Hay KMS Hayloft Bluegrass hay

[chickpea616]

So I determined that I'm allergic to at least some forms of Timothy Hay after a trip to immediate care last year (wheezing, hives, the whole bit). I then switched to Orchard Grass and the piggies (and I) have been loving that - I seemed to not be bothered by it so much; maybe a little but not a lot. Well, after filling the bin with hay just tonight (I transfer from the huge box it comes in, into a hamper that I can fill the cage from) I noticed I felt weird in the chest and throat and went to get my rescue inhaler.

Now that I've read through some forums, it seems like Bluegrass is the way to go for highly allergic people. However, KMS Hayloft is the only place I've found it so far, and they state on their website that it's kind of a hybrid between Bluegrass and Orchard Grass. I'm wondering if that will make a difference in my allergies or not.

Does anyone here that has allergies to hay find that KMS's Bluegrass is alright for them to handle, and if not, then where to you get your Bluegrass from? Also, is there any other hay that I should consider looking at, given my track record?

Thanks in advance!

 

[SSLee]

I am also allergic to timothy hay, not to the extend you are, and have found orchard and KMS bluegrass to work well for me. As far as I know, KMS is the only place to buy blue grass hay.

I also read that oat hay is also good for people with allergies but do not know if it is acceptable for everyday usage. I give oat hay to the piggies every few days to mix things up. You can buy anywhere between 12 ounces to 50 lbs of oat hay through Small Pet Select (SPS). I've also bought Oxbow oat hay but it is not comparable to the ones from SPS. Right now the Oxbow oat hay I'm using is crumbly versus the nice long strands from SPS.

 

[spy9doc]

Here is the link to a recent thread where we have been discussing hay.

https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/123186-Best-Hay

When we began keeping cavies (this time period) about 10 years ago, we discovered that my husband was wildly allergic to timothy hay. He had blinding headaches and other symptoms (fortunately no anaphylactic symptoms) that necessitated us moving the piggies into my room, having both the sofa and carpet professionally cleaned, and literally painting the walls. Without getting into all the details, we finally located bluegrass hay which provoked no symptoms.

I always loved the hay as did our cavies, but then I had two unhappy experiences with the former owner and founder of KMS (rest her soul) and decided to seek something else. We started orchard grass which worked well for quite some time. We still don't know if it was the customized allergy shots that he received for several years that calmed down his reaction, or if it was simply time and a change of environment.

KMS is the only source for bluegrass that I'm aware of. Fortunately the new owners seems to be eager to please their customers and have discontinued the outrageous shipping fees. Read the link I posted above and it should give you more information.

 

[Artista]

Yes, KMS is the only place for bluegrass hay. They also have fresh pellets, made in small batches at a time. It doesn't sit on shelves like Oxbow so it's only their pellets for me.