Is timothy hay a necessity?

[mychinsrcute]

So I realized after I got my chins that I was allergic to the Timothy hay, but not the alfalfa. I tried using the timothy hay cubes but they just pick at it and never finish the cube. They love the loose hay but my allergies have been getting worse and worse. Is there another type they can eat besides Timothy hay? I'm to the point where touching it gives me bumps, and not even 5 minutes later my eyes turn red and I'm sneezing with an itchy throat and runny nose. I'm going to try wearing one of those dorky chemistry googles but I just wondered if there was something different I could give them so that they are still getting their needed nutrition but so that I'm not miserable.

Thanks!

 

[Stackie]

You could try another grass hay like bermuda, mountain, blue grass, and there's some others but I can't think of the names off the top of my head right now.

 

[Essentia]

Orchard and Oat hay are also others that are usually well liked.

 

[Stackie]

There they are! Thanks Crysta.

Petsmart has the Oxbow mini bale varieties of quite a few grass hays. You could buy some and see which ones are the easiest on your allergies.

 

[Anne-Lise]

Orcahrd is softer though so I would think it does not trim the molars like timothy does. Oat however has thicker strands.

 

[Spoof]

No, chins do not require hay - pellets are ground up hay/forage products. Most people believe it is good for them loose and do feed it, many breeders have never fed anything other than a pellet. Chins enjoy anything you give them.

You can feed any hay you can find. A lot of the southern grass hays have less allergens than timothy. Timothy collects pollen from a lot of other species which is likely what you're having difficulty with. Just shop around and pick something that isn't timothy. )

 

[aznmexaggie]

Gary Neubauer said at the West Coast seminar last year that hay is necessary for chinchillas, not only for the fiber for the G.I. tract and the coarse stems for proper wear of the back teeth, but a reason he gave was for stimulation. It was said that many chins will begin to fur-chew if not given hay.

Many ranchers have also told me that hay is more important to a chinchilla than pellets are. Hay provides the roughage they need as chinchillas are "cellulose-splitters," converting the cellulose in hay into energy... and pellets (ground up LEGUME hay, grains, etc.) are only a means of making sure they are getting the proper levels of vitamins, minerals, protein, and fat.

Both hay and pellets in the diet are important.

I am currently using a timothy/orchard blend for my chins. I give them loose hay along with hay cubes. They eat both but definitely eat more of the loose.

 

[mychinsrcute]

Ok. i will try the orchard hay, I saw that at Petsmart. I can't remember what my allergy test proved when I was like, 6, but I know it was about 6-7 different types of grass I was allergic to. If I can avoid Timothy hay, or maybe just give them the timothy cubes and some other type of loose hay (I'm not allergic to loose alfalfa curiously enough), that would be great! I just wanted to make sure I wasn't depriving them of needed nutrition if they didn't specifically receive loose Timothy. I got that right, right?