General Hack for buying guinea pig bedding and hay and food additions

[Spartan021]

I recently started working at a horse barn and noticed they use a lot of food and bedding that guinea pigs can use.

I found that they feed the horses Timothy and Alfalfa pellets which can be added to guinea pig pellets and is a great way to help guinea pigs that are lacking or need the extra vitamins and should be eating alfalfa hay.

I also found that instead of the small bags of hay you find in pet stores that a bale of hay is much cheaper and lasts way longer.

Another thing I found was that the horses have kiln dried pine shavings that come in way bigger bags for the same price and can come in smaller pieces (not sure if smaller would be better or if larger is better).


So what's your guy's opinion on what I've seen and learned?

I don't want to buy a 50lb bag of alfalfa and timothy if it shouldn't be fed, though the pellet brand I buy comes with timothy pellets already mixed in so I'd only need to buy alfalfa.

Is kiln dried bedding better in smaller or larger pieces, because if it is the bedding comes in sizes as small as fines which is a little thicker and larger than sand and it clumps around moisture. It's almost like cat litter but for horses.

 

[bpatters]

Don't feed the guinea pigs the pellets. They're very likely to have much higher calcium than guinea pigs need, and you'll spend more on stone removal surgery than you'll save on pellets. I've known several pigs that have been feed generic pellets from a feed store, and every one has had bladder stones.

You need to feed a plain timothy pellet. The best on the market are KMS Hayloft (available online) and Oxbow. I wouldn't consider feeding my pigs anything else.

As far as the pine shavings go, if they smell strongly of pine, don't use them. The aromatic phenols can cause lung and liver damage. But if there's no pine odor they should be OK.

Nearly every post I've made about hay on this forum has recommended local hay if you can find a good quality grass hay. It's by far the cheapest way to buy hay. The stuff you buy in bags in a pet store is the most expensive by a large margin. If you can't get local, I recommend buying online. If you buy the largest box available, it will be less than half the cost per pound of pet store bagged hay.

 

[koalamissy]

I can?t remember off the top of my head at the moment, but is it okay to feed alfalfa hay to grown pigs? I have an opportunity to get a bale of alfalfa for only $5 but won?t do it if it?s not good for them. Thanks


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[bpatters]

No. Alfalfa has way too much calcium for adult pigs.