Galen’s Garden

We are pleased to announce the arrival of a new product and a new site.  Fresh, aromatic, mountain meadow hay grown without fertilisers or pesticides and away from sources of pollution in the Tatra and Sudeten mountains of Southern Poland.

Fed by clear mountain streams, the long meadow grasses and wild plants are harvested, cured and dried in the fresh mountain air.

Our mountain meadow hay is much loved by rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas and degus.

High in fibre and rich in trace elements and minerals from the natural soil in which the grasses, herbs and wild plants are grown.

The hay includes 15% naturally ocurring Timothy hay;  20% perennial and Italian rye grass; 30% Tall, Red and Meadow fescue, Cocks Foot and Bent Red Top grasses, 5% Red, White and Alsike Clover with Dandelion and Yarrow.

Fibre 26.38%,  Protein 18%,  Calcium 4.89%, Phosphorous 1.35% 

(Analysis carried out by the Institute of Veterinary Hygiene)

Mountain Meadow Hay is the perfect hay for balancing out the veggies in a hay and veggie diet as it is high in calcium with a high Ca:P ratio.

For more about the nutrient levels in vegetable, visit the Galen’s Garden’s vegetable pages.

The latest additions to the Galen’s Garden site include a Book Store with books on rabbit care, guinea pig care and herbs as well as specialist veterinary books and books for children related to rabbits and guinea pigs.

The Vegetable Seed Store lists a variety of vegetable seeds which you can use to grow your own vegetables suitable for addition to the rabbit or guinea pig diet. You can also buy compost kits including wormeries to recycle all the waste from the rabbit or guinea pig hutch as well as pots and staging.

To help you choose which vegetables to grow for your rabbits or guinea pigs Belinda has added a section on vegetables which gives the Calcium and Phosphorous levels of the vegetables as well as the amount of vitamin C per 100gm for the benefit of guinea pig keepers.

Try our new balanced cookie mixes for rabbits, guinea pigs and chinchillas.

All the mixes have the correct calcium to phosphorous and fibre to protein ratios for a balanced diet.

Made entirely from plant based ingredients including wholemeal flour and pure grass meal.

Just add oil & water, roll and bake.

The cookie mixes come in a range of flavours including Apple & Alfalfa, Not Chocolate, Carrot and Corainder, Hedgerow Herb, Beetroot and Rosehip and Charcoal and Yucca.

New products in your Shop include natural edible flowers for rabbits, chinchillas and degus; a mix of roots, shoots, herbs and berries for chinchillas and a natural vitamin C supplement for guinea pigs made from amla and acerola powdered extracts.

We also have a hay and treat cube which you can use to wrap small amounts of the treat in a handful of hay.  This not only keeps the hay and treats off the floor of the cage, it also encourages natural foraging behaviour and a more natural feeding pattern.

Thistle Cavies guinea pig rescue in Perth have a fund raising traveller called Swaggie with his own passport who would love to go on holiday with you to raise funds for the rescue.

Raising funds for Ebony Eyes rabbit rescue is Scooty Mc Carrot who is already fairly well travelled according to his web page

Supporting these travellers is a fun way of raising funds for the rescues.

Why not invite one of them to your place for Christmas and donate to the rescue as a gift for the rabbit or guinea pig lover inyour life?

The handsome Scooty Mc Carrot is pictured below.

Planet Guinea sell Timothy grass seed and Timothy grass and herb seed mixes for you to grow your own piggy patch. Good for rabbits too. Timothy grass is excellent for cutting and feeding to your rabbits, guinea pigs and chinchillas. When it is established, it can be used for grazing. If you cut your initial Timothy grass crop in a patch roughly the size of your rabbit or guinea pig run, the cropped area will provide excellent grazing for your rabbits or guinea pigs.

All Planet Guinea’s seeds come with a complete set of instructions about how to prepare the soil, plant the seeds and care for your piggy paddock.

If you can leave it alone long enough, you will be able to cut and dry it to make your own Timothy hay. Instructions for making hay are on our hay site. You can also buy Timothy hay in small quantities from Planet Guinea’s shop if you can’t wait to grow, harvest and dry your own!

Planet Guinea sell cereal grass seeds for you to grow your own wheatgrass, oat grass or barley grass. Cereal grasses can be grown in the garden, in pots, in window boxes or in special sprouting machines such as the EasyGreen machine. (Illustrated)

Cereal grasses are harvested when the shoots are at their most nutritious. Wheat grass, barley grass, kamut grass (the wheat grass used for juicing) and oat grass are high quality foods for rabbits and guinea pigs. Rich in protein, vitamins and minerals.

In addition, rabbits and guinea pigs in the wild would take in most of their moisture through the food that they eat. The natural moisture content of cereal grasses and the fact that they are a ‘live food’ naturally rich in enzymes which aid digestion, make them an ideal food for all rabbits and guinea pigs but particularly valuable for feeding to those with, or recovering from, dental problems.

We are now selling pure dried grass meal for syringe feeding or adding to your favourite pet biscuit recipes.

18% Protein, 25% fibre and a rich source of vitamin A, betacarotene and vitamin E.

Dried grass meal is an excellent supplementary food for rabbits, guinea pigs and chinchillas but may also be added to biscuits for dogs.

Available in 250gm tubs £3.95 or 1kg ziplock refill bags £12.95.

1 kg grass meal is equivalent to 5 kg fresh grass.

We now have a new site all about hay.

Hay, and other forages made from herbs and wild plants, form the most important part of the rabbit, guinea pig or chinchilla diet. The Small Animal Veterinary Association recommend that hay and grass products should form a substantial part of their diet.

Hay is important not just for the long fibre. It also helps wear down the rabbit, guinea pig or chinchilla’s teeth in a natural way. Hay should be provided ad lib and any uneaten hay cleared away each day and replaced with fresh hay.

Although guinea pigs like to burrow in the hay and rabbits like it as bedding, hay is a major part of the diet and will not be eaten if it has been contaminated by urine or faeces.

A good way to provide clean hay is in a hay rack. This also acts as a boredom buster as the rabbit, guinea pig or chinchilla pulls the hay through. More often than not dropping it on the floor and eating it from there - but, you did your best!

Timothy hay is normally described as first or second cut. First cut Timothy hay is coarser and contains a lot of lignified fibre. It is ideal for rabbits and chinchillas. Second cut Timothy hay is cut later in the season. The grass is shorter and the resulting hay is also softer and leafier. 2nd cut Timothy hay is a great favourite with guinea pigs who love to create hay tunnels as they would in the wild grasses of their natural habitat.

Alpine meadow hay has a sweet nose reminiscent of the high mountain pastures in which it is grown. Softer than Timothy hay but still with good abrasion for the teeth and long fibre for the digestive tract. Alpine meadow hay is much loved by all rabbits, guinea pigs and chinchillas. The richness of the soil makes Alpine hay a good source of minor minerals and trace elements.

Herbal hay comes in two forms. The first is grass hay with some herbs in it. These vary according to the season in which the herb hay was but. The terms herbal hay or herb hay are also used to refer to hay which consists entirely of herbs and wild plants. In the US this is referred to as Botanical Hay and is available from Oxbow hay.

Oxbow’s Botanical Hay consists of a blend of several herbs according to season. From our Herbal Hay site we will soon be selling a multiple herb hay based on our successful cut herb blend Galens Gardens Hedgerow Herbs in response for requests for a UK product similar to Oxbow’s Botanical Hay.

Individual herb hays have been produced and used by rabbit keepers for hundreds of years, ever since rabbits were kept in the monasteries as food. Clover hay is a rich source of calcium, nettle hay is a good source of iron. Both are valuable for pregnant and nursing animals. Nettles are one of the herbs which help increas the milk supply during lactation.

For information on the properties of the various herbs which can be dried as herb hay, visit Galen’s Garden and check out the Herb monographs.

Herbs and Wild Plants| Constituents and Actions
Agrimony | Avens | Borage | Chickweed | Cleavers | Coltsfoot | Cornsilk | Dandelion | Goats Rue | Golden Rod | Groundsel | Lemon Balm | Mallow | Marshmallow | Meadowsweet | Melilot | Milk Thistle | Mouse Ear | Nettles | Parsley | Plantain | Raspberry Leaf | Red Clover | Rosehip | Shepherds Purse | Yarrow

On our herbal hay site; http://www.herbalhay.co.uk/ you can find out more about hay, growing and harvesting hay, how to judge the quality of hay and how to grow and dry your own hay.