10.12.2012

Small Pet Select timothy hay product review

guinea pig timothy hay review comparison

Responsible guinea pig owners know that quality grass hay is essential for a cavy's dental and digestive health. Although quality hay is available from multiple sources, you may find that not all guinea pigs favor the same hay. This can vary across brands, types, cuts, or even individual bales.

When Small Pet Select offered us the opportunity to sample their 2nd cut timothy hay we were interested in seeing how our pigs would react.

guinea pig timothy hay review comparison

Upon opening the box we found a good ratio of green leafy bits to the more fibrous stems, along with a fair amount of seed heads. All six pigs were happy to tuck into the new hay without reservation. The brush-like seed heads were especially popular.

cavy grass hay comparison

Out of curiosity, we quickly experimented to find each pig's favored hay. Comparable hays we had on hand to SPS's 2nd cut timothy hay were KMS Hayloft's 3rd cut timothy hay and KMS Hayloft's bluegrass hay. For a visual comparison, click to enlarge the image above or magnify it here.

guinea pig grass hay review

timothy hay comparison

Belka, Peaches and Poof gravitated towards KMS bluegrass, while Truffle seemed to favor KMS 3rd cut timothy. On the other hand, Revy indicated a clear preference for SPS's 2nd cut timothy hay. Rebellious Abby-Roo declined to participate in the hay buffet and jumped back into the carrier as a sign of protest. Just goes to show that each pig has her own opinions!

guinea pig bluegrass hay

Disclosure: This post contains a sample product sent for consideration by the company. This blog does not accept any financial compensation for product reviews. Editorial content is based on personal experience with the product and is not influenced by advertisers, public relations representatives, or other third parties.

6 comments:

  1. I stumbled upon SPS hay the other day. Price was more than KMS, but shipping was considerably less, so the overall price would be about the same as KMS. I was curious how it would compare. I have avoided 2nd cut, because of eye pokes. How stiff is the SPS Timothy? From both your photos and what they have on their site, it looks like nice stuff. (And where do they ship from? I can't tell from their website.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SPS timothy is stiffer than KMS 3rd cut timothy, mostly due to the hard fibrous stems. The KMS 3rd cut doesn't have many of those so it is softer by comparison.

      They ship from Washington state.

      Delete
  2. Do any of you have problems with mites following in with the hay deliveries? We bought SPS but had to get rid of our big box with over half left due to a mite problem.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I personally haven't. I usually buy hay from KMS Hayloft and haven't had any problems with their boxes.

      Delete
  3. I've been ordering SPS for a few months now and have not had any problems with mites, but I did some research on mites in hay beforehand (since my inlaws are farmers and they had some grass hay that would be good for piggies, but my piggies were not interested). The mites in hay are not the same that guinea pigs have. However, they can make you and I itch. You can microwave the hay if needed (that's what I read anyway - I'm no expert on hay mites). At the moment SPS is offering 3rd cut timothy hay. So far I've had no complaints about SPS. Shipping is a little slow, but that's due to where I live and where the hay originates. I have contacted them a few times with questions and they are very quick to respond and friendly. My piggies love the hay and especially love the SPS pellets, so I will continue to do business with them for as long as we can.

    ReplyDelete