Australia Hay vs grass

[shajadaz]

So...... My guinea pigs spend at least 6-7 hours outside eating grass all day, they are brought in at night, well at 5pm , and a lit bit later in daylight savings, anyhow, if they have been out eating grass all this time do they even need hay, say lucerene which is kind of minced up? I do give them a dish of goats mix which has heaps of roughage in it for them, I have straw bedding on top of newspapers for inside, at night and in their day house, which they do Munch as well,and of course their veggies...

 

[shajadaz]

I just went to my local feed store, a and they had lucerene hay, which is just like a rough mix, not like hay? Long and stringy, $28 and the bag is huge, I am going to Sydney on Tuesday, round the north ryde, homebush way if anyone knows of a store near there, maybe kellyville pets? Haven't been in there for years...?

 

[bpatters]

First, how old are they? Pigs over six months old shouldn't be fed lucerne -- it has too much calcium in it, and they may wind up with urinary tract stones. It's only recommended as a supplement for timothy hay for young pigs.

Second, what is goats' mix? Ingredients, and how much of each?

Third, how much hay they may need depends on what kind of grass they're getting. They need something with a long strand grass fiber -- the common hays for that are timothy, blue, orchard, meadow, and brome. You'd need to know what kind of grass it is, and ideally, the mineral content. Some grasses are high/low in calcium/protein/minerals/etc, and may not provide adequate nutrition.

They do need something to eat at night. Guinea pigs are engineered to require food moving through their guts at all times -- they don't need "meals" the way we need them. So depending on what the goats' mix is, you may need to supplement with a grass hay.

 

[Soecara]

First, how old are they? Pigs over six months old shouldn't be fed lucerne -- it has too much calcium in it, and they may wind up with urinary tract stones. It's only recommended as a supplement for timothy hay for young pigs.

Second, what is goats' mix? Ingredients, and how much of each?

Third, how much hay they may need depends on what kind of grass they're getting. They need something with a long strand grass fiber -- the common hays for that are timothy, blue, orchard, meadow, and brome. You'd need to know what kind of grass it is, and ideally, the mineral content. Some grasses are high/low in calcium/protein/minerals/etc, and may not provide adequate nutrition.

They do need something to eat at night. Guinea pigs are engineered to require food moving through their guts at all times -- they don't need "meals" the way we need them. So depending on what the goats' mix is, you may need to supplement with a grass hay.

Just thought I would add by saying the variety of hays is much more limited here in australia. The only kinds of long strand grass hay I can find in my local area are oaten and wheaten, I just went into my local feed stores and asked what kind of hays they have for horses. I personally feed oaten hay as I am mildly allergic to the wheaten hay. Also shajadaz Lucerne is also known as alfalfa hay, so when you see alfalfa hay mentioned on the forums here then they are talking about Lucerne.

Personally my guinea pigs are on a pellet free diet, I compensate for the vitamins and minerals they are missing out on from pellets by feeding them a wide variety of vegetables.

Also keep in mind it will be warming up soon and temperatures over 28-30 Celsius can cause heat stroke which is deadly so they will need to be inside a lot soon.

 

[dani_starr]

Here is a link I found on another site, have you tried calling around at vet offices that might sell timothy hay?
https://www.binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/127065/Default.aspx