Timothy Hay With Birch Bark

[amie]

I bought a small pack of Timothy Hay with birch bark and after reading on Degutopia that green hay shouldn't be given to Degus because it can cause bloating, I'm now wondering if I can give it to them every now and then? It's kind of a brown/green colour, says it's ventinary recommended for small animals, high in fibre and good for dental health. It also says on the packet that it's idea for rabbits, Guinea Pigs, Chinchillas and Degus. I'm now confused.... easily done! lol.

I've had a look on Degutopia and did a search on here, but I couldn''t find anything about it.

[nickymills30]

i don't normally buy timothy hay, but i was given some, and my lot wouldn't eat it, even the guinea pigs and rabbit wasn't very happy!

sorry can''t answer your question xxxx

[smux]

Timothy hay is fine for degus, although it is usually more yellow than green...if degutopia says green hay shouldn't be fed they probably mean freshly cut (and not completely dry) hay, leave it out in the sun for a bit and it should dry out and turn yellow. Bloating is caused by moisture in the hay, and the green colour is a sign that the hay still contains some moisture.

If you need any timothy hay in a hurry (and can't wait for sun drying) put a small bundle in a pot or pan and put it in the oven on a low (under 150c) heat for a minute or so, and STAY with it throughout as hay is likely to catch light on its own just from the heat. Check on it regularly to see if it's lost its green colour. A safer alternative to this would be to leave it in a freshly used oven that has been turned off but is still warm (and cover it with something in case it still catches fire, it's possible still).

No idea about the birch bark offhand though, degutopia has a list of safe woods :-)

[malteser60]

I just bought a big bag of timothy hay, my goos seem to like it. However it is mostly green in colour. Now, been thinking about this lots, as I was reluctant to give it to my goos. As smux said, if it's green it normally means that it's not totally dry and can cause bloating. However, any plant, if it is dried in an excellent manner, will retain it's colour, if though it is totally dry. The hay I bought was much more expensive than P@H standard timothy hay, so I get the feeling that the hay has probably been dried, say, indoors in barns, etc.
Oh, forgot to say if you dry plants out of sunlight they will always keep their colour. I know this as I've had to prepare many a herberium for my studies, etc.

To give you another example, if you dry roses out of sunlight properly (i.e. hang them upside in a warm place, low humidity, and no sunlight) they will retain their colour, so a red rose will stay bright red. Dry them somewhere where there's sunlight and they will lose their colour, normally turning brownish/yellow.

So, my advice is do what smux says and try to dry them out more, if they stay green then you know that the hay is dry and good for the goos, it just has been dried in the dark.

As for birch sticks, no problem for goos. Degutopia says not to give them as they can cause respiratory problems, however, if you look at the german degu website (can't remember the name but if you google it on this forum you should find it, NightWishRaven uses it a lot) they say that Birch is ok and has been used in Germany for a long time with no ill effects. I give mine birch sticks - the P@H mixed gnawing sticks, and it's ok. The only think I find is my goos much prefer apple over birch - fussy little things!