Everything you need and wanted to know about hay

[PaperMoon]

i left my sister in charge of my chinnies for this school year since i live in the dorms right now...when they ran out of hay, they went to get some KayTee hay =[ i came back for spring break and i noticed that they weren't devouring hay as quickly as before (or maybe i was just being paranoid) and i found that they were eating kaytee....=/ ran out to go grab some oxbow and now they're happily munching away....

anyways, on to my point: here is the pix of Oxbow hay (on the right) and a KayTee hay (on the left)....just for you guys to compare the quality... to me, kaytee seems cheaper, browner, "less volume".....

 

[Spoof]

Papermoon, what you have is a first vs. second cutting. Second cutting on the left first cutting on the right. The stuff on the right looks dyed, some of the pieces do not look right for that type of hay (timothy). I'd take the stuff on the left, denser means more bang for your buck.


Hay with no smell is fine, it has a tendency to absorb odors so may smell like whatever it has been stored next to. Some hays come brown, that is ok. If the hay is traditionally green (alfalfa) and has turned dark brown that isn't good, but light brown mixed in with a pleasant grassy smell or no smell is ok. Black or dark brown specks regardless of smell = mold, toss it to the cows.

Hay won't attract bugs into your house though it may give the existing ones a place to live. It may come with bugs, mice, garbage, etc in it (oh, the thing's we've found ) but otherwise it's just like that wicker chair your grandma used to have.

If you really must keep your hay in a bag, keep it in a paper bag. )

 

[channeltool]

Has anyone purchased hay from kleenmama's lately?

 

[chins1222]

oxbow make a botanical hay

is this safe?

 

[Essentia]

Yup. The botanical hay is completely safe and I have found that it can make some picky chins consume more hay.