Where to get good quality hay bales.

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daisyhunnell96

Post   » Mon Mar 13, 2017 1:10 am


Hello! I have 2 female guinea pigs and 1 male (my male is violent towards others so he is all alone). I have noticed that bagged Timothy Hay and Orchard Grass from a store is not good quality and it is expensive for very little of it. I have heard that bales of hay are cheaper and better quality. I live in a small town with a Farm Bureau (feed store), a Tractor Supply, a Walmart, Magic Mart, Roses, and other stores of the like plus gas stations, restaurants, businesses, Game Stop, etc. The zip code is 24641.....where can I find hay bales for my guinea pigs that are safe, good quality, and great priced?

afdani1984

Post   » Mon Mar 13, 2017 8:16 am


You can ask your Tractor Supply if they carry bales from local farmers. Our Country Max does sometimes. If they don't they may know a local farmer who does.Also, check Facebook and see if your area has a "hay connection" page. I found one for my county and people both buying and selling post there.

I've been buying the 50lb boxes of hay from Oxbow, which is one of the better quality hays you'll find sold at pet stores. I pay $59 for them at County Max, sometimes a little cheaper on-line. Drs Foster and Smith frequently have them on sale and since it's over $45 you can get free shipping. I have 7 hay-eating animals, so 50lbs usually lasts me about 2 months.

WICharlie

Post   » Mon Mar 13, 2017 10:01 am


I also bought the 50 lb boxes from Oxbow. I've only ever had a problem once. Once box had all these stiff sticks mixed in with it. I took it back to the pet supply store (Mounds) and they replaced it without a problem.

Once an adopter brought me a bale of hay. He was able to buy it for $8 a bale from a locale farmer so he donated a bale to the rescue while he was adopting a pig (so generous and nice!). I'll admit that it wasn't quite as nice as the Oxbow hay, but I fed it to the pigs over time.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Mon Mar 13, 2017 10:58 am


Small Pet Select and American Pet Diner also have excellent hay online. It's more than what you'd pay for a local bale, but way cheaper than buying in small packages at at pet store or Walmart.

ClemmyOddieIndy

Post   » Mon Mar 13, 2017 11:57 am


Have you asked the feed store if they can get you pure timothy bales? You should be able to get a bale of hay for less than $10.

afdani1984

Post   » Mon Mar 13, 2017 12:03 pm


I'll also add, no matter where or who you get your hay from...it's always a good idea to check through it for "goodies." I've found some giant funky spiders in some of my hay before. One was chilling on the floor in front of the cages one morning when I came down. He was promptly sucked up with the shop vac.

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CavyHouse
Supporter in '11

Post   » Mon Mar 13, 2017 2:48 pm


I buy my hay by the bale. I've found a couple places that "generally" have good quality hay, but I always check the bales before I buy them. Sometimes the suppliers can't get good hay because of growing conditions etc so they get the best that they can get, which occasionally isn't good enough for these picky piggies.

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JaneDoe

Post   » Tue Mar 14, 2017 1:49 am


Welcome, Daisy--I see you're way the heck down there in Virginia :)

I grew up in Falls Church, lived in Arlington before I moved to DC. You can get hay at Target if that helps, not sure about the quality. Does your vet carry it?

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AyaMcCabre

Post   » Tue Mar 14, 2017 9:27 pm


We switched to buying from a place that supplies hay for horses after a run of eye ulcers from poor quality hay. Turns out horses are really fussy about hay and the people who sell to them can answer all kinds of questions. They even identified the culprit in my pet store hay. idk if that's an option that's available to you, but they're by far the most knowledgeable suppliers I've found.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Mar 14, 2017 10:31 pm


Could you get more detail on the issue with the hay? It sounds very unusual.

Elamras9

Post   » Fri Jun 16, 2017 5:57 am


I am not quite sure about that.

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