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Farm Bales- Should i be removing anything from them - ragwort etc

Ambience

Warren Veteran
I'm getting normal farm bales now. I know buns are pretty savvy in the wild about what they eat and what they leave. They don't need lessons in what to eat or what not too. I am worried though.

I know for horses you take the ragwort out. Is this the same for bunnies? I can just about remember what it looks like.

Also i had prickly bits in the hay. Can buns cope with this or do i need to go through and get all this out of the bales. I know it's from certain weeds etc.

It is nice hay. I just need to make sure I'm not missing anything by throwing it in there with them?
 
Absolutley- do take out the ragwort for bunnies! They only say its dangerous to animals- I don't know if theres any research regarding rabbits but I certainly wouldn't want to test giving my rabbit ragwort to find out!:)
I always remove any of those long prickly pieces to be on the safe side too.:)
sue:wave:

here is the defra article on ragwort

" Common ragwort is the only one of the five weeds specified in the Weeds Act which poses a risk to animal health. "

http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-pets/wildlife/management/weeds/

theres a pic of ragwort on there too
 
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Should good quality hay have ragwort in it to start with?

I don't know what it looks like dried up :oops:
 
It's just a farm bale- the bits I'm pulling out look like brown twigs- i think that's ragwort- least that's what we used to remove for the horses i believe.
 
It's just a farm bale- the bits I'm pulling out look like brown twigs- i think that's ragwort- least that's what we used to remove for the horses i believe.

I suspect the brown twigs are dock stems - these are the most common thing to find in hay :wave: It would be VERY unusual for any farmer to allow ragwort to grow in hay meadows and not remove it before cutting as it would put their own animals lives at risk.
Most farmers will pull it up on sight.

Dock stems and leaves are fine BUT if they have seed heads on them (which in general they will have seeded by the time the hay is cut, then you need to pull them out as the seeds themselves contain binoxalate of potash that is a toxin and poisonous, however, it is unlikely bun will eat it anyway). Generally in hay all you will find is dock stems (and the odd seeded head which I would throw away)
Hay may also contain thistles and nettles but neither are a risk to buns.
 
I suspect the brown twigs are dock stems - these are the most common thing to find in hay :wave: It would be VERY unusual for any farmer to allow ragwort to grow in hay meadows and not remove it before cutting as it would put their own animals lives at risk.
Most farmers will pull it up on sight.

Dock stems and leaves are fine BUT if they have seed heads on them (which in general they will have seeded by the time the hay is cut, then you need to pull them out as the seeds themselves contain binoxalate of potash that is a toxin and poisonous, however, it is unlikely bun will eat it anyway). Generally in hay all you will find is dock stems (and the odd seeded head which I would throw away)
Hay may also contain thistles and nettles but neither are a risk to buns.

Thankyou , this is really helpful. I believe the supplier to be very good and they supply for horses- so i imagine it would be good enough for the buns. I have seen some little flowers and thistles. Glad to know nothing is too dangerous :) x
 
Absolutley- do take out the ragwort for bunnies! They only say its dangerous to animals- I don't know if theres any research regarding rabbits but I certainly wouldn't want to test giving my rabbit ragwort to find out!:)
I always remove any of those long prickly pieces to be on the safe side too.:)
sue:wave:

All animals are pretty clever at knowing what they can eat and bunnies are no exception. There is research and Rabbits are much more immune to the effects of ragwort. Rabbits are naturally part of the plant's ecology they create bare areas for it to grow in on sand dunes and places but refuse to eat it because of the horrid taste.

Poisoning in horses is actually very rare and only really occurs in cases of real abuse and or where they have been fed hay with ragwort in it.
The plant looses its bitter taste when it is dried. It is probably a good idea not to feed this plant to any animal but don't panic if you see it growing nearby. It is the hay you worry about.

Here are some links in general on ragwort which dispel some of the panic.

Ragwort dot org

Ragwort the sense and the nonsense
 
I have never ever found ragwort in my horses' or bunnies' hay. Farmers should remove it before they cut it.
 
I agree, even finding a few thistles (although not harmful) in hay I think generally its not as good quality? I am lucky as Im an ecologist so I know what all the dried stuff is most of the time and can see most of my bales have timothy grass, meadow grasses and a bit of perennial rye grass but the bales I get dont have thistles or anything else sort of rank in it like that. It is difficult to find a good supplier and also depends on the weather that summer I guess with how successful they have been making decent hay :)
 
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