New hay... lukewarm welcome - How long do I give them to adjust?



Hay came in today from Small Pet Direct.
It looks and smells sooooo good!
And I love the fact that it came loose in the box and not in a plastic bag within the box.

And the pigs immediately started to eat it!
It is not the same texture as KMS 3rd cut but it is a great mix of a 3rd and 2nd cut.

Big thanks for the suggestion @Melissa123
I need to look at the numbers but I am thinking that this is actually cheaper for me than KMS.
If so, I am switching for sure.

Hi guys

I don't get much of a chance to check this forum often but I was running really low on KMS hay and also noticed they were out of 3rd cut . I jumped on the 60 lbs hay from SmallPetSelect just now thanks to you guys. Kinda funny how we all must've purchased at the same time in bulk and ran out near the same time.


Cheers!

Re: New hay... lukewarm welcome - How long do I give them to adjust?

Kim37040 said:

View attachment 55143

Hay came in today from Small Pet Direct.
It looks and smells sooooo good!
And I love the fact that it came loose in the box and not in a plastic bag within the box.

And the pigs immediately started to eat it!
It is not the same texture as KMS 3rd cut but it is a great mix of a 3rd and 2nd cut.

Big thanks for the suggestion @Melissa123
I need to look at the numbers but I am thinking that this is actually cheaper for me than KMS.
If so, I am switching for sure.

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Oops I meant Small Pet ​Select.

@Kim37040 I know you're piglets did not like the Sweet Meadow, but in the hay's defense these boys are looooving it! I used to order it all the time, I think I am back to that although I may need to get the pellets from KMS becaouse of Pickle's issue with stones.

Ahh. I am so glad they like it.
They are adorable too!

Agrimony said:

@Kim37040 I know you're piglets did not like the Sweet Meadow, but in the hay's defense these boys are looooving it! I used to order it all the time, I think I am back to that although I may need to get the pellets from KMS becaouse of Pickle's issue with stones.

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