Is anyone of the Oxbow Hay ok? or just certain ones

[Kara315]

I'm planning to switch over to Oxbow Hay as everyone seems to like it and it's better for them then kaytee. I noticed online they have different types. Oxbow Oat Hay, Oxbow Orchard Grass, Oxbow Western Timothy Hay, Oxbow Botanical Hay and Oxbow Alfalfa Hay. Are all of these good for the all day hay they need or are certain ones more "treat" hay that you can give them in moderation along with the other hay?
Thanks.

 

[Mt. Zion Chins]

If you are feeding an alfalfa based pellets (Mazuri and Oxbow) then stay away from the alfalfa hay and use the timothy hay and/or the others.

 

[Kara315]

If you are feeding an alfalfa based pellets (Mazuri and Oxbow) then stay away from the alfalfa hay and use the timothy hay and/or the others.

Ok those are the two pellets i'm looking into getting, So I'll get one of the other hay's I listed. Thanks!

 

[michellemonster]

I use the timothy hay and then as a treat/mix it up the orchard grass and the oat hay

 

[Kara315]

I use the timothy hay and then as a treat/mix it up the orchard grass and the oat hay

Oh ok, I might try one and then the other and see which they seem to like better.
Do you use the orchard grass and oat hay as only a treat once and awhile?

 

[michellemonster]

I give mostly the timothy occasionally ill put them all in so he can choose what he wants. I think of it as you wouldn't want to eat the same thing every day I don't they want to either. I put the grass and oat hay in less then the timothy tho

 

[Kara315]

I give mostly the timothy occasionally ill put them all in so he can choose what he wants. I think of it as you wouldn't want to eat the same thing every day I don't they want to either. I put the grass and oat hay in less then the timothy tho

Thats true. I'll probably try them all over time and see which they like better. But I like the idea of mixing them to give them a variety too. Thanks.

 

[jess32247]

I'm not sure if chins can have a 24/7 supply of other types of hay, like the ones you listed. You can certainly use them as a treat, but I would only give timothy as main hay and other kinds as treats once and a while.

I could be totally wrong, but that's what I've heard.

 

[Kara315]

I'm not sure if chins can have a 24/7 supply of other types of hay, like the ones you listed. You can certainly use them as a treat, but I would only give timothy as main hay and other kinds as treats once and a while.

I could be totally wrong, but that's what I've heard.

That's probably what I will do. They will have 24/7 timothy which they have now, just not of good a brand as oxbow, and might occasionaly give them the others to try as well. Thanks.

 

[Lillybabe]

With Oxbow the back of the bag gives guidelines on how often the hay should be offered. I think Oxbow's information is fairly accurate. They state that chinchillas under a year of age can be free fed any of the hays they offer, even alfalfa. After a year they recommend only feeding alfalfa occasionally but still say all the others are fine to free fed. Some of the others have Timothy in their blend, for example Botanical Hay is a mix of Timothy Grass Hay, Chamomile, Lavender, Lemon Balm and Clover. The Oxbow label also tells you how sweet or hearty the hay is as well as how soft or crunchy it is, with a leveling system. Personally my girls are 3 months old and they get a mix of Timothy, Meadow Grass Hay, Botanical and Orchard Grass Hay. They seem to like the Meadow Grass Hay the best as it seems to disappear quicker. I typically shove a handful or so of two to three types of hay in their cage each day and let them decide what they eat. My girls have two large hay boxes, so they go through quite a bit of hay. I throw away most of what ends up on the bottom of the cage when I clean it.

 

[xtoff]

I started my chins on oxbow pellets and hay.After half a year (last yr) of always getting halfway through the bag of any of the oxbox varieties of hay and finding the rest to be just hay powder I switched hays. I always opened the bags of hay and dig a quarter if the way down and the hay was stored properly at home. so who knows. at least it wasn't rotten or bug filled. I did save the hay powder for chin cookies but it still sucked thinking I have half a bag left sometimes and they'd refuse to eat it like that. Anyways another half a year later I'm still using oxbox pellets but have found a local organic hay supplier I tried kaytee hay once and it was a hit tho I wouldn't use their pellets.

 

[ChinnyMom]

the orchard grass and timothy Oxbow hays are free fed around here. the boys get alfalfa hay cubes and timothy cubes as well, but really don't show much interest in them unless they are on hanging toys.

another good timothy hay is Zupreem (available at petsmart). i find up here it is often nicer in quality than the oxbow timothy. there's also a store brand with 'Choice' in the name that offers a mini bale of timothy for cheap. i think i paid 4 bucks for it, and the boys seem to like it.

 

[Lillybabe]

ChinnyMom isn't it funny how they snub hay cubes unless they're hanging on a toy?? I have taken to hanging some of my cubes to see if I can tempt the girls with them. I bought like 5lbs of hay cubes and I don't want them to go to waste! Silly girls barely eat them. I've found they'll eat them a bit if I break them into slivers. I think they're just too big for them to handle easily.

 

[smhluvsmh]

Great idea, Lillybabe! My girls never touch hay cubes either. I will have to try breaking them up for them!

 

[Lillybabe]

smhluvsmh I actually sometimes completely crush them into their supplement bowl with their supplement. Sometimes they eat it, sometimes they snub it. Silly chinchilla girls. So far they've been ignoring the alfalfa/timothy blend hay cubes I hung for them but they chew at the ones on their chew toys from Christine at Twilight Chinchillas. I believe her's are Timothy... maybe my girls hate alfalfa hay? Chins are so weird. If the girls don't start gobbling them up soon I may look into someone local with a bunny or guinea pig who will eat them. I'm not really sure how long hay cubes last but I don't want them to go to waste. I might try making them into chinnie cookies when the girls are a bit older... they're not suppose to have treats yet.

 

[ChinnyMom]

hay cubes should last a long time if stored in a cool and dry location.

if it's just the hay being made into cookies, and no other ingredients, then any age chin can have them, i would think. crumble them up, add just enough water to make a stiff hay 'dough', and then bake at your oven's lowest temperature setting until dry right through. think of it this way - it's just hay in another format for our incredibly picky fuzzballs. when i make my hay cookies (with the hay chaff at the bottom of the bag), they are 95% or more hay and my boys tend to like them quite a bit. maybe it's the baking that makes them taste better than just plain hay? lol.

 

[Lillybabe]

I thought most people added things to them though? My girls already get some herbs and things in their supplement so possibly some natural things would be okay to mix with the hay. But if nothing else I can hang onto the hay cubes until they're older. At least if I made them into cookies I could give them holes though... that would make them much easier to hang! Using the hay at the bottom of the bag is a good idea... maybe I can just mix the many types of hay I make in with the hay cube hay.... will have to experiment sometime when I have the time.

 

[ChinnyMom]

a drill makes a nice easy hole in a hay cube. just be sure to use as small a drill bit as you can, or else the hay cube can crack apart.

my other method for putting holes in hay cubes is to use a very thin picture hanging nail and slowly tap the nail with a hammer through the hay cube. pull nail out and you have a hole. don't hammer too hard or fast on the nail though, or else the cube just falls apart.

hay cookies don't hold their shape well enough to put holes in them and hang them on toys, etc. they'll fall apart while you are trying to string them.