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round brown 'cocoons' in hay? PICS

biscandmatt1

Wise Old Thumper
i don't know what they are and i can't find anything online.

they are small, spiky, round brownish things which look like shells. when you break them open there is a maggot looking thing inside, some white, some reddy white.

they're not moving but are mainly in the piggies hay area. i think they're from the hay.

does anyone know what they are please. i'm panicking. :(
 
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just found more in the soft hay. some bigger ones which look brown/green, spiky, and round. inside there is what looks like a maggot but could be the seed of something?? :? just going to try and take a pic. the little things inside are hard.

just trying to get a pic now.
 
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o/h thinks they're seeds of some kind. but i'm not sure. :?
 
You mean the little spiral-y spiky things, right? I have seen those in some bales of oat hay here before, the supplier I got the bales from said not to use the hay and she would refund/replace it for me.
I know it's a burr or seed pod of some kind. I don't think it's a cocoon, but I have never broken one open myself.
Looking it up now. I would not feed the hay that these are in. Can you get it returned and get something else?
 
You mean the little spiral-y spiky things, right? I have seen those in some bales of oat hay here before, the supplier I got the bales from said not to use the hay and she would refund/replace it for me.
I know it's a burr or seed pod of some kind. I don't think it's a cocoon, but I have never broken one open myself.
Looking it up now. I would not feed the hay that these are in. Can you get it returned and get something else?

yes, that's it - like a round spiral spiky thing.

i ordered two more bags aswell which are due tomorrow or thursday :roll:

poor piggies have no soft hay now :(
 
Poor piggies. :( Is there anything else they can eat?

Not sure if this is helpful, but if you scroll down about halfway down the page, the seed pods I spoke of are pictured there...burclover it is called.
http://www.sonoma.edu/preserves/prairie/prairie_desc/invasives.shtml

It sounds like cattlemen think it's okay to feed their cows, but I would be afraid that the spiky parts would poke holes in a small animals digestive tract, although bunnies are supposed to be able to grind things up well, it's jut not a risk I'd take. I hope you are able to find some better hay for the piggies. xx

ETA: As far as being able to remove them, they can be really tenacious and bits and pieces tend to break off and get lost in the bale. I would probably not feed it just to be safe. It's an invasive weed and has no business being in there, it's either poor quality control or they just caught a very bad crop.
The hay here is degraded by weeds more and more often, some are acceptable and can still be consumed, others not so much. :(
 
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Poor piggies. :( Is there anything else they can eat?

Not sure if this is helpful, but if you scroll down about halfway down the page, the seed pods I spoke of are pictured there...burclover it is called.
http://www.sonoma.edu/preserves/prairie/prairie_desc/invasives.shtml

It sounds like cattlemen think it's okay to feed their cows, but I would be afraid that the spiky parts would poke holes in a small animals digestive tract, although bunnies are supposed to be able to grind things up well, it's jut not a risk I'd take. I hope you are able to find some better hay for the piggies. xx

ETA: As far as being able to remove them, they can be really tenacious and bits and pieces tend to break off and get lost in the bale. I would probably not feed it just to be safe. It's an invasive weed and has no business being in there, it's either poor quality control or they just caught a very bad crop.
The hay here is degraded by weeds more and more often, some are acceptable and can still be consumed, others not so much. :(

i was just about to post about burclover. i think that's what they are.

piggies have some other hay to have but none for the bed area now to keep them warm. they have a snugglesafe though but it's cold in here.

i'm really panicking now, incase any of them have eaten any. :(
 
Well hopefully if they have found any they've turned their noses up. My guess is these things are obnoxious enough they would probably let them alone and certainly wouldn't swallow them whole. I don't know if they're digestible, and I don't know about how well piggies chew their food, but if you're worried I suppose you could ask your vet. (Not sure what time it is there.)
How long has the hay been in their enclosure?
 
Well hopefully if they have found any they've turned their noses up. My guess is these things are obnoxious enough they would probably let them alone and certainly wouldn't swallow them whole. I don't know if they're digestible, and I don't know about how well piggies chew their food, but if you're worried I suppose you could ask your vet. (Not sure what time it is there.)
How long has the hay been in their enclosure?

just emergency vets open now and all useless. :roll:

i clean the piggy cage every other day and i think i have used that hay the last two times, maybe three. :? also gave it to the buns aswell for a change :roll:

hopefully they haven't eaten any. i've removed it all now.

i was panicking about giving the piggies stalky hay in their bed area but i have cut it into smaller strands and given less and just put double vetbed and a heatpad. they shouldn't get caught in the stalky hay should they if i've cut it smaller? argh, i worry so much.

can't believe i've got another two bags of the stuff coming aswell. :shock: i might see if i can cancel the order actually.
 
i've emailed to try and cancel the order so hopefully they see it in time. also ordered some other hay aswell so fingers crossed that comes before the end of the week.

arghhhhhhhhhhh! that is all! :lol:
 
Hm. Well I'd say if the hay has been in there in the last few days and they haven't found/eaten any of these seedpods, or even if they have they've ground up the pods well enough that they won't cause harm, and they're probably going to be just fine. :thumb:
I hope you can get that other order cancelled and a new one on the way. I think they should reimburse you for the bad hay, you might want to bag it back up so you can send it back to them if they want proof. Hopefully it's just a one off and there won't be any more of these pesky things in future orders.

Hope the piggies/bunnies will be okay. :) It's a time like this one might hope that one has picky eaters! :lol:
 
Hm. Well I'd say if the hay has been in there in the last few days and they haven't found/eaten any of these seedpods, or even if they have they've ground up the pods well enough that they won't cause harm, and they're probably going to be just fine. :thumb:
I hope you can get that other order cancelled and a new one on the way. I think they should reimburse you for the bad hay, you might want to bag it back up so you can send it back to them if they want proof. Hopefully it's just a one off and there won't be any more of these pesky things in future orders.

Hope the piggies/bunnies will be okay. :) It's a time like this one might hope that one has picky eaters! :lol:

you just know that they'll have already sent the next two bags of seed pod hay... the order of a different hay will arrive.. i will be skint! :lol:

even if the seed pod hay arrives and looks fine though, i'll still be panicking that there are tiny pieces i can't see! :roll:

it's hay4pets fault for not having any soft hay that we usually get! :thumb: :lol:
 
Well shame on them then! :evil: There's nothing worse than needing something specific and everyone is out of it. Especially when it comes to feed for your pets. I hate to see them struggling with something that is less than ideal, and they can be unbearably stubborn about what they want to eat and refuse anything else I offer. :(

Unrelated, but this reminds me...I think the worst case I can think of had to do with supplies for people...my birth dad lives in Hawaii and there was a dock workers strike...for months there were no deliveries of toilet paper. :shock: Can you imagine...there were resulting 'black market' sales of it! I visualized a guy in a trenchcoat on the street corner saying "Psst...buddy...ya wanna buy some Charmin? Good stuff and cheap!"

I have to order hay in for my buns all the way from Washington State. If it comes in and it's bad, I'm lost for 45 pounds worth and over $120 US.
My specialty hays are another animal altogether...just as expensive too. :( And I've had quite a few orders wind up dumped in dirty water and the contents fouled by the post. :censored:
Such are the joys of living near the middle of nowhere. :p

Hopefully the next batch coming to you has no burrs in. :D Then you'll have extra!
 
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