We have used Oxbow's Timothy Hay for over a year, it has always been really green and smells great but the last two 50 lb. boxes we have gotten has been kinda dry and gree-brownish the chins arent eating it the way that they always have.

Is anyone else having this problem?

Sassy,

I used to use Oxbow but wasn't impressed with the quality of their hay. I switched to American Pet Diner and it is great! Of course there are people that have used Oxbow and never had any complaints. I guess it is a matter of preference. Have you called Oxbow to see if they can replace the hay you purchased from them?

Yes I have and the replacement was no better, the lady said something about a drought there last year. I will check out American Pet Diners hay thanks.

their hay was nasty the last and final box I got. Short stemmy, and very dusty!

I've been using a local timmy for the pigs, but they won't have any more until the end of summer. I'm switching to either APD or Oxford Meadow's mixed grasses, both are carried by the place that I get my local hay from.

http://www.oxfordmeadowshay.com/

I sometimes run into this with the hay that I purchase but I think its just a seasonal problem. Maybe because the hay we are using was from last summer and it's just starting to dry out now. Maybe you could just ask the manager at your supply store.

I just ordered some hay from them and it should be here any day now. I've never had a problem with their hay but we'll see what this next order is like.

We bought a 9 lb box yesterday that was great.It was real green and smelled great. The chinnies were happy to have their greay hay back.

I just bought a 25lb box of APD timothy hay a few weeks ago and it was terrible. I've never had problems with them before, but this hay was so dirty. I have to really shake it out and then I still end up tossing big handfuls.

I've had some of the same problems mentioned above with the Oxbow hay... dry and not as soft and green. I don't know where Oxbow's suppliers are, but they definately haven't had a consistent product for a while now.

Erin, have you tried kleenmama's hay? I think I remember you saying that you'd at least seen some at Swannie's place right? I bought a 25lb box of the bluegrass and it is wonderful!

It does drive me bats to have to pay $25+ for smaller amounts of hay than lots of people pay to get a whole bale. But I just haven't found anywhere near me that has bales of good hay for the piggies.

Wow, what a shame! I am starting to wonder if it is a situation of having bad crops I have been ordering from APD for awhile now and never had a problem with their hay. Calypso, did you ask APD what the problem was?

I have four rabbits. I have been feeding them Oxbow hay for years. Lately I have not been happy with it. Most of the time the Timothy is chopped up and dusty. I have to shake the dust off before I give it to the rabbits.

There have been times when it was so dry, course and brownish that it pricked my fingers getting it out of the bag.

It seems that 4 out of 5 bags are not good. They smell stale and are too dry. I have to throw out about 10% of each bag because the portion at the bottom is nothing but dust and small pieces which the rabbits won't eat.

Sometimes the oat hay looks more like straw.

They do not have freshness dates on any of their products either. I contacted them weeks ago and they never bothered to get back to me. I think their quality has gone downhill.

This thread is from over 7 years ago, so any comment on the quality is not really up to date. I buy about 100 pounds of hay from them a week and it's overall been good quality, though I stick to the orchardgrass.

Yes this thread is old!

I'm finding that I think with any hay brand, at different times the hay can really be hit or miss. I used Oxbow exclusively for about 2 years back a few years ago, then decided to switch when I found that almost all of my Oxbow orders where turning out to be veeeery dusty and it really bothered my allergies.

I switched to Sweet Meadows farms and have been using them for a few years now - but the quality of the hay isn't always consistent. Usually it's pretty good but once in awhile I'll get a bad batch. I was disappointed with my latest order from them because it was really really dusty and had a loot of weeds mixed in with the timothy hay. I'm going to keep ordering from them for now though, because their prices are the best in my area. If I where to consistently get hay that looked like my last order, though, I'd probably switch.

The times I've ordered from Kleenmama's Hayloft the hay has been really nice. I would order from them all the time, but it's more expensive than the other brands to buy it and have it shipped to me. Once in awhile I buy it anyways just to change things up for my bunnies.

You kind of have to shop around to find the best hay at the best prices in your area, and then don't be overly surprised if you do get a bad batch every once in awhile, there are a lot of factors that can go into the quality of the product. If the hay is consistently bad quality though, then it's probably time to switch brands.

I appreciate the replies. Most of the sites I've visited have complaints about the dust in Oxbow hay. It was better when I started using it 10 years ago. Most of their grasses are fine except for the Timothy hay. I'm feeding them a 40 oz bag right now that is the worst ever. Nearly the entire bag consists of soft, broken up pieces and dust! The dust being crushed up hay. I too have the allergies so it drives me nuts. And the rabbits won't eat it like that. The problem is, you can't tell what it's going to be like until you open it. Today I ordered 3 small bags of hay from Kleenmama, which was recommended here. But the shipping is too high to keep ordering it. I just want to compare it to Oxbow.

I use FarmerDave's hay. My chinchillas like the first cut timothy, and it's what is recommended for my rabbits so all is well. It's very stemmy and is like a dry green color. But it smells fantastic and it's gobbled.