Another hay question

[Chinchilla63]

I've been trying different brands of Timothy 2nd cut hay. The Oxbow had been coming in super coarse the last few bags. The girls enjoyed throwing most of it out of the cage, very little got eaten.
I've tried KMS, APD, and Farmer Dave. They all seem to be finer and softer than the Oxbow. It all actually looks pretty similar to the 3rd cut I've gotten in the past.
Is the coarser hay important for their teeth? Or is it more about what they like? Is there a nutritional difference between the different cuts and even the thinner/thicker types of 2nd cut?
Lee

 

[ChinnyMom]

from what i've read, and from my dad's farming family, the first cut is the most nutrient rich hay.

two timothy hays i've found my chins like are the zupreem hay, and the mini bale from petsmart (Great Choice brand). the mini bale isn't as consistent as the zupreem, but you do get a lot for your money when you find a good little bale. the zupreem hay is quite often softer, and nicer smelling. i rotate between the zupreem, the mini bale, and oxbow hays, depending on what looks best in the store at the time. with only two chins, i find it fairly cost effective and storage space effective to buy hay in a store, as opposed to getting a bale or partial bale from a horse farm.

 

[Riven]

Another consideration is that hay here has nearly tripled in price over last year already. We're in a severe drought here ( Nebraska where Oxbow is cut. You have to consider things like how long ago was the hay cut, what area, things like that when considering the hay.

We bale hay, I've never seen hay like some of the hay I see in petstores, it must be dyed.

In the end, if they aren't eating it, it doesn't matter what you're feeding them, because they're just throwing it out. Go with what they eat as long as it's fresh and not full of other things like dye and preservatives.

 

[meiying]

We bale hay, I've never seen hay like some of the hay I see in petstores, it must be dyed.

.

I do find zupreem hay is real green..... and i also heard about hay being dyed, is it true though?

 

[greychins]

We use horse hay for our chins, and while it is green....it's never anywhere near the neon green color of petstore hay. The only thing I can think of is that it's dyed. Ive never seen hay that color green in my life, other than bagged at the petstore.

 

[Chinchilla63]

So the nutritive value goes down with each cutting? Third has less than second, second less than first?
I live in NY, I don't have access to local hay. The pet stores here don't always stock Oxbow so I've been ordering online. It's frustrating because I can't see it before I buy it.

 

[ticklechin]

Chins don't care how it looks, sometimes you will get some gorgeous looking hay and they think it stinks, sometimes its kind of brown and they think its candy.

 

[Megan]

According to my father in law, as I told him the "hay" pet people go crazy for is a lot greener then ours...is that it is sprayed when they are harvesting the hay. The spray holds the green color, and almost "preserves" the hay.

 

[kerri101]

Chins don't care how it looks, sometimes you will get some gorgeous looking hay and they think it stinks, sometimes its kind of brown and they think its candy.

I agree with this I have used a few different brands of hay the last hay I got was organically grown herbs and timothy hay the bag looked like yucky ulgy brown color but the chin loves it

I had the oxbox which was so green and nice cooking but she was just throwing it around ripping it out of the hay hanger...

 

[Chinchilla63]

What brands are you all using?

 

[Megan]

I am using our own hay that we grow. I used to use the oxbow, but its way too expensive. I switch off to hay cubes in here and there.

 

[ticklechin]

I use APD for my grass hays and oxbow for alfalfa.

 

[Tanya]

I think chins' preference is usually for the hay that contains greater sugar and starch concentrations (they do not care how it looks). It is also the reason why herbivores prefer hay cut in the afternoon or evening over hay cut in the morning (the level of total nonstructural carbohydrates is reduced during the night).

Is there a nutritional difference between the different cuts and even the thinner/thicker types of 2nd cut?

First-cut hay is usually coarser and stalky, high in fiber, but lower in nutrient value compared to second cut.
Second cut is usually leafy (grass like), lower in fiber, but higher in nutrient value, and it makes sense because leaves contain a high percent of the nutritional value.

If your chin gets only soft, second cut hay, I think it would be beneficial to offer some alfalfa as well. Alfalfa stalks are very coarse - they help wear teeth down properly.