Types of Hay

[jhowell28]

I feed Joey Mazuri pellets and am feeding him Timothy hay..he used to eat a lot of it but now it seems like he is getting bored with it. I know he isn't sick or anything because he still eats like normal, poops like it's his job, etc.

So what type of hay would you guys recommend to feed him? Also, before when I have gotten the Oxbow brand it seems like some of it has already started turning brown..I don't know if it was just the place I was getting it or what since that usually seems to be a good brand.

Thanks!

 

[Laluvschins]

To me the Oxbow brand is the best and thats all I use. The Timothy the main staple but if they get bored with it sometimes I put a pinch of Orchard or Oat hay in with the Timothy. I think the brown pieces are basically normal and probably find it in most bags of hay. Just means it has a little less nutrition value from being in the sun. If its white though means its molded.

 

[AZChins]

I've had a few customers tell me lately that their chins do not like their Oxbow hay. There are several guinea pig owners that have told me the same, so they are ordering their hay through me because my hay seems to go over better than the Oxbow that costs a lot more. It could be the time of year or where Oxbow is getting hay. All I really care about is that people are actually using hay with their chinchillas...but it helps if the chins actually want to eat it.

 

[ticklechin]

I have always had great luck with american pet diner hay.

http://shop.americanpetdiner.com/Hay_c_21.html

 

[nikkimariec]

dawn what kind do you get from them?

 

[ticklechin]

My freaks like 1st cut, but most chins like second cut and mountain grass.

 

[The1nOnlyMatty]

I keep Timothy as the boys main staple hay but I will alternate in Orchard, Oat, Alfalfa, and Blue Grass as well.

 

[Stackie]

My chins go crazy for Kleenmama's hay. I've been ordering it for a couple years now and have never received a bad batch. www.kmshayloft.com

I order the 2nd & 3rd cuts from Kleenmama's and bluegrass when it's available. 3rd cut is very leafy and is their favorite.

They absolutely hate Oxbow and anything 1st cut, which Oxbow has mixed in.

 

[becky12883]

Some of the poor quality people are seeing with Oxbow right now is likely due to the drought. Hopefully it doesn't continue into the next growing season.
I bought a bale of orchard/timothy mix from a local organic farmer and also mix in some occasional bluegrass from KMS. The boys love the bluegrass, they don't waste a blade of it.

 

[jhowell28]

Thanks for all the help you guys!

But I do have one question..what is the difference between 1st, 2nd & 3rd cut?

 

[becky12883]

http://www.kmshayloft.com/hay.html
There is a great explanation of the different cuts here. I think the 2nd cut has a good balance between coarseness and nutrition.

 

[staceylwolf]

It all depends on the area and the quality of the grass planted and the weather. Sometimes our 2nd cut is very green and rich. Some years we only get 2 cuttings, some years we get 4 cuttings. And people need to remember that once you find a good hay supplier, that doesn't mean their hay will always be good. Every season produced different results so just keep an eye on your hay

 

[Asterix]

More hay questions

Do you know if it's ok to use meadow hay with chin?I use oxbow and is ok I can't say I'm impressed and I can find really good quality meadow hay if you put it next to the oxbow smells and looks much fresher and greener so im wondering if it's worth to change Pogo my 4 moth male to the meadow one. What u lot thinks I should do?

 

[Asterix]

Hi all I would like some info on hay matters as well. I use oxbow Timothy and I'm planning to mix it with alfalfa every now and then cause of the young age of my Pogo his just 4 months old. My trouble is that I can find meadow hay that looks and smells much fresher than the oxbow Timothy and in much better prize from a farm not so far from me. So here we go 1st)is meadow hay good for chinchillas? 2nd)is it worth changing the Timothy to the fresher meadow?3rd)what is the diference between Timothy and meadow hay?...

 

[Amethyst]

I feed my boys meadow hay sometimes instead of timothy for something different. The difference is that timothy is a type of just grass hay (there are other types), meadow hay is a mixture of dried plants and grass hays. The strands of grass vary in length and the product may contain sticks, dried flowers and seed heads mixed in with the hay. Meadow hay often contains commercial crop species (timothy, brome, alfalfa, etc) of grass as well as wild grass varieties native to the particular area where the hay is grown. So it depends on the area and the harvest how much grass hay to other plant you get. The other plants contain lots of nutrients but possibly not as much fiber as hay grass.

 

[Asterix]

I called the farm and they told me that this year they sold their hay in a very good prize because it was a good year for them.the lady was also good enough to search and give me this years composition of the hay she had available right now for pet lovers she said she has many londoners buying from them so they have even 2kg bags...composition is:85% grass hay 10%alfalfa and 5%is Ribwort plantain and milk thistle I think that is a good composition and I will stop buying the oxbow alfalfa every now and then to mix it with the Timothy as I do.. Thank you very much for your info you helped so much... It is obvious that I will change the oxbow to the farms meadow unless u people think that would be wrong then plz let me know...also I've been told by the farm that the composition is an average and can have variations of +/-6%