Hay Most important quality?

[LifeAsItMayBe]

When I bought my first bag of hay, I got the Kaytee brand because it looked really green, and thought I might be allergic anyway so didn't want to spend much if I needed to dump it. (Now I think the allergies I have in pet shops are from wood-based bedding, not hay.)

As that bag runs out, I've noticed the bottom of the bag is somewhat dusty (my pig sneezes sometimes when I put a new handful in the hayrack) and my pig leaves a lot of it (mostly the hard, stem-like parts) uneaten.

My question is, what is the most important quality to look for in good hay? Color, texture, smell, brand, etc.? I want to try Oxbow but every bag I see is brown. I may order some hay later, but I will need new hay within a day or two so what do you recommend looking for?

 

[PigPandemonium]

Go for Oxbow or KMS which you can order here: (broken link removed) Kaytee is a horrible brand of hay, pellets, basically everything. xD

 

[LifeAsItMayBe]

Is Oxbow still OK if it is all brown? It looks terrible every time I see it at the store.

I might get some from Kleenmama's in the future, even though the shipping cost is ridiculous, but I need more hay today as the Kaytee just ran out.

 

[PigPandemonium]

I think it would still be much better than Kaytee. Also KMS for most people is actually cheaper even with shipping than Oxbow once they calculate it. You might want to try that, and see what the difference is.

 

[LifeAsItMayBe]

I got some Oxbow hay a few days ago, the greenest bag I could find was still fairly yellow. My pig will eat it, but doesn't wheek for it like the Kaytee brand. I ordered some KMS just now, hopefully that's better. It is cheaper than Oxbow, but I'm still disappointed that shipping costs more than the actual hay!

 

[HappyHopperz]

I order four types of Oxbow hay from Drs. Foster & Smith and the shipping is almost always free. The hay is excellent quality, and has minimal dust, is a vibrant green, and retains a fresh smell. You an also schedule a regular shipment and get every 10th one free

 

[CLV71]

Add the the shipping and the amount charged for the hay and divide by the number of pounds purchased then compare to any other hay you can get at a petstore and chances are good you are still saving money buying from KMS.

 

[MissJean]

If you have a temperature controlled, well ventilated area to store the hay then you can get large amounts of KMS to save. I take boxes and stab holes into them to store it all.

I also have to "fluff" my hay outside to remove some dust, but it's a lot better quality than kaytee. There is also more edible pieces, and having less waste does save more in the long run.

 

[Delaine]

Do you have any access to farming in your area? People who keep horses quite often use Timothy or some sort of grass hay and it is usually a good quality and cheap. You may be able to buy a partial bale. I drive 350 km to visit my family and bring back bales of hay. I have lots of storage area and keep it in a sheet sewn into a bag. I just brought back a 95 lb. bale of 2nd cut Timothy for under $20.00. The girls love to be able to play in piles of hay and I use the soiled hay in the garden. I do understand not everyone has the space to store a large bale of hay but it sure is convenient.

 

[LifeAsItMayBe]

Locally I can only seem to find Alfalfa. Storage isn't an issue at the moment, but may be soon if I get a job in a different city and have to move into an apartment.

 

[Sl and S]

have you called around?i though all anybody had was alfalfa at first but then found a feed store with bermuda hay and thats what i use.

 

[pinky]

I order 50 lb boxes of Oxbow Orchard grass at my local Pet Supplies Plus store. I don't pay for shipping because it's delivered with their regular Oxbow shipments. It's $55, plus tax. When you break it down, it's a lot cheaper than bagged hay. They also sell timothy hay in 25 and 50 lb boxes. It'a always been very fresh and green.

 

[pinky]

I wanted to add that if you buy from a farmer, you need to be sure that there's no alfalfa mixed in. I bought a bale of meadow hay from a local farmer and it was loaded with alfalfa. I wouldn't have known had I not inspected it closely and looked on line to identify everything in it.

 

[LifeAsItMayBe]

My pig has mostly been ignoring the Oxbow hay (weird), so I put in a handful of the KMS hay I got yesterday. My pig stood up to get the KMS from the top of the hayrack!

 

[Holly&Fred]

Once you try KMS it really is hard to go back to Oxbow. The Kaytee stuff looks greener because they use color additives, or so I've heard. Try Oxbow orchard grass, if you can -- it's usually very green and my pigs really like it, even though they pretty much ignore Oxbow's timothy. Orchard grass is also less allergenic and less dusty, so there's all kinds of advantages. If I didn't live on the opposite coast (thus making shipping insane) I'd be getting KMS.

 

[Holly&Fred]

I forgot to add: aside from the look and the smell and all that, if you decide to try a bale directly from a farm, check for dust. I got one once that was so dusty I had to throw it out, even though it was green and sweet. Also check for stiffness. The more stiff your hay is, the higher the chance for a piggy to hurt itself.

 

[LifeAsItMayBe]

The first hay I wanted to try was Oxbow orchard grass (I thought my dad might have allergy problems), but there was even more brown and dust in it than the timothy. And yes, KMS has ridiculous shipping even half-way across the country. $13.22 shipping for just five pounds.

 

[HappyHopperz]

I was also thinking of trying KMS hay after my pigs finsh the Kaytee bag, and I think it will work well also.

 

[PigPandemonium]

The shipping is worse for me, but if you calculate it, it is still cheaper then Kaytee or Oxbow (At least for me and lots of other people)