• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Hay Trouble ?

Jack's-Jane

Wise Old Thumper
Anyone else finding it more difficult to obtain good quality hay ? The Farm I have used for years are saying that the very wet winter has led to a scarcity of good quality hay and that things are unlikely to improve for some time :cry: The Farm are doing their best for me and they do try to supply me with the most suitable bales for my Rabbits. But although the Rabbits are eating the hay delivered they are not eating as much of it and daily poo patrols have shown a reduction in quality of output too.

I have just had to spend a ridiculous amount on some Herby Hays from Zooplus.
 
Where I get mine from never seems to struggle, every time there seems to be a shortage they still have plenty. They import from Spain when it's a bad harvest here though. Last bale was really nice.
 
No issues with hay supply here Jane - infact I'd say it's the best it's been in ages. Beautiful smelling bales with lots of green bits. It's a shame you're so far as I'd happily bring you bales :(

I remember having a nightmare a few years back when everywhere I tried the hay was awful, and then I found the farm I now go to on the offchance, and it was a complete godsend as the hay is consistantly nice. Its southampton way
 
Yes, I get mine from a garden centre who source it from a local organic farm. The last few batches have been quite poor, it almost smells slightly musty, it's normally so fresh. The bunnies aren't eating as much and habe had smaller poos for a while. Not really sure what to do. They love this hay normally.
 
I get mine from a local sheep farm but am looking for alternatives as part of the last batch smelt like it was fermenting and there's often bits of dried sheep dung in it which I'm not sure about
 
The Farm I use do buy in some, but AFAIK they try to only buy from the UK. Apparently they have to cover a demand in excess of 30,000 bales/month at the moment :shock: I get through about 2 large bales a week.
 
I think the quality of British meadow hay has been dreadful recently. I used to feed a mixture of bog standard meadow hay from wherever I could get it from (provided it looked ok) and Timothy hay.

At the moment meadow hay is so brown and dusty, mid-range Timothy hay is like meadow hay used to be and the only thing that's really decent (to buy in a shop) is American Timothy hay which is so expensive (it is green and lovely though and the buns go mad for it).

I was wondering if it had something to do with the weather as the quality hay across the board has been pretty bad for a while. I need to start buying online I think.
 
I think the quality of British meadow hay has been dreadful recently. I used to feed a mixture of bog standard meadow hay from wherever I could get it from (provided it looked ok) and Timothy hay.

At the moment meadow hay is so brown and dusty, mid-range Timothy hay is like meadow hay used to be and the only thing that's really decent (to buy in a shop) is American Timothy hay which is so expensive (it is green and lovely though and the buns go mad for it).

I was wondering if it had something to do with the weather as the quality hay across the board has been pretty bad for a while. I need to start buying online I think.

I was told that not only has the wet winter spoiled a lot of this year's crop, but Farmers have had to use the already stored hay they would otherwise have sold in order to feed livestock who had to be kept indoors for months on end because of all the flooding.
 
I was told that not only has the wet winter spoiled a lot of this year's crop, but Farmers have had to use the already stored hay they would otherwise have sold in order to feed livestock who had to be kept indoors for months on end because of all the flooding.

That explains it then! I'm definitely spending much more on hay than I ever have in the past.
 
But I need bales as I have 13 Rabbits. Buying from Pet Supply Shops would bankrupt me. I would estimate each bale weighs about 10kg and I get through 2/week. Each bale costs about £5.50,. Buying 20kg of Pet Supply shop hay would cost .................. :shock:

Hayforpets is £16 for 10kg so it would be £32 per week instead of £11
Total annual cost: £1664 vs £572
 
It's nearly time for the first hay cut round here. The grass isn't as tall or thick as last year, but is now seeding, so is ready for cutting. There should be time for a decent second cut, which I don't think we had last year.

The bales I have had recently are OK - they are always dustier and browner at this time of year so I expect the quality to go down after so long in storage.I suspect it is still better than some branded, bagged hay. I haven't had any supply problems yet, but some suppliers do start running out by now normally.

Hope you find a continuing supply, Jane. Is there the option of straw for flooring and more fresh grass for nibbling on, just to stretch the hay out a bit?
 
I haven't had a problem as yet recently (hoping I'm not tempting fate by saying that :shock::lol:). I bought a couple of bales a week or two ago and the farm shop was just as well stocked as usual. The quality is just as good as ever too, I'd even say the meadow hay has been nicer over recent months than it used to be.
 
we have lovely hay here!

only £3.50 a bale - or swapsies for two jars of home made jam.

I am sitting watching the meadow grass grow in readiness for this years!!!! Should be ready early if this weather holds up.
 
(Crossed fingers and touches wood) so far no problems here either :thumb: you are going to need to move near to one of us Jane :thumb::lol:
 
Also Jane I don't know if it was just me, because I know a lot of people that get hay from the same place you do with no issues, but the couple of times I drove to get hay from there I was always disappointed with it.
 
Also Jane I don't know if it was just me, because I know a lot of people that get hay from the same place you do with no issues, but the couple of times I drove to get hay from there I was always disappointed with it.

I never usually have a problem from them. Also, they have never charge for delivery which is obviously a huge bonus.
 
Back
Top