Identifying hay types

[rammuay]

I went to a local produce store to purchase a bale of hay. There was 2 types. One which looked yellowish green (mainly yellow) and the other was much greener. I asked the owner what the green hay was and he told me it was Lucerne hay (alfalfa hay, according to the dictionary).

Since alfalfa hay should not be fed or at least fed in moderation to guinea pigs, I went for the yellow hay. But when I laid it out for my GPs, they didn't chew on it much. This leads me to think maybe the store owner gave me incorrect info. I want to make sure my GPs get a better quality hay without mistakingly feeding them alfalfa.

My question is, how can I identify alfalfa hay as opposed to normal meadow hay?

 

[kennethlhm]

I buy this brand of hay. You can differentiate types of hay with the pictures there.

(broken link removed)

 

[loves2travel]

lucerne is different than alfalfa, i believe, because lucerne is supposed to be a lot greener. the meadow hay on kenneth's site is much more yellowish in color

 

[Piglet]

A little of the topic...sorry, but is meadow hay a lot different to timothy hay?

 

[loves2travel]

A little of the topic...sorry, but is meadow hay a lot different to timothy hay?

I'm not sure. i know of some who give their piggies meadow hay, but it doesn't have as much nutritional value as timothy

 

[Piglet]

Damn. I bought a bale of meadow hay for them.

 

[loves2travel]

i dont think its that bad.

 

[rammuay]

Thanks for the link Kenneth.

Loves to travel, I'm pretty sure Lucerne is just how people in Australia call alfalfa.

It seems my GPs prefer the overpriced, undersized petshop hay over the baled hay. :S

 

[loves2travel]

Thanks for the link Kenneth.

Loves to travel, I'm pretty sure Lucerne is just how people in Australia call alfalfa.

It seems my GPs prefer the overpriced, undersized petshop hay over the baled hay. :S

if you're positive and say so, I surrender.

 

[kennethlhm]

I bought meadow hay before in compact package. At first my GPs don't eat them.
But after few days without timothy hay, they got no choice, they eat the meadow hay. But I know they don't like it. They prefer timothy hay. I feel like the meadow is more suitable for bedding.

 

[loves2travel]

I bought meadow hay before in compact package. At first my GPs don't eat them.
But after few days without timothy hay, they got no choice, they eat the meadow hay. But I know they don't like it. They prefer timothy hay. I feel like the meadow is more suitable for bedding.

see piglet? Lots of people have their pigs on meadow hay!

 

[catinhat72]

I contacted a local farmer and bought what I would guess is meadow hay. Just your typical grass hay mixture. My piggies love it compared to the old stuff as used to get. It does have a few more stems in it that the store bought kind but they don't seem to mind. They really seem to like the smell of a fresh bale of farm hay that the packaged kind. They go nuts when I put in the the hay rack, stuffing their noses in it and grabbing big bites. The big plus is they do get a lot more hay than they used to as I picked up two 50 lb bales for 5 bucks and feel I have plenty to give them.

 

[kennethlhm]

I think timothy is still the among other types.

 

[mncavylover]

I went to a local produce store to purchase a bale of hay. There was 2 types. One which looked yellowish green (mainly yellow) and the other was much greener. I asked the owner what the green hay was and he told me it was Lucerne hay (alfalfa hay, according to the dictionary).

Since alfalfa hay should not be fed or at least fed in moderation to guinea pigs, I went for the yellow hay. But when I laid it out for my GPs, they didn't chew on it much. This leads me to think maybe the store owner gave me incorrect info. I want to make sure my GPs get a better quality hay without mistakingly feeding them alfalfa.

My question is, how can I identify alfalfa hay as opposed to normal meadow hay?

I'm not really going to get into the identification, you can do a search on google for alfalfa in the photos section. Sorry, but I want to get on to my advice.

I recommend (broken link removed) hay because:

1. It's cheaper.
2. It's fresher.
3. You don't support a pet store.
4. You save trips to the store as well as gas, and you won't have to order as often as it comes in up to 35-lb orders.

I love it, and so do the pigs. A picture of it is on my picture page here, just click on the link to my photos you'll see with my name. Good luck!