Hay To cube or not to cube

[corrinamilito]

Hi folks!

I am a proud mommy to two gorgeous boars, Donny and Walter. The boys joined our family in April of this year, about six months ago. We just adore them. I am meticulous about how I feed and care for my cavies. I feed them organic, often locally sourced, fruits and veg, and the highest quality pellets I can find. Unfortunately, I am HIGHLY allergic to hay. Like, throat closing allergic. So my pigs always have access to hay cubes. I offer them primarily timothy hay cubes, but also alfalfa cubes as they are not yet a year old. I'd love to hear your expert opinions on the cubes. Are there better manufacturers? Can I (well, can my husband) make cubes from fresh hay? Walter and Donny get a wide variety of fresh greens, twice daily, every single day. We offer them baby red chard, baby tat soi, baby spinach, baby green swiss chard, baby arugula, local spring greens, beet and turnip greens, fresh herbs, you name it (along with fruits and veg, of course). Am I giving them all they need?

Thank you!!!

 

[Carissa6729]

Hi Corrina, Donny and Walter and welcome!

Have you tried different kinds of hay? I'm extremely allergic to Timothy and one of my piggies doesn't do well with it either and it causes him to get very sniffly. I'm fortunately not as bad as throat closing up but I get very bad hives, sneezing, basically cold like symptoms along with migraines. I know the dust from the hay plays a huge role in it so that may be what you are allergic to as well. I'm highly allergic to grass too so since these are long strand grass hays, there could be a connection but as you can tell I don't know enough about it and don't have the time to google research it lol. Both me and my pigs though do better with the Meadow hay, as long as I wear long gloves when I'm changing it and putting it in the cage though.

The only problem that I've read on here about the hay cubes is that they are often held together by molasses which isn't good for your piggies but I'd love for the more knowledgeable members to weigh in.

Also we need some pictures please!

 

[HannibalLecter]

Hay cubes cannot replace long strand grass hay, which they need both for their teeth & digestion.
And as Carissa said, many brands of hay cubes are held together with molasses which is unhealthy for them.
If you haven't already, try bluegrass & orchard grass hay & see if there is any improvement, & ask someone else to handle the hay.
Bluegrass often works well for those with allergies. An air purifier might also help.

If switching hay doesn't work, re-homing them might be the only solution for both your health & theirs.
I can't imagine how hard it is having severe allergic reactions on a regular basis. And often the allergy gets worse with continuous exposure.

 

[Catherine Spark]

Trying to source dust free (as opposed to 'dust-extracted') hay may help. It does exist. There is a UK-based site that produces it. There are bound to be other providers too.

 

[pinky]

I have allergies and asthma but am fine with orchard grass. I can't tolerate timothy hay.

 

[corrinamilito]

Thank you, everyone. I use the Oxbow cubes which have no added ingredients... they are 100% Timothy hay. They claim to contain nothing but the long-strand fibers and state that they are nutritionally identical to loose hay. Perhaps I will just pay the money to have the hay cubes tested for nutritional value to be sure.

I have similar reactions to the other grasses we've tried. I weigh my pigs weekly and monitor their urine and droppings. Both are putting out 'perfect poo' and both have gained weight at a healthy rate, although one is slightly smaller than the other. Their vet is pleased with their teeth. I am hyper aware of how much fiber I offer my babies. They eat better than most humans I know, as I'm sure do most of your pigs. And I do offer them clover and fescue from my own garden and will continue to until it snows.

Thank you so much for the advice. I haven't tried Meadow grass so I will. I wish it were as simple as having my husband take care of the grass but I can't even have the stuff in the house. Our vet assured me that a 100% Timothy cube was a perfectly viable substitute but I knew you guys would look at the situation with a more astute eye.

 

[lissie]

Have you tried KMS Bluegrass? Many people swear by it.
(broken link removed)

Edit to add:
Also see this page for allergies.
https://cavyspirit.com/allergies.htm

 

[RodentCuddles]

They need long strand hay for their teeth & digestion, the cubes are not good for them with-out long strand hay and it can have a long term affect. I'm not 100% sure about that though, but as far as I know they do need long strand hay and I wouldn't say feeding them cubes is 100% safe as it does not have the same affect.

What types of hay have you tried?

ETA: If there is no way at all that you can give them long strand hay It might be a good idea to think about re-homing them for their heath and well-being. But that for me would be a last resort

 

[corrinamilito]

They need long strand hay for their teeth & digestion, the cubes are not good for them with-out long strand hay and it can have a long term affect. I'm not 100% sure about that though, but as far as I know they do need long strand hay and I wouldn't say feeding them cubes is 100% safe as it does not have the same affect.

What types of hay have you tried?

ETA: If there is no way at all that you can give them long strand hay It might be a good idea to think about re-homing them for their heath and well-being. But that for me would be a last resort

Thank you, RodentCuddles! Oxbow claims their cubes contain 100% long-strand timothy hay but, again, I don't know how I would go about proving or disproving that. I do have a great friend who has a seven year old sow who has only ever had cubes as one of her children have an anaphylactic response to loose hay. So that's encouraging.

 

[corrinamilito]

Have you tried KMS Bluegrass? Many people swear by it.
(broken link removed)

Edit to add:
Also see this page for allergies.
Allergies

Thank you so much for the link, Lissie!! I will check it out. I'll try anything for the sake of those little furry muffins. Although I'm a life-long animal lover (we also have two dogs and a cat, and I've had many little furry rodents over the years) I had NO idea I would adore these little cavies the way I do!! They are the best! I took loads of photographs of our Pig Palace today and intend to upload them. No junky petstore cages for our babies! They've got three stories of fabulously!

 

[corrinamilito]

I meant 'fabulousness'... duh.

 

[Lord_aperture]

Thank you, RodentCuddles! Oxbow claims their cubes contain 100% long-strand timothy hay but, again, I don't know how I would go about proving or disproving that. I do have a great friend who has a seven year old sow who has only ever had cubes as one of her children have an anaphylactic response to loose hay. So that's encouraging.

It may be made with long strand hay and not have the other additives and be nutritionally similar but that doesn't matter. It isn't what they need for long term teeth care, the hay needs to literally be in long strands to keep their teeth ground down. The cubes are only to be treated as a treat and should never be a full replacement for hay.

 

[lissie]

I use the Oxbow cubes which have no added ingredients... they are 100% Timothy hay. They claim to contain nothing but the long-strand fibers and state that they are nutritionally identical to loose hay.

I looked at the ingredients on the Oxbow Hay Cakes, not sure why they do not list all the ingredients on their website. The bag shows "Timothy grass hay, zeolite (binder)" I've been googling zeolite and haven't found much info on it related to guinea pig food.

https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71sGwShmNpL._AA1200_.jpg
From: (broken link removed)

Thank you so much for the link, Lissie!! I will check it out.
I took loads of photographs of our Pig Palace today and intend to upload them.

You're welcome. Can't wait to see pictures of their palace.

 

[cavyluvr]

I think as long as there are no added ingredients like it's just pure hay or if there are any they are totally natural it should be fine. Another option is hay pellets like these (broken link removed). They are made from 100% sun cured western timothy hay with no fillers. My piggies didn't care for them but all pigs are different and your little guys might enjoy them.

 

[lissie]

Another option is hay pellets like these (broken link removed). They are made from 100% sun cured western timothy hay with no fillers.

Those cannot replace long strand grass hay either. They won't grind down their teeth.

 

[corrinamilito]

Those cannot replace long strand grass hay either. They won't grind down their teeth.

But my pigs have all kinds of great options for chewing. Does that not count?

 

[RodentCuddles]

But my pigs have all kinds of great options for chewing. Does that not count?

It does not give their teeth the same affect, as far as I know nothing can truely replace long strand grass hay. It is something that they need to have.

 

[corrinamilito]

I just emailed our local guinea pig rescue for some clarification. Thanks for all the opinions.

 

[lissie]

I'd recommend reading through these pages.
https://www.guinealynx.info/hay.html
hay

Any good rescue will tell you that guinea pigs need unlimited long strand grass hay, and hay cubes cannot replace hay.

 

[Lord_aperture]

I work in a rescue and there are a few others on the forum who do as well. I know our rescue will tell people about how both the rabbits and guinea pigs need loose longe strand hay as the primary part of their diet, that its not an optional or replaceable thing. Its not an opinion, its fact that cubes do not replace the loose hay at all and if your vet is telling you it does, Id honestly question that vet.