Hay Bales And Parasites???

hi :wave:

i was told that rabbits can get parasites, eg mites, from hay bales (eg bales bought at the local horse shop), has anyone experienced this?

i guess that there could be parasites transfered from wild rabbits that lived around the hay whilst it was growing / stored? i found this link about it and it says a bad batch of hay may cause a mite problem, and the thought of that fleas carrying myxi, scary could rabbit fleas be transported by hay bales?

http://www.yourpetshealth.co.uk/page15.htm

faye

I don't know a huge amount about this but I suppose it's always a risk. That's why vaccinating is always so important. Mine have had mites in the past and the only place I can think they could've picked them up is from the hay but at the same time my other pair with the same hay didn't get mites. With mites it is usual for them to have some, it's when their immune system gets run down and they take over that it becomes a problem. Another thing is I believe that with mites and fleas they really need a warm, living host to survive.

Lice can travel in hay I have had that on my rabbits. Mites can not be caught off hay as they come out in times of stress.

In theory there could be (and I suspect will be if you look under a microscope) mites in any hay. It is not sterile and it all comes from fields where other animals have been - whether it is straight from the bale or is bagged up. As Schuette said, it shouldn't cause a problem unless there is an underlying issue with the bun, or the hay has been stored badly (eg warm & damp). Baled hay has more of an 'airing' than bagged, so I would hope there would be fewer mites. Fleas shouldn't be a problem.

I've also had contaminated dry food (mainly hamster mix) - various mites and beetles which live in stored grain, etc. I always minimise the risk by putting the dry food in sealed tubs or buckets. That way it stays in the one batch and doesn't contaminate the rest (including our food). I got fed up of having to clear out my cupboards.

Yes there is a risk and as Schuette says this is why it is important to vaccinate. I used to buy bagged hay from the pet shop and when I swapped brands to one that was shrink wrapped my buns got mites. You could actually see them in the corners of the bags if you looked hard enough. The warm slightly damp (you can never get rid of all the water), closely packed conditions seems to help mites multiply so an infestation soon happens. Since swapping to bales about a year go I've not noticed mites on my guys at all.

I don't believe and can't see that hay bales pose any more of a risk than bagged hay? Vaccinating & a clean environment is the best defence :wave:

My friend was told her rabbit most likely got his mites from his hay - and he is on bagged hay, which I presume his vet would know.

thankyou so much everyone, that has put my mind at ease. i thought that the bagged hay would be treated in some way to remove mites but obviously not! :? it is so much cheaper to buy a bale, and would check that it looked good hay, i just didn't want to put the buns at risk and now i know i wouldn't be

i am doing vaccinations now and have lino'd the shed so i can keep it all clean and shiny - well until they go in and throw hay about :lol: :rabbit2:

fayepawprints said:

thankyou so much everyone, that has put my mind at ease. i thought that the bagged hay would be treated in some way to remove mites but obviously not! :? it is so much cheaper to buy a bale, and would check that it looked good hay, i just didn't want to put the buns at risk and now i know i wouldn't be

i am doing vaccinations now and have lino'd the shed so i can keep it all clean and shiny - well until they go in and throw hay about :lol: :rabbit2:

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Sounds great. :thumb: I've been using hay bales for about 16 months now and have only had one or two small issues. The mites which they could easily have had before that and it just got out of hand after having two vaccinations close together and one bale I had had lots of some black weed in it which meant I lost quite a bit of hay. It has saved me a lot of money though and the bunnies definitely seem to prefer the baled hay to the bagged stuff.

Fluffers said:

I don't believe and can't see that hay bales pose any more of a risk than bagged hay? Vaccinating & a clean environment is the best defence :wave:

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I agree, I have fed baled hay for ages with my two and all ok so far. Both are up to date with injections and have a really clean environment too. I've also found that with pet shop bagged hay it can be very dusty but with fresh green bales of hay it's just lovely :wave:

I've been thinking about this because I had a perception that the bagged dust extracted hay was safer - I saw some baled hay recently and it bothers me that any sort of mice/rat/insect could run around on the bales weeing etc having said that I found a dead field mOuse in a bag of Burns Oat hay the other day so I suppose it's a natural hazard of the product and maybe the buns do have some resistance naturally or would that just be for the wildie's ?

I still threw the whole bag away to be on the safe side after much deliberation don't know if it was necessary or not :?