Coastal Burmuda Hay Alright ? Probs With Kaytee Timothy !

grace · Dec 28, 2009

Hello All, Help !
I have purchased Kaytee Timothy hay in the past - No problem .... However, this past time, darn ! it is so very coarse , if i were to "Brush" my teeth with it, it would REMOVE my teeth !!! (The Kids HATE it !!!)
I do have some very good coastal burmuda hay which the kids love (Also timothy blocks and alfalfa blocks) - My question being, is it alright to feed burmuda untill i find acceptable Timothy hay ??? Thank you

Carol~Anne · Dec 28, 2009

I'm no hay expert but I have given my boys other things other than Timothy hay, such as orchard grass, Bermuda and brome as well as a couple of other grasses available from the feed store and they seem to really enjoy it. Their hay is primarily Timothy but I add all kinds of other stuff that I find too.

starleomach · Dec 28, 2009

Bermuda hay is fine to use

Bostongirl'sChin75 · Dec 29, 2009

Oxbow makes a great timothy hay. I use that and a mixture of oxbow orchard grass and Herby loves the variety. I noticed the same thing about the Kaytee timothy hay the last time I bought it too. I found out it was expired by 6 months when I bought it. Of course it was the one time I was in a hurry and did not stop to look at the date. ( I now always make sure to look at the exp. date )

alli713 · Dec 29, 2009

Bermuda hay is fine as a substitute for timothy as they're both grass hays.

I personally don't like the Kaytee hay, or really any hay bought in the pet stores because you don't know how long it was sitting in the warehouse or the pet store. It could be months old by the time you use it.

Hay doesn't really expire, I've used a bale of hay for over 6 months before. But I've found that the fresher it is, the better it must taste for them as they eat more of it.

chinclub · Jan 2, 2010

Its true that Bermuda is safe, however it isn't as nutritious. I had to switch my herd of 100 chins after my Timothy supplier went out of business. I noticed a weight loss in my chinchillas that were big hay eatters. I had to slack off the amount of hay they got to be sure they ate enough pellets and eventually switched back to a timothy hay.