# Has anyone ever got a bad bag of Timothy Hay?



## bunbunbaby (Mar 23, 2005)

I bought a bag of Kaytee Timothy Hay for my bunsand when I opened it I even thought to myself it looked and feltdifferent than usual. I can't explain the difference but my rabbitshave not put a dent in thebag. The same hay I put down in themorning is still there in the night. They are eating pellets and freshveggies but I know how important the hay is. Do you think the petstorewould take it back?


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## JimD (Mar 23, 2005)

I use KayTee timothy hay, too. 

I find that the quality is very inconsistant. Sometimes I open the bagand it's fresh and got that sweet hay smell (not damp). Other times Iopen the bag and it's very coarse and dry...almost like straw.

I've got a dry bag now and the buns have only been picking at it. 

Unfortunately it's the only brand I can find that sells bags big enoughto accomodate feeding of 6 hungry buns. They sell it in 6 lb bags andlasts up toa couple of weeks.

I'm think of contacting KayTee to see what they have to say about this.

We get the hay at PetSmart. I'm not sure if they would take it back. Ifthey did refuse to take it back (or at least exchange or credit) then Iwould insist on opening the bag and inspecting the product prior tobuying it. The bags are really easy to open and reseal.

I've considered switching to Oxbow, but we don't have a dealer close to us.

*:~)* Jim


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## bunbunbaby (Mar 23, 2005)

Hi Jim, Thanks for the info. Coarse and dry isthe exact way to explain it. I also got this from Petsmart. On the backof the bag it does say satisfaction guaranteed or return to Kaytee, Somaybe they will exchange. Yes, I will be opening the bags from now on.Thanks again


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## Snuggys Mom (Mar 23, 2005)

Oxbow is awesome! I never have aproblem with it. It has little holes all in the bag so aircirculates and the hay doesn't mold.

theferretstore.com and petfooddirect.com have it online

Laura


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## bunbunbaby (Mar 23, 2005)

Thank you Laura!!


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## VNess2010 (Mar 23, 2005)

I use "King" Alfalfa and Timothy Hay...I haven'thad any problems...they come in1 pound bags and 5 poundboxes...I get mine at Petco, nice and green...always new bags stockedup...very nice!! And Cosmo loves it! And when he'sold enough, I'll use their oat, wheat, and barley....here's thewebsite, I highly recommend checking them out:

http://www.alfalfaking.com

-Vanessa


EDIT: Just looked at the website, and they come in 1 lb, 4 lb, 25 lb, 50 lb, and even 100 lbs!! Nice!


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## edwinf8936 (Mar 23, 2005)

I have gotten bad bags of alfalfa before.

I just got the meadow grass from Oxbow. They loveit! It is more of a grass and is very soft with a sweet smell.

Ed


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## Bo B Bunny (Mar 23, 2005)

I've heard of people getting MOLDY hay and then old hay and having found things in their hay.

I buy oxbow and it's always good if I get it from a good petstore or the vet. I can order it as well.

I open and smell the hay no matter what/where/etc. If thestore doesn't like it..... I'll take my business elsewhere. 

The petstore should take it back with a receipt.


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## Bramble Briar86 (Mar 23, 2005)

When buying hay it's important to remember these things:

1) Does the hay look green? Dry, brownish hay has often lost it's nutritional value, and is not appealing to the animal

2) You need open up the bag at the store and sniff to smell fresh,sweet-smelling grass. Never mold or anything else you may "sniff"

3) The woody, hollow "stems" of the grass are hard and are not as easyto "munch" they often stick the rabbit in the mouth, have littlenutritional value and are basically nothing.

4) Feel the hay, does anything feel "different"? Look for foreign particles (although rare).

Ellie


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## dajeti2 (Mar 23, 2005)

I actually quit using the Kaytee. It wasalways dry and always brown...always yucky.I realized I wasthrowing money away. I lucked out and found a farmer. I now pay next tonothing for a square bale of fresh Timothy. I love that it's so freshand Apollo just plain loves it. I don't think I will buy store boughtany more.

Tina


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## Bramble Briar86 (Mar 23, 2005)

I use kaytee too, my only other option is asquare bale of alfalfa, and i don't think alfalfa and animals, besidesbeef cattle, mix. Just my opinion. I haven't been fully pleased withKaytee, and have been idley looking for an alternative source.

Ellie


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## Bo B Bunny (Mar 23, 2005)

*dajeti2 wrote:*


> I actually quit using the Kaytee. It was always dryand always brown...always yucky.I realized I was throwingmoney away. I lucked out and found a farmer. I now pay next to nothingfor a square bale of fresh Timothy. I love that it's so fresh andApollo just plain loves it. I don't think I will buy store bought anymore.
> 
> Tina


I wish I could get some that wasn't mixed with alfalfa and stuff.... Bo sneezes when he gets near alfalfa and dusty hay.

Fresh farm hay is soooo yummy smelling. I like oxbow cause it's close to that but not quite there...... 

This summer I will get some of the "loose" stuff when they bale....then I can shake out the dust .... it'll be fresh so I can feed it tohim then


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## Alice (Mar 24, 2005)

I think any pet/grocery/department store hay inparticular has a really wide variety of quality, even between the sametypes of hay of the same brand. Hay really doesn't keep wellin plastic bags, nor does it weather UV/flourescent lightswell. IOW, the state of Kaytee hay by the time it gets to youis at least as dependent upon thetender merciesofthe shipping companies, stores that stock it, &amp; the whims ofthe consumer (ie, how fast the hay is re-stocked) as it is on thequality of the hay when Kaytee packs it.

I still feed Kaytee timothy hay to Meat on a semi-regular basis (I pickup a small bag whenever we're at Petsmart buying catsupplies). She usually scarfs it right down, but there wasone bag that she only picked at 'till I got about halfway through... soanyone who has a "bad" bag of hay might want to try a different part ofthat bag. 

Personally, I buy Coastal (bermuda) hay locally for less than $6 for anapproximately 50lb bale. Meat will eat the stuff, but shedoesn't love it, so that's what gets strewn about the bottom of thelitterbox &amp; only fills the hay racks if the next shipment of"the good stuff" is late.

In addition to that, I get a variety of American Pet Diner &amp;Oxbow hays fromhttp://www.theferretstore.com/.Their prices are higher than you can find elsewhere, but they offerfree US shipping on orders over $35, so if (like me) you don't liveanywhere near the other online suppliers of hay &amp; feed, youcome out ahead. The only problem I've had w/ theferretstoreso far is that they're often out of what I want in the size I want...but Meat has loved almost every variety of hay I've bought from them,so it's pretty easy to find a substitution. :}


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## babybunnywrigley (Mar 24, 2005)

I didn't even realize how bad the hay I wasgetting for Wrigley was until I ordered Oxbow hay and it was actuallygreen! :shock: lol

Jenn


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## Bo B Bunny (Mar 24, 2005)

*babybunnywrigley wrote:*


> I didn't even realize how bad the hay I was getting forWrigley was until I ordered Oxbow hay and it was actuallygreen! :shock: lol
> 
> Jenn


It's the best isn't it? I know it costs a little morethan some hay, but I think it's so much better, they eat more of it andwaste less (bo throws out the not-so-appealing parts :?)


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## sandhills_rabbits (Mar 24, 2005)

I was buying hay at the petstore, and was alwaysamazed at how inconsistent the quality was. It was like I never got thesame type twice. I've recently been buying all my rabbit supplies atthe Feed Store, and I bought the rabbits a big bag of Timothy Haycubes..... They love them, and they all have that fresh timothy haysmell. I've also bought the cubes in Alfalfa too. (They are big cubesdesigned for horses and other animals to eat.... my Chinchilla,Snowflake, loves loves loves the cubes especially!)


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## mambo101 (Mar 24, 2005)

My local Petland recently started carrying Oxbow hay and pellets. If you have one near you check it out.


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## bojay (Mar 24, 2005)

Come to think of it, I think the last two bagsI've gotten from Kaytee were dry and dusty. I sneeze my headoff when I refill the hay racks.

I cannot wait to find a local/farm source.


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## lucylocket (Mar 24, 2005)

i dont no about timothy hay but ive had a couple of bad bags 

of burgess cut grass 

it seems to be ok at ist but when you get to the end of the bag its all dust 

i complained to the company and they said it was a problem with transportation 

varna xxxx


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## DownEastFarMiniLops (Mar 25, 2005)

I give my buns my horse hay, but before I got myhorse I would go to the grain store and get a bag of scraps. I onlygive them timothy, and I have never used packaged hay. I do use Haycubes sometimes tho.


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## cdmeggers (Mar 26, 2005)

I buy Kayte.. I haven't had much of a problemwith them so far. I used to buy Hartz timothy hay cause it was cheaper,but Kaytee just seems to be even better than Hartz. And those are theonly 2 brands I can find here where I live. I might try ordering someOxbow online sometimes, or even Alfalfa King hay. I just want the bestfor my Cookie.


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## alicia ganitano (Feb 19, 2021)

bunbunbaby said:


> I bought a bag of Kaytee Timothy Hay for my bunsand when I opened it I even thought to myself it looked and feltdifferent than usual. I can't explain the difference but my rabbitshave not put a dent in thebag. The same hay I put down in themorning is still there in the night. They are eating pellets and freshveggies but I know how important the hay is. Do you think the petstorewould take it back?



Hi everyone I too has had a lot of problems with timothy hay KAYTEE brand. I buy them at petsmart store in Tsawwassen BRITISH Columbia Canada and this has been going on for a month I have actually had returned 2 bags the last two weeks because the manufacturer is cheating they put some nice ones only on the top but if you go through the bag its all dust *m not feeding my bunny with dust.

The store manager and the racist staff is hesitant to do the return. Someone assisted me for the return and gave me my money back. I tried to buy one bag the wayfair cut whip is better than the last two bags that I returned, however, it has this awful odor.

Kaytee brand timothy hay is not good and we need to inform the manufacturer if we want this improved. For many years I had been using the CAREFRESH BRAND unfortunately its been discontinued. This always smells nice and I never had any problems with it. The OXBOX BRAND is very bad too! In 2013, I started buying them and my rabbit developed a skin itchiness and I too has had it on my chest, its was very itchy and I had to go to the hospital emergency for the itching. Since then I switch to the CAREFRESH BRAND WHICH WAS THE BEST, unfortunately its been discontinued.

ALICIA


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## Firered (Feb 20, 2021)

alicia ganitano said:


> Hi everyone I too has had a lot of problems with timothy hay KAYTEE brand. I buy them at petsmart store in Tsawwassen BRITISH Columbia Canada and this has been going on for a month I have actually had returned 2 bags the last two weeks because the manufacturer is cheating they put some nice ones only on the top but if you go through the bag its all dust *m not feeding my bunny with dust.
> 
> The store manager and the racist staff is hesitant to do the return. Someone assisted me for the return and gave me my money back. I tried to buy one bag the wayfair cut whip is better than the last two bags that I returned, however, it has this awful odor.
> 
> ...


I agree! Kaytee is horrible. I just got a refund because near the middle and to the end of the bag it’s DUST! I’m now looking forward a better brand.


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## NYAngela (Feb 20, 2021)

I order from Small Pet Select, have been very happy with their hay. This is 2nd Cut Timothy I order a 10lb box (don’t have a lot of room to store more)


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## Hannahsigurdson (Feb 20, 2021)

I also order from small pet select! They have amazing quality hay and great customer service. They have 1st, 2nd and 3rd cut Timothy hay. They also have different varieties like alfalfa and orchard. I believe they sell boxes up to 50lbs!


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