Timothy Hay Braids (by Oxbow)

[Sef]

I ordered a package of these Timothy Hay Braids for the boys the other day, as I thought they might make safe, inexpensive chew toys for them. Looking at the bag, though, I was a little surprised to see the following: "Produced by Kawai of Japan." Apparently Kawai is the Japanese distribution of Oxbow. And in another corner of the bag it reads, "Made in Vietnam." The point is, it doesn't appear that the hay twists are made here in the US.

Is this something you would give to your guinea pigs? I'm probably over-thinking it, but for some reason it just makes me a little uncomfortable. A blurb on the Oxbow website specifically states, "All Oxbow hay is grown on our family of farms by longtime partners who are experts in the production of premium hay. All Oxbow farms are located in the United States in climates ideally suited for producing hay that meets the strictest quality attributes." Why, then, would the hay toys (I assume the same applies to some or all of the other hay "toys") be outsourced to international producers? How can I know they meet quality and safety standards?

Curious to know what others' thoughts are on this.

[Lynx]

The only comment I have (besides seeing what Oxbow has to say) is that I remember Kleenmama talking about how much hay was exported. So the hay may be from the US and the toys made with it, taking the long way to get to the customer.

[Sef]

That's a good point. I contacted Oxbow just to see what they might have to say about it. The process of creating the timothy hay twists is described on the bag as follows:

1. 100% natural hay with no wires or thread.
2. Hay is carefully dried.
3. Hand selected hay bunches.
4. Rolled and softened by hand.
5. Handwoven.
6. Dried again and disinfected.
7. Stored in climate-controlled rooms for quality assurance.

Seems like a lot of work is put into making these!

[Lynx]

I can see why making the twists might possibly be outsourced.

[RavenShade]

That sounds like a lot of hands-on labor so I bet that's why it's manufactured elsewhere.

[Sef]

I'm guessing so. I guess I could go ahead and give these a try with our guys...surely they are safe enough to consume. I still haven't heard anything back from Oxbow on it.

[ItsaZoo]

I haven’t had much luck with my two when it comes to twisted hay or any of their enrichment toys. Apple stick interest them for a while. Ruby Sue has her teeth on everything and prefers chewing the bars to chewing on the apple stick threaded into the bars right in front of her.

[Waddles]

What do they disinfect it with? That would concern me.
Sounds pretty bad for the environment as well given transportation costs to the other side of the globe and back if the hay was grown in the US. If the hay was grown overseas, what pesticides might be involved in growing it?

I find most of my pigs prefer a plain brown cardboard box to chew on. With holes cut out, it's a hidey and chew toy at the same time.

[ItsaZoo]

I would bet they disinfect with heat in the drying process, or else they might irradiate it like they do snacks that have a long shelf life.

[Sef]

Yeah, I think that's the case. It ended up being a non-issue with my guys, though, as they aren't interested in the hay braids and basically just peed on them. LOL.

[ItsaZoo]

Sounds about right. I’ve tried the play wall, timothy tunnel, timothy mats, braided carrot, and the vine roll arounds. Nothing interested any of my piggies. However, apple sticks, cardboard box hides, hay in a cut up toilet paper roll, and swathes of fabric draped from the top of the cage for tunnels are lots of fun.

It’s like owning a cat. You buy a ton of stuff and they sit in the box and bat the packing paper around.