Farm hay

Hi,

I have read all the other posts on here about hay but I just wanted to ask your opinion about farm hay.

I have two rabbits at the moment and will be getting 3 guinea pigs in the next few weeks (separate hutches of course). I also have a horse and so used to get my hay from the stables. However, in January, Benjamin (my boy bunny) ended up at the vets as he had a blockage in his gut, sadly I lost him as he had a massive heart attack.

After this, I did a lot of research as read somewhere that hay provided by farms is long and so can contribute to blockages so I instantly stopped using the farm hay and now buy meadow hay from pet shops.

However, this is expensive and will be even more so once I get the guinea pigs and so I would like to go back to using the hay from the stables. I would really appreciate your opinions on this and if there is any particular type of hay I can use.

Thanks!

I have used farm bales for ages for my 9 rabbits and any foster buns. I have not had any problems with it.

This is interesting, I too have a pony and have always used her hay for the rabbit, but now she seems to get sticky poohs on her back end. I have just ordered some expensive stuff from Ebay instead.
Then again she has had the horse hay for the last 5 years with no probs so it could be something else with my girl.

I use farm hay, much cheaper and means that I'm not afraid to give them a bit more if needed as it's so cheap. Never heard it can cause blockages, but I suppose it is possible if the rabbit has dental issues and doesn't chew it properly. But this can be with any food/hay, not just farm hay.

I use bales of farm hay for the piggies and rabbits. I too used to have a horse so am reluctant to pay the petshop prices.

If you are worried about the length of the hay, more an entanglement problem with piggie legs I would have thought as I agree if your buns and piggies teeth are ok they will have chewed it up by the time they swallow it, then you could always take the shears to it and chop it up a bit.

The sticky bottom end could be caused by a batch of hay that is high in protein as hay will vary from farm to farm as well as bale to bale, or perhaps its something else, amount of pellets, veg or access to rich spring grass.

I am prob totally wrong here as only briefly read what i was reading but thought i would check as some people say horse hay lasts them several months?

Is horse hay different? i am sure i read that it must be used within a few days to a week due to mould build on it once it has been opened and exposed to air and that it should be stored uncompressed to breath.

Is this a horse issue or am i mis-informed or if right, could it affect buns?

We use FAB hay. Fantastic stuff but cant find the supplier on the net if the local store stops selling it.

There are usually 2 cuts of hay a year in the UK and the hay is stored and used throughout the year. Provided the bales of hay are kept dry they will be fine. If the hay is allowed to become damp, or is stored in plastic bags where it can sweat it can get mouldy and would be harmful to horses, rabbits, guineapigs. I store my bale of hay in an old cotton quilt cover, to contain the mess, in a cool, dry shed. Hay should smell "nice" almost sweet, if there is any "musty" or "mushroomy" smell do not fed it.

Thanks for the info. Handy if cant get the usual stuff, least i know i can go for good quality horse hay

i use farm hay, a whole bale for only £2 was in tesco yest and they were selling a small packet of hay for £1.70 :shock:

i get my hay from pet planet and it really is good and a great size and does last a long time and its not to highly priced for the size you get

http://www.petplanet.co.uk/product.asp?dept_id=445&pf_id=5753

I have always used baled hay direct from a farm for all of my 19, the fosters and the boarders. I have never had a health issue that could be directly related to hay to be honest.

Blockages in the gut are more likely to be caused I think by bunnies eating mush or grooming during a heavy molt or foreign bodies like carpet, paper, fabric.

I do know that some people believe that some of the extruded pellets are more likely to see a problem with a gut blockage as the pellets are made from 'dust' (SS and Excel) rather than whole fibre (as with Oxbow or Allen and Page), but that is not something that I have seen with any of mine and I feed SS.

I would say that some farm hay is better than others obviously, and I always feed a good fibrous stalking timothy and rye. This produces very large healthy poos and no signs of blockages to date.

I think the whole thing is it needs to be good quality, so if yours is, then I would feed it.

If you are in doubt, you could always try washing the farm hay. Our vet recommends this when hay is dusty. You take a small amount tie it in a knot, dunk it and then dry it out thoroughly. Good for small amounts. (the knot tying means that you don't lose half of it in the water).

Helen

I can't see why the processed hay you buy in small packets at extortionate prices would be better than a fresh farm bale which is what the packet stuff is made out of in the first place.

My two are disgusted at the moment as we finished their last bale (I keep mine a wheelie bin and as it is aired once a day when I take some out, it seems to keep nice and fresh and dry). They are making do with Wilkinsons hay which they'd rather pee on than eat and some Bob Martins which they are similarly not that pleased with. They eat it eventually, but they don't try and knock me off my feet and dive straight into it like with hay from a bale.

Mine love the farm hay and look at me like i am trying to poison them if i give them the opet shop stuff. But occasionaly i buy a bag or brome or green oat as a treat for them.

My rabbit has, for the three years of his life, been given the same hay my horses eat. This is because we make our own hay and it is free. The pet shops rip people off - several pounds for a small bag of hay, whether the hay is a special type or not, is absolute daylight robbery. Even if I paid for the hay I gave my bun, the bales I buy would be £1.50 off the field!

Troublesome Two said:

I am prob totally wrong here as only briefly read what i was reading but thought i would check as some people say horse hay lasts them several months?

Is horse hay different? i am sure i read that it must be used within a few days to a week due to mould build on it once it has been opened and exposed to air and that it should be stored uncompressed to breath.

Is this a horse issue or am i mis-informed or if right, could it affect buns?

We use FAB hay. Fantastic stuff but cant find the supplier on the net if the local store stops selling it.

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You are talking about haylage!

My hay is never wrapped in anything but fresh air and binder twine, and I have some hay left from 2 summers ago that the horses/rabbit still haven't eaten.

I buy bags of hay from the local farm shop as have no-where to store a huge bail.

I dont understand why my pair will only eat it when its fresh out of my hay tub if its sat all year round at the shop? If I put them fresh in they will only eat it for about 4 hours before I have to throw it away and replace it with more fresh. I throw away about half a bag each week!

Luckily its only £2 a bag!

My horses wont eat anything but the best hay, they are very fussy so the buns get the same and they love it