All about hay
Types of hay
Brands of hay
Hay treats
Look out!
All about hay
Hay should always be readily available to cavies & other small animals. Not only does hay help them wear down their teeth, but it is also critical to their health 'cos hay helps to keep their intestinal tract functioning properly. Diets high in fibre have been shown to prevent enteritis syndrome. Without enough fibre, illnesses such as gut stasis and enteritis can occur. Hay also ensures that when food is ingested, the larger particle sizes pass through the digestive system faster. This faster rate of passage keeps the other food particles moving and prevents blockages such as hairballs. More info about the importance of hay can be found at this page on Oxbow's website.
Therefore you should never control your cavies' hay intake. Give them as much hay as possible & let them eat as much as they like. They wouldn't get fat from eating too much hay! In Singapore 6 types of hay are available. They are timothy hay, orchard grass hay, brome hay, oat hay, meadow hay & alfalfa. Alfalfa is a legume & not a hay so I shall NOT call it alfalfa hay, instead I'll refer to it as alfalfa.
Like feed, hay comes from many brands too. However not all brands carry all types of hay. Oxbow has timothy, orchard grass, brome & oat hays & also alfalfa. If you're looking for meadow hay, only Supreme, Vitakraft & Ferplast have it. Other brands like Alfalfa King, American Pet Diner, Sunseed, Living World, Kaytee, 8 in 1, L & M and Brown's sell only timothy hay & alfalfa. Hay-Pro & Anderson's have only timothy hay.
A common question many newbies have is what type of hay & what brand. With regards to what type of hay, alfalfa should be fed in small amounts & not daily. This is because it is very high in calcium which is bad particularly for mature cavies (over 8 months of age). Alfalfa can be fed as a treat or to pregnant cavies.
Hays which you can feed daily include timothy hay & grass hay. There are many types of grass hay like orchard grass, brome, bermuda grass, etc. Not all are sold in S'pore. Oat hay can also be fed daily. As long as it is not alfalfa, you can feed any type of hay to your cavies. Some people buy more than one type of hay & mix it. That is fine but if you are switching from one type of hay to another (e.g. timothy to brome), its advisable to have at least a 5 day transition period where you gradually reduce the amount of "old" hay & increase the amount of "new" hay.
The most commonly available type of hay is timothy hay. There are actually 2 types of timothy hay: 1st & 2nd cutting. 1st cutting timothy has course stems, is light green in colour & is suitable for high fibre needs. It has less protein but more fibre than 2nd cutting. 2nd cutting timothy has very little stems, is dark green, soft & very palatable. Its suitable for good everyday roughage consumption but animals need to eat more of it compared to 1st cutting to reach their fibre requirements. Which type you get would depend on what your cavies prefer.
This is the reason why sometimes your timothy hay may appear to be soft & leafy, while at other times its like twigs. Most brands don't label whether their timothy hay is 1st or 2nd cutting but you can tell by looking at the hay.
So now that you know about the types of hay, which brand do you get? I would say that as far as hay is concerned, don't stick to a particular brand. Just choose the greenest hay you can find. Many people (including me) used to use Oxbow. Unfortunately the quality of their hay has gotten from bad to worst in recent years. I am unable to recommend any brands because like I said, the quality varies. So the only advice I can give is to look for the freshest & greenest looking hay you can find.
Some brands have rather confusing packaging that may confuse new cavy owners. Kaytee's timothy hay says "for rabbits" but its perfectly safe for all small animals. Similarly, even though Oxbow's brome hay is labelled "Bunny Brome", it is also safe for all small animals.
Hay treats
There are several types of treats made from hay. One kind is hay cubes. Hay cubes are either 100% alfalfa, 100% timothy or a mixture. Kaytee is the most common brand for hay cubes & their's is 100% alfalfa. Another 100% alfalfa cube is from Brown's & is called Falfa Cravins. Oxbow's hay cubes are 100% timothy so its highly recommended for mature cavies but its quite rare. The old packing is labelled "Oxbow Bunny Blox" but the new packing says "Oxbow Hay Cake". Joy Doggy is one place I've seen selling it.
Park Chinchilla at Simei sells hay cubes from American Pet Diner. This brand is very rare in Singapore & their timothy cubes are also 100% timothy. APD also has apple timothy hay cubes which are 50% timothy & 50% alfalfa. However the price for APD hay cubes are rather steep though! Another place that may have APD hay cubes is Pet Essentials.
Be very careful with hay cubes though especially if your cavies take a long time to finish them. My first bag of Kaytee alfalfa cubes was fine but my second bag had to be thrown away barely 3 months after purchase. This was 'cos I found the cubes full of small holes & brown weevils crawling all over them. I don't know if the weavils hatched from within the cubes or whether it was due to the fact that the plastic bag the cubes came in (which had holes) were infiltrated.
I don't know about the new packing but for the old packing, Oxbow hay cubes came in ziplock bags so they should last longer but be careful anyway. Hay cubes are good 'cos they allow cavies to wear down their teeth but shouldn't substitute loose hay.
Besides hay cubes, other treats made from hay include like Vitakraft alfalfa slims & Kaytee Nibblers (pictured below). However I don't recommend giving these in large amounts or too frequently. Firstly they contain alfalfa & not timothy. Secondly they contain preservatives & other chemicals. Remember that hay treats should NOT be a replacement to loose hay.
It's better to put hay in hay racks. If left on the bedding, it may get dirtied by cavy pee & poop (yuck!). Cavies need hay for roughage & besides, they love it too. I prefer hay which isn't too finely chopped because it gives my cavies some exercise as they tug & chomp on the hay. Besides, finely chopped hay can't be placed in the hay rack. It'll fall right thru the openings.
Never ever substitute grass for hay. In fact, never give grass, leaves, flowers or twigs to cavies. Don't forget that in Singapore, all forms of vegetation get generous doses of pesticide from the frequent foggings! Unless of course you live in landed property & you're very sure your garden isn't sprayed. Even then, some flowers & leaves are toxic so I suggest you avoid them. Straw should also not be used in place of hay because it is less nutritious. Straw as partial bedding is fine but not as hay substitute for consumption.
Look out!
When you open up the bag of hay, look out for anything that should be there! Although rare, dead moths & moth larvae (poisonous to our fuzzy pals) have been known to be found in packs of hay. So do keep a look out when giving hay to your cavies. Mouldy hay is obviously also a big no no, so look out for signs of mould. A pal claims he once found a small piece of what appears to be a plastic bag amongst the hay. I once found a large piece of tape in a bag of Kaytee hay. Wonder what the heck it was used for. Holding the hay together?! So keep your eyes peeled! I even found in a bag of Kaytee timothy what appeared to be a small dehydrated piece of snake! It was scaly & smelt horrid! This led me to give up completely on Kaytee timothy.
Below is some string I found in a bag of hay from Bunny. Sometimes the hay might come with sticks that have thorns. I found some in Oxbow orchard grass hay before. So be very careful!
