Hay Bulk order place for Alfalfa? and how do you get them to eat Alfalfa?

[knackchaos]

So, before I got my piggies, I made sure to have all the usual stuff that they needed, and I ended up getting a 15 lb bag of timothy from KMS. At the time, I thought I'd be getting an adult piggie. However, by the time I got my cage together and all the shipments arrived, the only cavys the place had were younger piggies. I was able to get a decently large bag of alfalfa pellets, but am now stuck buying the little expensive bags of alfalfa hay for a little while and it's really burning a hole in my pet budget.

I looked at KMS, but they don't have any alfalfa (at least right now.. I know their offerings change over the season). Does anyone know any places where I can get alfalfa for bulk now? I live in the middle of Chicago, so I'd have to find a way to get waaaaaay out to find a local hay dealer when I don't own a car. Am I stuck buying the mini bundles of alfalfa for the next two months? On the bright side, the local pet store does carry Oxbow, so I can at least get them good quality alfalfa.

My piggies also show little to no interest in alfalfa hay right now. That may be because I'm offering 2nd cut timothy mixed in and they go right for the timothy. Should I nix the timothy for now and just go straight alfalfa? I tend to use the timothy piles for them to play in as well (which they LOVE), but because the alfalfa is so expensive, I only put it in my hay rack. They end up ignoring the alfalfa and eating their timothy piles....

 

[LifeAsItMayBe]

This place has alfalfa, and shipping may be cheaper than KMS for you since they are in Massachusetts.

(broken link removed)

 

[knackchaos]

Oh! Nice! The quality good on this brand? Also, I'm in Chicago, Illinois, not Massachusetts.

 

[PrincessAngel]

Oh! Nice! The quality good on this brand? Also, I'm in Chicago, Illinois, not Massachusetts.

Sweet Meadow is a great brand, I have never order their hay (we get ours local), but I assume it should be just as great as their pellets. And I think the previous post meant since you are located closer to Mass. the shipping is cheaper. Ie for me the shipping in Missouri is $34, for someone in California, it is probably closer to $50.

 

[foggycreekcavy]

Young pigs do not need alfalfa hay. They are most likely getting alfalfa pellets, no? It's not true that young pigs need alfalfa. What they need is a good quality grass hay.

Again, young pigs do not need alfalfa hay.

 

[bpatters]

Ditto @foggycreekcavy. Alfalfa is NOT a long strand grass hay -- it's a legume, like peas and beans. If your young pigs are getting alfalfa pellets, that's all they need. But if you're worried that they're not getting enough calcium, give them a sprig of parsley every day.

I'd like to shoot whoever first posted that young pigs need alfalfa hay.

 

[LitaRutherford]

I have younger pigs and they get alfalfa pellets, which i will be transitioning to adult pellets soon, and timothy hay. Everything i've seen just says you can give them alfalfa if they are young but i've never seen anything that says they need it.

 

[knackchaos]

My vet told me that they need alfalfa hay.

 

[bpatters]

Unless they do an extra (expensive) residency in exotic pets, vets get almost no education about small mammals, including guinea pigs.

I think that if you questioned your vet, he's recommending alfalfa as a way to get extra calcium, and that can be done with pellets and parsley or other high-calcium vegetables. If you do question him, ask him how much experience and education he's had in taking care of exotics. I'm willing to bet it's not a lot, if any at all.

 

[Mastershroom]

My vet told me that they need alfalfa hay.

What they need is more calcium than a full-grown pig, but how they get it is up to you. Most people recommend alfalfa because it's cheap, easily available and they already eat hay anyway. Alfalfa-based pellets are fine too, and realistically, it shouldn't be that hard to give them sufficient calcium just by choosing your fresh vegetables carefully.

 

[knackchaos]

Unless they do an extra (expensive) residency in exotic pets, vets get almost no education about small mammals, including guinea pigs.

I made sure to find an exotic pet specialist. They're the main exotic pet veterinarian office in the area as far as I can find. She was recommending it for the extra calcium, and I told her that I had already had them on alfalfa pellets but she likes to play it on the safe side since, in terms of nutrition, it's hard to make sure they get enough calcium through only pellets. Looking at my piggies, that seems to be true as I always seem them eating hay, but rarely see them eating pellets.