Has anyone tried these?

lightningturtle · Dec 19, 2014

I'm looking for an alternative to pet/grocery store hay, but I have yet to find a local producer I trust. How do the masses feel about the following?

http://www.amazon.com/Standlee-Premium-Western-Forage-Timothy/dp/B00A7QG8IU/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t I've never heard of this brand at all, so I don't know if it's any good.

http://www.amazon.com/Small-Pet-Sel...upplies_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1H3ADTJ9B68YQ84CMC1C Never heard of this one either, and it has lots of great reviews. The bad reviews that are there make me nervous, though.

http://www.amazon.com/Oxbow-Animal-...upplies_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1HY63DF3PNW62C4KF6BG I was thinking of this as an occasional alternative to loose, just to give my girl variety.

I haven't tried Oxbow yet only because my local store only has smaller bags of it. I like to buy in bulk when I can.

Alternatively, has anyone tried "Farmer Dave's Hay?"

Any other ideas are of course appreciated. If it matters, I like to mix my timothy (Kaytee, but now I realize even their hay is probably bad) with orchard grass, which she loves.

cindyv3737 · Dec 19, 2014

I have never heard of those brands. My girls eat Oxbow. If I could buy larger quantities of it, I would. Personally, I stick with what I know and what works.

Stackie · Dec 19, 2014

I know several people buy bales of the Standlee hay from TSC's and like the quality. Personally I've only ever found alfalfa bales at my TSC from them. I ordered Farmer Dave's hay years ago, I wasn't impressed. It looked more like lawn clippings and I found a huge chunk of mold in the middle of the bale. When I e-mailed him about it, he got defensive.

Amethyst · Dec 19, 2014

I use the oxbow stacks, my guys love them, they like to push them all over their cage and pull them apart, and lately they have been dragging chunks (I normally only break it in half) into their hut so they can have hay in bed, lol. They are kind of expensive so they only get one a week and are in addition to the daily loose hay and hay cubes. I've never tried standlee hay or heard of the other brands. Personally I don't like ordering hay online, just because I can't actually see it, at the store I've decided to wait on hay and pick it up next time or go to another store simply because what they had didn't look good to me, you can't do that online. The primary hay I use is Oxbow, though I'm able to get the 40 oz bags of timothy at the pet store, and also get a smaller 15oz bag of something else (rotate between kinds).

Saffron · Dec 20, 2014

lightningturtle said:
http://www.amazon.com/Small-Pet-Sel...upplies_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1H3ADTJ9B68YQ84CMC1C Never heard of this one either, and it has lots of great reviews. The bad reviews that are there make me nervous, though.

Our chins really like the second cut timothy hay from Small Pet Select. All the hay I've gotten from them has been fresh and has a wonderful smell. The pieces are to long to fit in their hay holder so I grab a handful, cut it in half with a pair of scissors and all goes into the holder. The chins are happy with it.

Smidgeyy · Dec 20, 2014

^I agree!
Small Pet Select is a hit with mine. They waste less, it's nice and green, smells great, etc... I don't have to cut it like the person above said, but I think that depends on the hay holder. :]
They have a lot of coupons and free items available as well. I've got $15 off my next order. :]