hay starts to smell 'weird' after a couple of weeks

i'm getting annoyed now with hay. i want to buy the biggest bags so it's better cost wise, but i end up throwing whatever is left after a couple of weeks because it starts to smell really weird. kind if 'off' i'd say. or strange enough that it makes me not want to risk using it.

so i end up getting the medium size but then i have to order about every two weeks which is annoying and costs alot more in the long run. :evil:

i never seem to read about anyone else having this problem though :? so thinking it must be something i'm doing wrong. or because the house is dry but not 'cool' :?

sorry to moan again but it's getting me down! and nothing dries quickly in here fleece wise so i'm going through fitch like there's no tomorrow aswell!

What do you store it in ?

biscandmatt1 said:

i'm getting annoyed now with hay. i want to buy the biggest bags so it's better cost wise, but i end up throwing whatever is left after a couple of weeks because it starts to smell really weird. kind if 'off' i'd say. or strange enough that it makes me not want to risk using it.

so i end up getting the medium size but then i have to order about every two weeks which is annoying and costs alot more in the long run. :evil:

i never seem to read about anyone else having this problem though :? so thinking it must be something i'm doing wrong. or because the house is dry but not 'cool' :?

sorry to moan again but it's getting me down! and nothing dries quickly in here fleece wise so i'm going through fitch like there's no tomorrow aswell!

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Is it plastic bags? Are you saying the air might be a bit damp? My house can get very damp - I have a dehumidifier ...

i take it out the plastic and transfer it into a large wicker storage basket, and cardboard boxes.

i don't know what the problem is. just this whole house basically. nothing seems right in here, and it's just getting me down. one problem leads to something else. sorting one thing makes something else worse. and we're just both ill all the time and we really think it's something to do with this house.

anyway, just ignore me today. i'm just fed up and there isn't a solution so it's just tough basically and i need to just get over it and do what i can.

biscandmatt1 said:

i take it out the plastic and transfer it into a large wicker storage basket, and cardboard boxes.

i don't know what the problem is. just this whole house basically. nothing seems right in here, and it's just getting me down. one problem leads to something else. sorting one thing makes something else worse. and we're just both ill all the time and we really think it's something to do with this house.

anyway, just ignore me today. i'm just fed up and there isn't a solution so it's just tough basically and i need to just get over it and do what i can.

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Has your home been tested for black mould ?

http://blackmold.awardspace.com/mold-symptoms-allergies.html

Jack's-Jane said:

Has your home been tested for black mould ?

http://blackmold.awardspace.com/mold-symptoms-allergies.html

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it does sound very like that to be honest. and there is visible mould in here. not sure what type but it's in quite a few places. just can't ever sort out anything in here because it's so much hassle and mental health wise it's just near impossible. i won't get started on that but it just ruins everything.

biscandmatt1 said:

it does sound very like that to be honest. and there is visible mould in here. not sure what type but it's in quite a few places. just can't ever sort out anything in here because it's so much hassle and mental health wise it's just near impossible. i won't get started on that but it just ruins everything.

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I had black mould in my kitchen - hence getting a dehumidifier. It has transformed my life. And of course your washing dries really fast

Could the hay be stored outdoors in a ventilated bin or shed, that keeps critters from contaminating it but still allows for airflow?

MightyMax said:

I had black mould in my kitchen - hence getting a dehumidifier. It has transformed my life. And of course your washing dries really fast

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fast drying washing sounds amazing. i'm not joking when i say that would transform my life too! i seem to remember o/h asking some estate agent handy man person about it and he didn't seem to think we needed one (enough condensation on the windows or something :?), but he probably didn't even know. may well be worth a try. definitely in the bathroom and bedroom. the kitchen aswell but not sure how big they are and whether there would be any room.

i saw these moisture 'traps' on lakeland earlier which are small and seem good. is that the same type of thing?

Jbun said:

Could the hay be stored outdoors in a ventilated bin or shed, that keeps critters from contaminating it but still allows for airflow?

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no unfortunately nothing suitable really. we do have this storage cupboard on the side of the house which might have worked but it's full of the landlady's old paint and stuff and the door is broken and being held on by the wheelie bins! she's not bothered and we can't afford to fix or replace the door currently, although it would be lovely to clear it all, clean it and beable to use it.

biscandmatt1 said:

fast drying washing sounds amazing. i'm not joking when i say that would transform my life too! i seem to remember o/h asking some estate agent handy man person about it and he didn't seem to think we needed one (enough condensation on the windows or something :?), but he probably didn't even know. may well be worth a try. definitely in the bathroom and bedroom. the kitchen aswell but not sure how big they are and whether there would be any room.

i saw these moisture 'traps' on lakeland earlier which are small and seem good. is that the same type of thing?

.

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Not really ... My dehumidifier is like a smallish thin suitcase size. It sucks the moisture out of the air and it collects in a compartment at the bottom which you empty out periodically. I move it from room to room if my windows are getting badly misted with condensation. Or it stays in the kitchen with the washing airer
(Forgot to say, its electric)

I may have to think of getting a dehumidifier for this place to run awhile before we leave it and see if it makes a difference, though I think it hasn't worked before when we tried it. Our house doesn't seem to be all that moist inside but it definitely has a musty smell in some closets/cabinets.
Thank you for the link Jane, it is very informative.

I think you are understandably concerned, biscandmatt1. I do wonder if it could be the supplier's storage methods because good hay should last months without a problem. And since you are parting with your hard-earned dollars/pounds to purchase this foodstuff the least the proprietor can offer is a good product. I currently have an issue with my hay supplier in Washington whose hay, while a nice cut, is always turning to dust by the time it's sat here for a week. I'd say almost half the bale is unusable as a result. Really sticks in my craw, so I can understand your discontent.

We also have a very 'warm' house (can't open any windows all winter from October to March) and it is frustrating to think that maybe some little microbes are getting a free lunch, so to speak. The arctic is like a desert, just with snow, so I don't understand why there would be a humidity problem. :?

I hope you are able to find a solution you can work with. Nothing more frustrating than exotic pet food that you can't use.

On the dehumidifier front, I would certainly recommend an electric one: the 'powder' ones are useless by comparison! We used to empty ours every 36-48hrs when we lived in one of our student houses (our landlord got it for us, he was pretty damn good though). We got a good 3-5L out every time.

we're going to try a dehumidifier. an electric one. we'll try it in the bedroom first where there's an old damp patch on the ceiling, and where we dry most of the washing, and see if it helps.

as for hay.. well i give up. the two bags i got to replace this lot smells just as bad. parts make me think of wet dog. i think it's very hit and miss hay for pets. but don't really have anywhere else to get it. they don't like dust free hay and timothy hay.co.uk they liked but not as much.

i think i'll just have to get the medium bags, pay more, and throw it if it arrives bad or ends up that way. i have had alot of bad ones from hay for pets over the years. they used to replace or refund but it kind of became my own risk after a while. so i've thrown away over half of the last bag i paid £18 for only two weeks ago. this new lot cost me £30 and it's rubbish. *sigh*

hay will be the death of me! :lol:

biscandmatt1 said:

we're going to try a dehumidifier. an electric one. we'll try it in the bedroom first where there's an old damp patch on the ceiling, and where we dry most of the washing, and see if it helps.

as for hay.. well i give up. the two bags i got to replace this lot smells just as bad. parts make me think of wet dog. i think it's very hit and miss hay for pets. but don't really have anywhere else to get it. they don't like dust free hay and timothy hay.co.uk they liked but not as much.

i think i'll just have to get the medium bags, pay more, and throw it if it arrives bad or ends up that way. i have had alot of bad ones from hay for pets over the years. they used to replace or refund but it kind of became my own risk after a while. so i've thrown away over half of the last bag i paid £18 for only two weeks ago. this new lot cost me £30 and it's rubbish. *sigh*

hay will be the death of me! :lol:

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I often wish bunnies would eat something more sensible and readily available...like ice cream or chocolate. :?
But then we'd all be fighting over who gets the last bit! :lol:

Good luck with the dehumidifier. I hope it works for you. xxxx

MimzMum said:

I often wish bunnies would eat something more sensible and readily available...like ice cream or chocolate. :?
But then we'd all be fighting over who gets the last bit! :lol:

Good luck with the dehumidifier. I hope it works for you. xxxx

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:lol:

o/h has said i'm getting too paranoid about hay and things being dangerous to the pets. he has said the hay is fine. it isn't 'off', it's just not as fresh a smell as normal. when we have had truly 'off' hay, we both really knew about it! so i've decided to trust him and have been giving the pets the hay and they're all munching away happily and are not ill or anything so he must be right. lets hope he continues to be! it's really hard for me to feed it though when i'm not 100% sure about it, so it's been a test mentally. sounds daft

i have high hopes for the dehumidifier. it'll be a few weeks or so before we can get it, but i'm excited! :lol: x

biscandmatt1 said:

:lol:

o/h has said i'm getting too paranoid about hay and things being dangerous to the pets. he has said the hay is fine. it isn't 'off', it's just not as fresh a smell as normal. when we have had truly 'off' hay, we both really knew about it! so i've decided to trust him and have been giving the pets the hay and they're all munching away happily and are not ill or anything so he must be right. lets hope he continues to be! it's really hard for me to feed it though when i'm not 100% sure about it, so it's been a test mentally. sounds daft

i have high hopes for the dehumidifier. it'll be a few weeks or so before we can get it, but i'm excited! :lol: x

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Doesn't sound daft at all...I totally get this. So many things in the last few years I've had to learn to "let go". It is a challenge. (((((Hugs)))))
Hoping all stays well at yours. Looking forward to how the dehumidifier works for you when it arrives. xxxx

biscandmatt1 said:

i'm getting annoyed now with hay. i want to buy the biggest bags so it's better cost wise, but i end up throwing whatever is left after a couple of weeks because it starts to smell really weird. kind if 'off' i'd say. or strange enough that it makes me not want to risk using it.

so i end up getting the medium size but then i have to order about every two weeks which is annoying and costs alot more in the long run. :evil:

i never seem to read about anyone else having this problem though :? so thinking it must be something i'm doing wrong. or because the house is dry but not 'cool' :?



sorry to moan again but it's getting me down! and nothing dries quickly in here fleece wise so i'm going through fitch like there's no tomorrow aswell!

Click to expand...

What brand are your purchasing? Do you think the vendor or souce of the hay may already have exposed it to dampness? If so, any dampness may be staying in the plastic bag, especially if the hay in the middle is tightly packed. I generally take new hay out of the bag and fluff it up. This allows air to circulate around the hay so any moisture still in the hay when it is packaged will not be a breeding ground for mold/fungus/bacteria.

bunny momma said:

What brand are your purchasing? Do you think the vendor or souce of the hay may already have exposed it to dampness? If so, any dampness may be staying in the plastic bag, especially if the hay in the middle is tightly packed. I generally take new hay out of the bag and fluff it up. This allows air to circulate around the hay so any moisture still in the hay when it is packaged will not be a breeding ground for mold/fungus/bacteria.

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i get hay for pets hay. i take it all apart to check it anyway before feeding any, just incase i spot something. so it's usually fluffed up ... and then i have to try and squeeze it into the wicker basket and boxes!

not sure if it's hay for pets, or just because it's in plastic, is in a cold warehouse at some stage, and then opened here where the warm air then hits it. it's temperamental! :lol:

biscandmatt1 said:

i get hay for pets hay. i take it all apart to check it anyway before feeding any, just incase i spot something. so it's usually fluffed up ... and then i have to try and squeeze it into the wicker basket and boxes!

not sure if it's hay for pets, or just because it's in plastic, is in a cold warehouse at some stage, and then opened here where the warm air then hits it. it's temperamental! :lol:

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At one point, after having several bunnies ill, I got very paranoid about the hay which was probably unrelated to the illness. I would smell, and, yes, I even tasted hay-nothing like ice cream or chocolate! I tossed out several bags (cheaper than a vet bill) and went to the local pet supply house and I smelled the hay in the bags before I bought it. The one brand smelled musty even in the store, so it was not my house.
Eventually I heard of Oxbow hay (I live in US) and I would mail order it (shipping was very high) until I was eventually was able to find it in a local pet store. It costs more than other hay, but they have a lot of varieties for the pampered pet.

bunny momma said:

At one point, after having several bunnies ill, I got very paranoid about the hay which was probably unrelated to the illness. I would smell, and, yes, I even tasted hay-nothing like ice cream or chocolate! I tossed out several bags (cheaper than a vet bill) and went to the local pet supply house and I smelled the hay in the bags before I bought it. The one brand smelled musty even in the store, so it was not my house.
Eventually I heard of Oxbow hay (I live in US) and I would mail order it (shipping was very high) until I was eventually was able to find it in a local pet store. It costs more than other hay, but they have a lot of varieties for the pampered pet.

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I buy Oxbow hay here in the UK and have always found it to be high quality and always dry. No problem.