New Owner Hay Question

[Chinwawa]

When I took my new Chin home I was given a small red bag of Oxbow Western Timothy.

When I saw how much hay a Chin goes through I went back to buy a bigger bag. I purchased a big bag marked Western Cut Timothy also by Oxbow and made sure that it had a picture of a Chin on the front.

When I started to use the new hay I was surprised at how different it was from the hay in first small bag. The hay has much less soft parts. It includes very stiff parts. It seems more like a bedding hay for Guinea Pigs rather than a food hay for Chins. I am concerned that all the stiff stalks are not good for my Chin.

I have read here about first cut hay and that there are different types of hay such as Timothy Hay and Alphalpha Hay etc.

Could someone first tell me if the stiff hay is safe for my chin and then explain hay basics. My chin is eating Oxbow Delux pellets.

Thank you in advance, Faye

 

[Stackie]

Oxbow hay is fine. The reason that is it a mix of hard stems and soft leaves is because Oxbow hay is a mix of 1st cut and 2nd cut hay. 1st cut is a more coarse and stiff cut of hay and more stems, while the 2nd cut is softer and and more leafier.

 

[Sesame]

The stiffer parts of the hay (most likely the 1st cut) tends to have more fiber. If you want to learn more about the different cuts of hay, I've found that the Kleenmama's Hayloft website describes the cuts quite well. There is some brief explanation on the American Pet Diner website too.

I've found that my chin doesn't particularly like the coarse stems too much, so I tend to buy more 2nd and 3rd cut hay (1st cut is more coarse, more stemmy, 3rd cut is the much softer, leafier). I also started to buy different types of hay to supplement the Timothy Hay as well, so that she gets a nice mix of hay. I supplement with the Oat Grain Hay and Botantical Hay from American Pet Diner (APD). I also sometimes use the Oxbow Botantical Hay too.

 

[Chinwawa]

Just what I needed to know. I will check those two sites. Thank you!

 

[alli713]

Yeah that hay is fine, I sell both on my site and have noticed that too, that the bigger bags tend to have more stalks. I believe that it's because the smaller bags the hay is crunched up more to fit it in, so probably the smaller pieces get put in those, or they're broken up when they insert the hay into the bag.

Most chins tend to prefer the leafy parts of the hay, but the coarse parts are also important for the fiber and for working their teeth.

 

[seachin]

My chins love Kleenmama's 2nd cutting...and this year they got a treat of a little 3rd cutting which is pretty much all leaves. The stems are safe, but I think the chins would like a mix of both that the 3rd cutting provides...at least mine do

 

[Chinmama]

I normally buy the smaller bags at Petsmart and will mix them up (I get timothy, orchard grass and botanical). The last time I was there, they only had the big bag of timothy. I was shocked when I got home to see so many long stems in the bag. The chins didn't care for it much in the beginning, but chomp it up now several weeks later. Once I have room in the hay box I'm going to go pick up some more smaller bags and mix those in with the stemmier hay to make it more of a variety.

 

[Chinwawa]

Hi Chinmama, that is just what I decided to do. I figured I could get the smaller bag and add the softer hay in.

I'm glad to learn that the stiff hay is good for their teeth.

Thank you all.