Hay questions

[Devi Xiao]

Sorry, there are going to be a lot of question; some of them may have already been answered, but I can't find the threads. So, here it goes:

1) Hay Cubes vs Hay
- Which is easier to have and clean up after?
- Which hold higher nutritional value per unit volume?
- Are cubes and hay stored the same way?
- Which is cheaper?
- Does free hay wear down teeth better than cubes? (Does it matter if I have lots of wood for them to chew on)

2) How long does hay/cubes last before expiration? I live in a pretty dry area.

3) I plan to store whichever I get in an elevated plastic drawer that would probably fit about half a small bale of hay.
- Should I drill holes in the walls to let the hay air out or is it OK to just throw it all in there?
- I live in a dry area, does that affect how I should store it?

 

[Narcissus]

I don't know which has more nutritional value.. it is all hay so I would assume they are pretty much the same. Cube deffinatly dont cause as much mess. But, at my house hay cubes are chewed on a little, mostly they use them as toys throwing them around the cage. Fresh hay is deffinatly the favorite. Fresh is messy but they love it. I feed both, I buy bales of hay and keep one in my chin barn on a pallet. I have the cubes stored in the bag they came in placed inside a large rubber maid container.

 

[akane]

Nutritional value is the same. They are the same hay just one is compressed a ton. Some will eat them, some won't. My boys love them and decimate handfuls of hay cubes daily so they get little loose hay. I put a little in when I clean their food shelf and I give them pieces one at a time by hand as treats. My female only chews on them a little so I give her just enough loose hay that she'll eat it all and not dump it down to the lower level with her fleece. It makes a mess on the fleece and sometimes no matter how much you wash you can't get the particles back out. When I had guinea pigs I walled off an area of bedding instead of fleece and made brick steps to get in so I could put their hay there. Then very little got on the fleece which covered the other 7' of the cage length. This was a huge cage for guinea pig rescue with a dozen sows and neutered boars. A lot of people with litter trained animals put the hay over the litter box so it falls in that bedding instead of on the fleece.

In a dry climate it won't really matter how you store it but the best way for all climates to keep hay fresh is a cardboard box. It let's the hay breathe and absorbs the moisture before it gets to the hay.

 

[javachin]

Hay cubes are much easier in terms of cleanliness. In my experience though, I find my chins don't like them as much, the older they get. With hay, its not quite the same. I prefer loose hay over hay cubes myself, but offer both just to change it up. My chins will eat most if not all of their hay vs. the cubes.

For storage, I keep my hay in the box it comes in from Kleenmama, kept open and my hay cubes in a airtight container.

 

[Kansas City Chinchillas]

My chins prefer loose hay they ignore hay cubes and don't eat them.

 

[Pikaia]

I actually feed both hay cubes and loose hay. My girls will occasionally munch on a hay cube, but it's there if they want it. Tribble, on the other hand, will chew up his hay cubes quite frequently. I don't know if it's a boredom thing or what, but he does pretty good with them. He is also a good loose hay eater. Doesn't hurt to just feed loose hay everyday and offer a hay cube once in a while. Provides some variety. You always wanna let the hay breathe, as akane said.