Preference of horses for grass conserved as hay, haylage or silage C.E. Muller ∗, P. Uden (2007) *Department of Animal Nutrition and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Colic is a word used to describe many different types of abdominal pain in horses and can be caused by both haylage and hay for a few reasons. A guinea pig’s teeth are constantly growing and the hay works to wear down the teeth. If your piggies stop eating hay, their teeth will overgrow. Excel Feeding Hay & Grass: High-quality, dust-extracted hay for rabbits or fresh grass should make up 85-90% of your rabbits’ diet. You should make sure that it is freely available and replaced with fresh hay every day. If your guinea pig refuses to eat hay there is something wrong. It could be one of a number of reasons but the first port of call is your vet. A few reasons why your guinea pig may not be eating their hay are:

Daily feeding is best; smaller amounts require more feeding times, which equals more work; causes less waste (completely free method); do not have to invest in a feeder Haylage is pretty much completely dust-free forage, so it’s perfect for horses that have respiratory problems.Big care for small animals.At Burgess Pet Care they have a 300-year heritage making the finest quality foods for people and animals.Today, after generations of using their passion, commitment, and expertise, they are specialists in producing nutritious and tasty food for a variety of animals.They are experts in small animal nutrition and animal welfare is at the heart of everything they do.Whether it's the homes they build for them or the food they provide.THeir high-quality recipes have been formulated with vets and nutritionists.This ensures they contain the right balance of vitamins and minerals to supplement your small animals' diet to help keep them happy and healthy. Apart from the nutritional value, there are a couple of important reasons why hay is vital for guinea pigs. Horse owners might feed from hay nets or bags. (Generally, the hay is pulled from square bales.) These nets and bags are small and generally only hold one feeding’s worth at a time. The horse may pull hay out of the bag and drop it on the ground, but it will also usually clean up this little bit that is dropped, so there isn’t much waste. Supplement high quality feeding hay or grazed grass (not grass cuttings as these will make your rabbits ill) with a small portion of rabbit nuggets. RAWF – the Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund – recommends around one egg-cup full of rabbit nuggets, fed twice a day, per rabbit. These nets and bags pose another issue, though: A horse can get a leg caught in a net or bag and injure itself. If you are using one, tie it high and tight enough that the horse cannot yank it down and is unlikely to reach it with its hooves.

With a drying system, the forage can be harvested in much shorter time windows – e.g. 28 hours from mowing to the roof – which means that the ideal cutting time is reached much sooner and is not exceeded. This means a high energy content in the forage which is available to the animals. Plenty of stems: Although guinea pigs often like the flowers and tops of the hay, it is the stems that really help grind down their teeth and offer the best fibre. So make sure the hay you buy has plenty of stems. If a hay specifies the “cutting”, the second cutting is the one to opt for. Whether there is an excess of hay or a shortage in your system, efficiently feeding your hay can drastically affect the success of your operation. While you may not be able to provide your good-doer ad-lib forage in the usual sense, it’s possible to make up for this by feeding little and often so he’s rarely left standing idle. Using double haynets can also slow him down, ensuring a steady intake of smaller amounts of forage. Keep it natural while nurturingLarge bale systems are designed to minimize labor, not waste. It is important to remember that outside storage of large bales will increase hay losses due to weather-related spoilage. Spoiled, rotted, or moldy hay is often refused by all but the hungriest of cattle and will result in more waste during feeding. Large round bales Figure 2. A hay ring permits feeding of large round bales in the field with minimal loss. Because dust is a real danger to your guinea pig’s health, it’s important the hay has as little dust as possible. No hay will be 100% dust free but some are a lot dustier than others and should be avoided. A couple of dandelion leaves (ensure they have not been sprayed with pesticides or are from an area where wild rabbits graze, as they could carry disease) For mature cows, provide two linear feet per head to minimize competition at the bunk and create a uniform group.