KMS Hayloft

daj · Post » Mon Jul 26, 2021 6:43 pm

Does anyone know if they are having problems? I ordered pellets on the 20th and haven't gotten any updates. The phone is just the greeting saying no one is available, and they haven't responded to an attempted contact via their Web site. Now, I will definitely run out, and I will hat switching brands.

Post » Mon Jul 26, 2021 10:12 pm

I wonder if the fires are impacting them. There is nothing on the website that gives any updates?

Unfortunately, I am unfamiliar with their operation and have no advice/experience.

Sef · Post » Mon Jul 26, 2021 10:35 pm

I tried to order a batch from their website the other day but it was showing "Sold Out." I ended up buying from a seller on Amazon.com, but I don't think they will arrive before I run out. My fall-back is usually Oxbow Garden Select.

daj · Post » Tue Jul 27, 2021 12:15 am

Oxbow GS is my fall-back too. I think it's a bit higher in calcium, but I don't know of anything better. I have already started mixing it in. I hadn't thought of the fires. Seems a good possibility. I didn't see anything on their site.

bpatters · Post » Tue Jul 27, 2021 12:21 am

I don't know specifically about KMS, but I read today that a huge percentage of crops in the northwest have been affected by the fires, and that there'll be a national hay shortage this year.

daj · Post » Tue Jul 27, 2021 9:27 pm

I got a response from them today saying my auto-ship order was refunded, and it included links to buy on Amazon. I didn't ask for the refund, I was awaiting pellets. I also didn't know they sold on Amazon, but they are $5.00 more expensive there.

Sef · Post » Wed Jul 28, 2021 10:44 am

They are more expensive on Amazon and they ship from a third party seller (not eligible for 2-day Prime shipping).

I actually ran into this with my last KMS order, but fortunately they were able to get the pellets back in stock before I ran completely out.

The boys are not happy that I'm having to ration...

daj · Post » Wed Jul 28, 2021 9:20 pm

I am wondering what the situation with KMS is. They haven't responded to me saying I did not request to cancel my auto-ship. I wonder why they did and issued a refund... I see nothing on their Web site indicating problems, but it seems to not be allowing me to order.

I checked with the place where I get hay. Theirs comes from Colorado, so the guy didn't foresee shortages, but I don't think he exactly has his finger on the pulse of what lies ahead. I will be visiting to stock up this weekend. What on earth happens for the pigs and other animals when hay is in short supply? I suppose they just suffer the consequences.

daj · Post » Wed Jul 28, 2021 9:24 pm

Looks like there are complaints of no response from KMS on their Facebook page, along with posts apparently from KMS seeming oblivious. One person said they heard KMS was sold. Would love to know what's going on.

Sef · Post » Wed Jul 28, 2021 11:11 pm

I hope that isn't the case (KMS being sold). Last time I ran into issues with not getting a response, I did post on their FB page that they were ignoring my emails. This elicited a somewhat snarky email from the owner that I didn't really think was justified as I had sent three emails asking for a status on my order and heard nothing back. I wasn't happy about it, but they're still the best pellet available here in the US, and I have been willing to put up with crappy customer service for the sake of my guys.

They really need to tell customers what the heck is going on, though. I haven't gotten a shipping update from the third party seller, either.

Post » Wed Jul 28, 2021 11:33 pm

The original owner sold the company. The new people had been running it. I don't know if it has been sold again.

daj · Post » Thu Jul 29, 2021 12:15 am

I just got a notification from KMS saying my order was declined bcs of my credit card. (previous was recently closed due to attempted fraud) What a crude Web site. That's nearly 2 weeks gone by without knowing what the issue was. At least they haven't folded, but now we will see how long it takes to actually get the pellets. I won't be holding my breath. Oxbow will have to do if KMS is going to be unreliable.

This has made me wonder though, how has the consensus come to hold that KMS is the best? Is this based simply on reading the labels of various brands?

bpatters · Post » Thu Jul 29, 2021 1:11 am

No. Linda, the original owner of KMS, was a member here. Her goal was to produce the best hay and pellets possible for guinea pigs, and she did quite a lot of research on the best ingredients for pellets. She posted a lot about their farm and their priorities for hay and pellets. They had fantastic customer service. The pellets always shipped with information on the date they were milled, and several people joked that it looked like they just mowed the hay, took it directly to where the pellets were made, and then shipped them. They were by far the freshest available.

But Linda sold the company a few years ago when she became ill, and the new owners have never lived up to the quality of service she offered. Sadly, she passed away a year or so ago. The one bright side to that may be that she's not having to watch the decline of the company she established and worked so hard to make successful.

daj · Post » Thu Jul 29, 2021 10:21 am

Everything I have seen from them recently is automated, no personal replies, even on their FB page. They are merely reposting positive feedback they've received in the past. Definite weirdness going on.

I wonder how hard it is to make one's own pellets? Does anyone have info on this? From what I've seen pelletizing machines are expensive, but maybe there are other solutions? I wonder if a dehydrator would be of use? Or, is it best to just stick with store-bought pellets?

bpatters · Post » Thu Jul 29, 2021 12:07 pm

Guinea pigs don't necessarily NEED pellets. What they need is hay and additional vitamins and minerals. Those latter two are the hard parts -- figuring out exactly what they need and how much.

Making pellets is what my mother would have called "too much sugar for a dime." Totally not worth the effort.

Post » Thu Jul 29, 2021 2:55 pm

With her pellets, there was a premix that is commonly available to mills that was added. My guess, specifically for guinea pigs since vitamin C is required. In addition, she specified the combination of other ingredients. This had to work with the pelleting process.

Sef · Post » Thu Jul 29, 2021 9:00 pm

It was not only the freshness and quality ingredients of the pellets that made it a top choice for me and many others, but also the fact that KMS (Kleenmama at the time---I still call it that) was one of the first US pellet manufacturers to eliminate calcium carbonate from the list of ingredients. At the time, many of us here were battling bladder stones in our guinea pigs despite doing all the "right things" where diet was concerned, and we started to suspect a correlation between bladder stones in cavies (which are largely calcium carbonate in composition) and the use of calcium carbonate/limestone as the source of calcium in nearly all brand-name pellets---Oxbow being the most popular back then. Linda worked very hard to not only keep the calcium content of her pellets lower than any other commercial pellets on the market, but she also avoided that particular ingredient.

daj · Post » Thu Jul 29, 2021 9:58 pm

I guess there's no telling what's up with KMS. They seem to have gone off the rails. The pellets are sold out, they don't answer the phone, and they give only automated replies. Weren't they being proactive in the past, sending out emails from the owner when there was a possibility of shortages? What happened to that?

If trying to make my own pellets is a no go, I suppose I will stick with Oxbow Garden Select, unless someone has another suggestion. What about the Sherwood timothy based pellets? Anyone have knowledge of them? They seem to be considerably more expensive than the Oxbow GS. But then, the packaging says they're 'concentrated so you can feed less pellets. Not sure why that would be desirable, since it makes for less munching.

Sef · Post » Thu Jul 29, 2021 10:13 pm

Sherwood pellets and so-called supplements are not only highly over-priced but based on junk "science." Before they came out with timothy pellets, they tried to make the claim that their alfalfa-based pellets were perfectly fine and couldn't possibly cause sludge or bladder stones in guinea pigs. If that's the case, why develop timothy pellets? There's a thread about them on GL somewhere. Strong NO vote here.

bpatters · Post » Fri Jul 30, 2021 12:25 am

No on Sherwood from me as well.

There IS some telling on what's up with KMS. The new owners have just screwed it up. The emails about shortages came when Linda was still running the company.