Family member is allergic to Timothy Hay!

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Milo10

Milo10

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 18, 2010
Messages
429
Location
Pinconning, MI
Would Orchard Hay be ok for chinchillas to have? And does anyone know someone that sells it? I looked at the pet stores and they don't have anything but timothy and alfalfa.
 
Freya refuses to even touch them, but hay cubes might be an option for your chin! Compressed hay cubes really cut down on the dust, and would be less problematic for family members that are allergic to the hay.
 
I gave her Alfalfa Hay cubes. But she doesn't seem to like them. And I stoped giving them to her because the food is already alfalfa based.
 
I'm also allergic to the hay and dust of my chins. Is your family member handling the hay for your chin? Not sure if you're talking about alot of hay here but maybe they could be in another room when you are giving the hay to your chin. I'm currently under immunotherapy (allergy shots) with my allergist as I have allergy induced asthma. I'm not suggesting this for your family member just that timmy hay is important for your chins' diet. Other suggestions for hays are the hay cubes but not alfalfa, they sell timothy hay cubes. Oxbow makes them as well as several different types of hays including orchard. For 1 chin, I would suggest Dr. Foster & Smith site for innexpensive shipping costs to you. - www.drsfostersmith.com
 
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My chin stays up in my room. Cause I also have 5 dogs and 2 cats. So I handle everything with her.
 
Rather than switch her feed, I am not sure why that would be an issue, get timothy hay cubes. If the hay is in your room, I am not sure why that would be problematic. Are you sure it is the hay?
 
Yes... Its the hay. My brother went through allergy testing and is allergic to timothy hay, atmosphere mold and more.
 
timothy hay is a type of grass hay and so is orchard hay. If your brother is allergic to timothy, he is probably also going to be allergic to orchard hay. (And if your pellets are alfalfa based--which most are--you should be feeding some sort of grass hay.)

It would seem to me if you keep the hay contained to your room and your brother doesn't go in there, it shouldn't be a huge problem for him. Does he not take over the counter allergy meds for his other allergies as well? I mean, if he is taking meds for mold, etc., they should be helping his symptoms for all his allergies. (I have a lot of allergies, including grass, and I am able to handle the hay. But I know that everyone is different.) Is he allergic to the other pets as well? I'm just guessing that the hay isn't his biggest problem. And it is very important to your chin's diet and her teeth. I'm not suggesting that you ignore your brother's issues, but maybe the other things in your house are more of a problem for him. I don't know.
 
I am not allergic, but to cut down on the mess I stuff some hay in a small brown lunch sack and give them those about every two days. It does contain a lot of the dust and chaff
 
Idgie said:
If your brother is allergic to timothy, he is probably also going to be allergic to orchard hay.
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Not true, allergies can be and are type of grass specific. I know a lot of people that are allergic to Timothy hay but are fine with orchard. I'm fine with Timothy, but there are some types of grain hay that put my allergies into overdrive.
 
Hes not allergic to our other pets. The only thing he is allergic to is timothy hay/ grass..Atmosphere mold.
 
The antihistamine suggestion is a good one if he doesn't already take them.

Trying a mix of other hays may also help, since it would contain less timothy hay and he might feel better. I honestly don't know why timothy hay is specifically important to chins and has to be fed. I'm kind of confused about that, but the impression I get from what people have posted here is that it is. I don't know what the difference is between nutritionally similar hays and why one is better than another. Maybe if you figure that out you can find out how much of which hays you can safely give your chin to cut down on the timmy hay.
 
I just ordered orchard hay for her. So I will see how that kind works out for her. If not i will try oat hay, or something else :)
 
caiti said:
I honestly don't know why timothy hay is specifically important to chins and has to be fed. I'm kind of confused about that, but the impression I get from what people have posted here is that it is. I don't know what the difference is between nutritionally similar hays and why one is better than another.
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If you are feeding an alfalfa pellet, which most chin pellets are, you need to feed a grass based hay. Both Timothy and orchard are grass hays so either or both are appropriate to feed. Grain hays can be used as more of a treat, I would not feed grain hay in place of grass hay.

I primarily feed Timothy, because the chins here prefer Timothy and I'm not allergic. I also supplement with orchard and some grain hay to give them variety.
 
menagerie said:
If you are feeding an alfalfa pellet, which most chin pellets are, you need to feed a grass based hay. Both Timothy and orchard are grass hays so either or both are appropriate to feed. Grain hays can be used as more of a treat, I would not feed grain hay in place of grass hay.

I primarily feed Timothy, because the chins here prefer Timothy and I'm not allergic. I also supplement with orchard and some grain hay to give them variety.
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Oh my god, thank you for unconfusing me!! That makes sense.

Milo--hope the orchard hay works out and your brother is less miserable. I'm allergic to timothy hay as well, I know it can be a pain in the butt!! If she doesn't like it, just make sure you follow Meanie's suggestion and get a grass hay as her primary hay.
 
menagerie said:
Not true, allergies can be and are type of grass specific. I know a lot of people that are allergic to Timothy hay but are fine with orchard. I'm fine with Timothy, but there are some types of grain hay that put my allergies into overdrive.
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Didn't realize that. So here is hoping that orchard grass will work for everyone :)
 
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