Hay Where do you get your hay from?

[trexgorawrrrrr]

I have 5 piggies (3babies) over here, and buying in stores is just not cutting it anymore.​

I am looking at getting KM, even though their shipping is SO expensive... It's more expensive than the hay. It would cost me about 50$ for 45lbs. Which I've heard can last longer than 6months. I have 5 pigs though, so I'm trying to figure out how long it would last. Anyone order with this many pigs, how long does it last?​

Right now my pigs are eating a bag of Timothy in less than a week at 8$ a bag. If KM lasted me 6mo I would spend 100$ on hay a year, where if I buy it in the store it's close to 400$ a year. :eye-poppi:eye-poppi​

Where do you get your hay? How much do you get, and how long does it last for your pigs? - Also, how many pigs is this going towards?​

 

[mtm88781]

I buy my hay in fifty pound bales from my local farmers for only five dollars. Hay is good quality, and cheap here in MD. With four, the bale will last around five months, and I use a hay rack w/ fleece in one cage, and shavings with a layer of hay in the other, as they love to burrow.

KM had outragoues shipping here to MD, being on the other side of the country. I decided because I can buy really nice, green, freshly harvasted, grass hay for only five dollars, I would do it. If there was not good quality hay here, no matter how much KM costed, I would buy it, as I would never put their health in jepordy.

Good luck in finding what you are looking for.

 

[trexgorawrrrrr]

I had tried to find someone locally, but really don't know how... I wish I could buy it by the bale for 5$.

I'm trying to find a way to not have to pay 400$ a year just for hay. That's only part of their diet, since we also get the pellets, and all the veggies too. 400$ is too expensive, and I know I can find a better deal than that.

I also have a hay rack, and spot I just put a big pile for burrowing... So, maybe mine would only last around 5months also. So, that would put KM at being a little bit more than the original 100$ a year I was thinking. Doesn't matter though, because the 400$ is a lot more.

 

[Silverbeat]

Have you read my blog posts about finding local hay? Check them out: Tasha's Tails: Writings from Amy and her cavies: hay

Just so you know, my herd of 8 goes through about 8 bales a year, which at $7.00 a bale from the feed store costs me about $56.00 a year.

 

[trexgorawrrrrr]

Amy I was going to PM you because I knew you had a link, thanks!

I just know that I really need to find a new source, maybe this will help others too.

 

[Nicolene]

I buy local also, well, the hay is shipped from Washington to my local feed store in California. I buy "flakes" of hay (cuts of a bale) for $7 a flake, I buy 2 a month, so I'm still spending $14 a month, but it's better than the $13 a week I was paying for Oxbow. I wish I had space as a bale would only be $27.

 

[trexgorawrrrrr]

I buy local also, well, the hay is shipped from Washington to my local feed store in California. I buy "flakes" of hay (cuts of a bale) for $7 a flake, I buy 2 a month, so I'm still spending $14 a month, but it's better than the $13 a week I was paying for Oxbow. I wish I had space as a bale would only be $27.

I'm glad you were able to find it locally. I still hope that I can do the same. It's just so much more a year to have to buy in the store! I had no idea...

I am trying not to get my hopes up, but thanks to www.hayexchange.com I may have found someone locally!!!!!!! Actually, it's in my home town which is an hour away... But he said it's 3rd cut, and an excellent quality. So, I am excited! I sent him an e-mail, if I don't get a reply by mid-day tomorrow I'll probably call the number he has listed. Thanks Amy, you're the best lol If he does get back to me, I'll probably get 2 bales so that I can donate it to our local Humane Society that has rabbits and guinea pigs.

 

[Deb's4Pigs]

That's great!! I buy from feed stores now. With 8 guinea pigs and four rabbits I was going through ridiculous amounts of Oxbow. Well then I only had 4 guineas and 4 rabbits.

 

[trexgorawrrrrr]

Oh my goodness Deb, I bet you do go through a lot of hay!

Do you keep your rabbits in C&C cages also?

 

[Deb's4Pigs]

They have x pens.

 

[Duffinvt]

Four pigs here. Despite having a source for free Timothy, I buy some KM bluegrass to be kind to my allergies! I use the Timothy mostly for floortime. I put it in a big shallow, newspaper lined plastic box. They hop in and out and they love to burrow and play. And, since I get it free, I can indulge them. Bluegrass in their C & C cage seems less smelly to me, also.

 

[Rnd210]

I love the smell of the bluegrass from km's. I had ordered 15pds of bluegrass and 15pds of timothy hay from kms and it lasted me about 4 months. I had 10 guinea pigs at the time and I only used hay racks that I filled 2 times a day so little was wasted.

So a 45 pds would have lasted me about 6 months with my 10 with only using hayracks.

I would say that if you are useing hayracks it should last you 6 months.

 

[disappearingirl]

organichayco.com if you are in the NY area. Great, sweet, green and smells wonderful!

 

[mmas4]

Just orders 45 pounds of KM bluegrass hay. I used to get hay from a feed store. It was 10 pounds for $12. But like a month ago they just stopped selling it. The only other good hay they have there is 8 pounds for $16 which is way too expensive so I ordered KM hay.

 

[Karsluma]

I paid $65 for KM hay. I think the shipping was double the cost of the hay - but if I look at the total cost, I am saving a TON of $$. I was buying Oxbow hay from Petsmart and it was crappy brown hay and I had to buy their large bag at least 3 times a month for around $10. That's $30 a month on hay. The $65 I spent on the KM hay will last about 8 months for me! HUGE savings and excellent quality.

 

[Shahbazin]

I just got some KM hay (3rd cutting timothy & some bluegrass), & this stuff is terrific! Fresh, that great "wholesome" smell that good hay has, no stemmy stuff.

The little bag of Oxbow timothy I'd bought locally was rather icky (stemmy, didn't smell more than passable); I grew up around horses & other livestock, & while some loads of hay were great, the majority were just average - you have to really hunt around if you want "special" hay.

I am going to check out some local hay dealers, see if I can pick out a nice bale, but am definitely impressed with Kleenmamma's hay - & they say the most expensive food is that which isn't eaten, & is thrown out. My piggies are already digging in to this stuff, & look very enthused!

 

[tiffers]

I've read through this thread and the article about hay from here as well. And, I've checked out Silverbeat's blogpost.

I've been buying Timothy Hay at PetSmart and Petco, and well...I'd like not to.

There are TONS people selling hay around here (I live in a very country town!). This is all greek to me as far as cuttings and types of hay and such.

Tomorrow I want to go visit some of the feed stores around here, and most have hay. What do I need to ask? Obviously, what's the type...? How do I know that it's a good source? Also, is there a hay I should avoid...?

I notice most people feed Timothy, Alfalfa, and Orchard Grass based of the poll in this sub-forum. Is that a common hay for farmers to carry?

Everyone around here has hay for sale, and I'm worried I'm going to end up with bad hay for my pigs. How do I weed out the bad sources?

 

[FlowersGrandma]

I notice most people feed Timothy, Alfalfa, and Orchard Grass based of the poll in this sub-forum. Is that a common hay for farmers to carry? Everyone around here has hay for sale, and I'm worried I'm going to end up with bad hay for my pigs. How do I weed out the bad sources?

Some things to avoid: garbage mixed in with the hay, weeds mixed in with the hay (like thistle), hay smells or looks moldy, yellow hay. You want it to smell fresh, be as green as possible. Ask to see the hay before you buy. If you don't like the look and smell of it, look someplace else. A bale of hay is a LOT of hay. Make sure you have a clean dry place to store it before you go purchase it. Once you break that twine, it's going to expand in size so make sure you have a much larger place to store it than the size of a compressed bale. You only want to get alfalfa if your pig is under 6 months old and if your pellets don't contain alfalfa.  If buying for a pig over 6 months, you will want to avoid alfalfa altogether.  Most hay will be a mixture of alfalfa and some other hay.  Be sure and ask what hay you are getting. 

 

[Peggysu]

I buy 45lbs of KM hay that lasts me well maybe almost a year. Honestly I can't remember the last time I ordered the hay other then it was raining outside and I had my mom push the box under a covered area so the box wouldn't get ruined.  I just ordered 45 lbs of bluegrass and 25 lbs of pellets. It seems like I run out of both at the same time with the pellets and bluegrass. I strictly limit my pellets to an 1/8 cup a day which allows it to last quite awhile. Oh and I have four piggies.

 

[tiffers]

I pour 1/2 cup of pellets in the bowl every other night, and it's generally 1/2 of it is still there. I am putting hay in the cage two to three times a day...

I need to order a higher quality pellet, too. The pellets that I thought were good have little dried carrots and hay pieces mixed in, and I read those aren't good. I need just plain pellets.

Can I get 'flakes' from feed stores, you think? A flake is just a small bunch of hay. I probably couldn't store an entire rectangle bale right now. I'll need to get some type of storage device...I have a worm farm for my turtle, and it's an old converted kitty litter tub...

...I need to read more on the hay storage as I skipped that section for now.