How slowly to wean onto hay cubes?

[dmalbone]

He's getting crap hay right now. I'll be completely honest I'm not sure what kinds of grasses it is. The only cubes I can find around are 50/50 alfalfa. Just not sure how quickly to switch. This hay is making his COPD much worse so I need him off of it.

[CB/TB]

Depending on the mfg( Blue Seal, Triple Crown, Nutrena,etc) and how hard /big the cubes are could you break them up and mix with any grain he gets? Gradually, increase the cubes and decrease the hay until he gets all cubes, either whole or broken up. Can he have a "dengie" type forage. Also, some of the hay stretchers are pellets that can be substituted lb for lb for hay. Good luck.

[flea]

What is a dengie type forage?

[sid]

You really shouldn't have to "wean over".

The biggest concerns I have with cubes after a horse has been on "crap hay" as you call it, is to make sure that you've either broken it by hand into bitty pieces or you soak them in warm water (or cold water overnight) to avoid choke.

But remember, forage and all feed should be fed by weight as well as giving them enough "chew time" so they don't go more than about 4 hrs. without some forage in their bellies, lest you face ulcers.

Cubes are the salvation of old horses with bad teeth when they can no longer masticate hay -- if they are soaked.

But they are not a replacement for "crap hay" unless you feed in the same amount of pounds needed per day...crap or good!

Hope that makes sense.

[flea]

I keep asking and I know some of you have answered but I still can't find...grass hay cubes without alfalfa in them. I might go to the chopped stuff but it has molasses added and I have heard it does not keep well. My old donkey will take a long time to eat 50 lbs so it has to keep.

[nightmoves]

I get Timothy cubes occasionally but can't remember the feed company on the bag. Most of the time I just get alfalfa cubes at TSC because no one can beat their price.

[sublimequine]

The only brand I've ever seen that has pure Timothy Grass hay cubes is Ontario Dehy. I know there are other brands, but that's the only one I've seen in stores.

[kookicat]

What is a dengie type forage?

Chaff! :)

Chopped, bagged forage basically.

http://www.dengie.com/

[MistyBlue]

I keep asking and I know some of you have answered but I still can't find...grass hay cubes without alfalfa in them. I might go to the chopped stuff but it has molasses added and I have heard it does not keep well.
Yep, as Sublime said, Ontario Dehy makes Timothy only cubes. Not all feed stores carry the timothy only cubes from them, but if the store carries Ontario Dehy just ask them to order you in some timothy only cubes. The bags don't state which type it is, the tags attached to the bottom does. They're also color coded...the briight orange tags are the timothy only cubes. I use those.
I also use Lucerne Farms Totally Timothy dengi. It does have molasses, but it keeps just fine. I open the bag into a 44 gallon rubbermaid tub with lid and keep it in there. If fed as a hay replacer, it's fed at 4 lbs dengi to replace 7 lbs of hay. I go through one bag every 2-3 weeks depending on time of year...I only use it as a top dressing for buckets of soaked cubes (2 horses) so use a couple big handfuls or so per day. I've never had it go bad in summer or winter. But then I'm in CT and it's not like we have weeks of hot and humid weather, not sure how it keeps in the south if that's where you are.
Lucerne does make a molasses free dengi too, but it's a forage mix. I think it's around 30% alfalfa.