Sweet Meadow Farm All Natural 2nd Western Timothy Hay for Rabbits, Guinea Pigs & Chinchillas Food, 20-lb box

we buy this hay regularly and it is usually fantastic. this is most likely the fault of the shipping provider considering the circumstances, but the bottom of this box was soaked with some sort of cleaning product or detergent. as i walked up to my house after work to bring it inside i noticed a strong sweet smell, like laundry detergent or febreeze. it was so strong that when i touched the box it stuck to my hand, and after 3 times of washing it my hand still smelled like whatever it was. we had to throw this box of hay out.

Back in 2018, I bought 2 small bags at an independent pet store. My 5 guinea pigs at the time went absolutely crazy for it. It smelled so nice and was soft and fluffy. Then I moved to a new state and couldn't find this brand anywhere. Not even on chewy. So I was giving them oxbow hay. These guinea pigs were the pickiest eaters I've ever known. They would only eat one specific brand/type of pellet and they hay had to be a certain brand or they wouldn't touch it. Finally, I was elated to see sweet meadow farms on chewy and in bulk! So I bought this hay and they loved it. They absolutely would not accept anything else. Even oxbow was barely touched when I bought it out of necessity. For a few years now, I've only purchased this hay. But the quality varies. Sometimes it's nice and green and mostly soft. But other times it's hard and sometimes brown. At this point it's kind of a gamble on what you're going to get. My guinea pigs still eat the same amount and I've never had inedible hay. But I just wish the quality was more consistent.

It was my first time buying the Sweet Meadow Farm Timothy 2nd Cut Hay (20lb). I had previously bought the 3lb size and though it was strange-looking (dark green, stringy, and wet-looking), my guinea pigs enjoyed eating it, so I thought maybe this 20lb size would be similar in appearance. The hay turned out to be quite different-looking and more characteristic of 2nd cut Timothy hay that I've purchased from other brands. It had a mix of stems and leaves (though a bit more stems than my piggies would like), and was mostly green. There was very little yellow/dry stems (a good thing) but a fair amount of brown leaves...enough to comment on, but not enough to dissuade me from buying the hay again. This box was a good value for the money and I liked that it came from a Chewy warehouse, so it was boxed within another box (along with other items I had ordered). Since the hay is packed directly into the manufacturer's cardboard box, extended exposure to rain/snow could affect its quality, but this box was protected by a Chewy box, so I was relieved since I received the order on a rainy day. In conclusion, I will likely buy this item again!

SMF was once a leader in the hay business. Unfortunately, the quality has gone down by far. Honestly, this is with most of the sellers. It seems that shopping for quality Timothy Hay now involves shopping for the best or the worst. In that light, this is in the lead with the excess of dust and lack of hay.