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[Mannybilly1030]

ive noticed ever since ive bought kaytees timothy hay both my chinchillas dislike it, and one eats less of it then before. theres no sinces of malo ive tried looking for everything and nothing so thats good. do you suggest going back to oxbow?

[GrayRodent]

Timothy hay is timothy hay. It is all the same plant regardless of the brand. However not every package or batch is equally fresh.
(See the next post as there is a little more to it than that.)

[kageri]

Oxbow is far better quality hay.  It's probably the best thing you can buy in stores.  They harvest and preserve it better.  Online you can get bulk hay a ton cheaper than in little petstore bags as well as better quality since it does not sit out in the light for transport and store shelves.  I just ordered 50lbs bluegrass from kmshayloft.com .  They also have timothy.  I think in 10lb, 25lb, and 50lb.  You might be able to get different quantities if combining things.  Shipping is high but you have to think of it per pound versus what you pay per pound in the store.  Oxbowhay.com also has online vendors of their hay that you can buy in bulk.  A cheaper way to get hay is to check your local feedstores.  They often have good quality compressed bales, standlee is a common brand, for something like $20 per 40-50lb bale.  Feed stores only have timothy or alfalfa and timothy is the most common cause of hay allergy.  We both have allergies so we have to order the bluegrass online.


Properly stored hay is good for about a year.  Dumping it in a box with no plastic that is not on a humid floor and with the top closed is best.  Light and moisture will destroy hay the fastest.  Letting the hay breathe through the cardboard or another method (they make special covers for transporting hay) will also help keep it fresh instead of trapping moisture and growing mildew.

Hay is most definitely not just hay.  There are tons of things that go in to hay quality.  The seed used, the soil amendments made to the field, the age and weather it's cut in, the drying process, turning process, baling process, and storing all impact hay.  You make cheap hay by using cheaper varieties of seed that isn't as weed free, do not amend the soil through the years, cut it later so there is more grown there, methods like salt drying to avoid weather restrictions, and some places will put preservatives on their hay to keep it looking greener despite light exposure.  Oxbowhay and kmshayloft do not do any of that.

[jmdebb]

other great quality hay brands you can get are:

Afalfa King and APD [american pet diner].  right now the tim oxbow has a lot of brown in it.

[kageri]

Store front oxbow will brown according to storage situations of the store.  Much greener hay can often be brought online but this sun bleaching is not always a sign of poor quality.   For my rabbits and growing chins I get local organic alfalfa/clover from fields treated with trace minerals, kept heavily weeded, cut properly, and stored well.  Any sunlight will brown the outside of the bale but it is still higher in nutrients and prized more by the animals than greener but otherwise lower quality hay.  Some grass hays like brome also brown easier but they have benefits in a grass blend because of the higher average fiber content.  Some of the really green but lower end hays have preservatives or other methods to slow the sunbleaching so lower quality hay looks greener.  That is why sometimes they will prefer to eat slightly browner hay that is from a known good supplier.  I have heard APD is a good brand.  It's less popular among online hay buyers including guinea pig rescues than oxbow or KMS, if you get too much noticeable brown without warning from kms they will often refund or send out more hay, but some do prefer APD.