Hay is an essential element in their diet and plays an essential part in keeping their ever-expanding teeth in optimal condition, while providing essential fiber content.
Make sure that you purchase only high-quality hay that is dry, sweet-scented and smells grassy – anything dusty or moldy could make the guinea pig sick and should be avoided at all costs.
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Orchard hay is softer
Your pet deserves high-quality hay that’s free from mold, with a pleasant fresh hay scent and that dries quickly – and it should also be dust-free, as dust allergies can occur among both humans and guineas. Orchard hay may be easier for digestion and offers additional fiber and nutrition benefits over other varieties of hay.
Orchard hay can be purchased online through stores like Oxbow and Kaytee, or pet supply stores. The first cut may be more cost effective and has coarser texture that helps your guinea pig’s ever-emerging teeth wear down quicker while second and third cuts have softer textures and may not wear down their teeth as effectively.
Meadow hay can also provide your guinea pig with some needed variety in their diet and promote foraging behavior, offering different textures like grass strands, flowers, leaves, seed heads and stems. Meadow hay will encourage this behavior while adding variety.
It is more nutritious
Your pet rabbit, guinea pig or chinchilla should consume food high in fiber and nutrients for optimal intestinal and dental health. Orchard hay offers greater nutrition than regular timothy hay while being easier for small herbivores to digest.
Grass hay can come in various forms, including legume, grass and mixed varieties (timothy being the most popular variety). Other varieties of grass hay include brome grass hay, coastal Bermuda grass and orchardgrass.
Legumes often boast greater nutritional content than grass hay, depending on the variety and stage of maturity of each variety. On average though, grass hay typically boasts lower protein and higher NDF content compared to legumes.
Quality in hay crop production can often be determined by its moisture level. Hay that has become dry, brittle or dusty is of poor quality and should be discarded; ideal hay has an ideal moisture content between 10%-17%.
It is cheaper
Orchard Hay is our softest variety and an excellent solution for rabbits, guinea pigs and chinchillas who suffer from allergies to Timothy Hay. A cool season grass that thrives under moderate drought conditions with balanced levels of protein, calcium and phosphorus content provides optimal nutritional balance to their diets.
Horses find its soft texture easy to digest, and its nutritional value remains intact throughout all three cuttings of hay. This feature is especially important since hay quality can vary depending on factors like maturity and grass type.
Orchard hay boasts higher protein and caloric counts than timothy, making it suitable for working horses and pregnant or lactating mares, as well as pregnant or lactating mares, pregnant mares, lactating mares, younger animals, orchard hay isn’t as high in protein compared to alfalfa hay which may pose some disadvantages. Orchard hay may be more costly due to its unique production process which includes seeds, fertilizers and chemicals costs as compared to regular hay due to these additional costs; additionally orchard hay production process requires seeds, fertilizers and chemicals making this type more expensive than its regular counterpart.
It is easier to digest
Orchard grass hay is soft, making digestion simpler for small herbivores such as cats. This type of hay may be particularly helpful to older or sick animals or infants who cannot yet chew well; additionally, orchard grass can prevent dental issues and promote overall health benefits in small herbivores.
Cool-season grass that provides high levels of fiber and nutrients is known as Rye grass, with mild drought conditions being no cause for worry. Rye also boasts an ideal calcium to phosphorus ratio to help ensure strong bones. With proper storage conditions it has an extended shelf life – providing year-round feeding opportunities.
Orchard hay can be used for pasture or as haylage, often combined with grasses and legumes from various species, like sheep, goats, or cattle. It provides horses and larger animals such as sheep goats or cattle with nutritionally dense food options that won’t lead to allergies; orchard hay cut before flower head development provides higher yield than Timothy hay and is more palatable to some horses than Timothy hay.
