Standlee Forage Guide: Compressed Bales, Pellets, and Which One Your Animal Needs
Standlee shows up on the site in five or six different forms: compressed bales, pellets, cubes, chopped hay, flavored forage bites. For a buyer who just wants hay for a goat, a guinea pig, or a llama, that many versions of the same basic product raises more questions than it answers. Here is what each format actually is, why it exists, and which one fits which animal and setup.
About Standlee
A family operation since 1981
Standlee Premium Western Forage has been making hay products since 1981. The company is based in Kimberly, Idaho, and is still family owned, now into its third generation. Production is sun cured, a method meant to preserve nutritional quality between the field and the bag, and Standlee describes itself as running the largest distribution network of forage products in the United States, built on a vertically integrated seed to feed operation.
Built for horses, useful for a lot more
Horses were Standlee's original market, and horses are still the company's main focus. But the same forage, once it is pelleted, cubed, or chopped, is also formulated and fed to cattle, donkeys, goats, llamas, rabbits, and guinea pigs. That range covers most of the animals Exotic Animal Supply's small animal and hoofstock buyers are actually feeding.
The formats, explained
Standlee sells the same hay in five formats, and each one solves a different problem.
Compressed bales
A compressed bale is a full bale of hay pressed down and wrapped, including Standlee's patented Grab and Go bale, which the company introduced in 2009 with a carry handle and plastic wrapping built in. This is the closest a buyer gets to feeding straight hay, just in a smaller package that is easier to store and move around. Buyers who want to free feed hay the way the animal would naturally eat it tend to reach for this format first.
Pellets
Pellets are ground hay pressed into small, dense pieces, the kind found in Standlee's Alfalfa Timothy Pellets, a quarter inch pellet blending ground alfalfa and timothy grass. According to Standlee, pelleting does not change the digestibility of the hay, so a pellet delivers the same nutrition as the loose hay it came from, just in a form that is more compact, less dusty, and easier to portion. Pellets are also the easiest format to soak, which matters for animals with dental issues or ones that eat too fast.
Cubes
Cubes work like pellets but come in a bigger, cube shaped piece. They take longer to eat, which can be useful for an animal that benefits from more chew time, though a cube is a poor fit for a smaller mouthed animal that cannot break one down easily.
Chopped hay
Chopped hay is hay cut into short lengths instead of left long or pressed into a bale. It mixes into a feed bowl more easily than long stem hay and is more manageable for a small animal, without going as far as a full pellet.
Forage bites
Forage bites are small, flavored treats, banana, star anise, very berry, and a few others, made from the same alfalfa base. These are meant as a treat or a training aid, not a primary forage source.
Which format fits which animal
Standlee's own feeding guidance for the Alfalfa Timothy Pellets names cattle, donkeys, goats, and llamas as suitable species right alongside horses, each with its own maximum feeding rate. Rabbits and guinea pigs get their own separate small animal category in the same guidance.
Small animals: guinea pigs and rabbits
For guinea pigs and other small animals, pellets or chopped hay are usually the better everyday choice. There is less waste, easier portioning, and a small animal can physically manage either format better than a full compressed bale. A compressed bale makes more sense when a buyer is feeding a larger quantity or wants to offer free choice, long stem hay.
Hoofstock: goats, donkeys, and llamas
Goats, donkeys, and llamas are a different story. Most of the hoofstock and exotic ungulate buyers shopping the site, including llama and alpaca owners, are working with bigger animals and bigger daily forage volumes, and a compressed bale or cubes usually make more sense there than pellets alone. Pellets still have a place for these animals as a supplemental or soaked option, particularly for older animals with dental issues.
General feeding guidelines
Standlee's general feeding guidance calls for forage to make up roughly 1.5 to 2.5 percent of a horse's body weight each day, introduced gradually over 7 to 14 days when switching formats or sources. That is a horse specific number, but it is a reasonable starting point to check against species specific guidance for other animals. For dental issues or fast eaters, Standlee recommends soaking pellets in a 2 to 1 water to pellet ratio for about 30 minutes before feeding.
Sourcing Standlee at scale
A single pet owner buying one bag every month or two does not need to think much about supply. Breeders, sanctuaries, and multi-animal households feeding through Standlee compressed bales every week are a different situation, and running out mid-week is a real problem when the animal has already been on a given forage type.
Exotic Animal Supply stores its Standlee inventory across four climate-controlled warehouses in Fort Worth, Houston, Orlando, and Durham, each kept below 70 degrees Fahrenheit at roughly 50 percent humidity with continuous monitoring. That matters for hay products specifically, since heat and humidity are what cause stored forage to lose nutritional value and develop mold before a buyer ever opens the bag.
Orders placed before 2 PM EST ship the same day, and local pickup is available the next business day at all four locations for buyers near Fort Worth, Houston, Orlando, or Durham who would rather collect a bulk order in person than wait on shipping.
Frequently asked questions
Does pelleting change the nutritional value of the hay?
No. According to Standlee, the mechanical process of making a forage pellet does not change the digestibility of the hay, so a pellet and the loose hay it came from deliver equivalent nutrition.
What is the difference between a compressed bale and a regular bale?
Both are the same hay, just compressed and wrapped for easier handling, storage, and transport. Compressing the bale does not change the hay itself, only its size and packaging.
Can Standlee products be fed to goats and llamas, not just horses?
Yes. Standlee's own feeding guidance for products like the Alfalfa Timothy Pellets specifically includes goats, llamas, donkeys, and cattle alongside horses, each with its own maximum feeding rate.
Which format is best for a guinea pig or rabbit?
Pellets or chopped hay are generally the more practical everyday option for small animals, since they are easier to portion and manage than a full compressed bale.
How do I know how much to feed?
Start with Standlee's published feeding rate for the specific product and species, then adjust based on body condition. A goat or llama in cooler weather or later in pregnancy may need more forage than the baseline rate assumes, so treat the label rate as a starting point, not a fixed number.
Shop Standlee at Exotic Animal Supply
Exotic Animal Supply carries the full range of Standlee formats, compressed bales, pellets, cubes, chopped hay, and forage bites, with same-day shipping on orders placed before 2 PM EST. For help matching a format to a specific species or feeding volume, reach out directly.