Quality of hay from farms?

[Fluffs]

Hi,
I was wondering about the quality of hay from farms, if anyone gets baled hay is it nice, long strands or dirty, smelly?

I found this ad on ebay, does this look good value? (Ps the second picture does not look like 20kg!:shock
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Large-20k...K_BOI_FarmingEquipment_RL&hash=item3f2749a334
Thanks :wave:

 

[Mackers]

Hay for livestock tends to be of poorer quality than hay for horses so I'd stick to a farm who supplies the equine community if I were you.

 

[klw]

I buy my hay from farms and wouldn't buy from any other source. The quality is variable depending on the meadow on which it is grown and the weather.

Generally it is very much better quality than any pre-packed branded hay from a pet shop, has been correctly stored in a barn and is clean and fresh. If a farmer feeds it to his own horses then this is a good sign of quality because no horse owner would feed rubbish to a valuable horse.

I'd look for a farm close to where you live and then choose your own bale. A typical bale weighs around 20kg but each will vary according to exact size and moisture content.

 

[Fee]

I buy my hay from an equine supplier. Quality has been very good overall!

 

[Fluffs]

Ok thank you :wave: x
I'll have a look around, there are quite a few horse feed stores near me but i'm not sure any of them are any good x

 

[Fee]

Where are you??

 

[katie88]

I buy my hay from a local organic farm and my two now won't eat anything else (literally - it is very inconvenient at times as the farm is a 30 mile drive from me!). I tried a couple of other farms with mixed success. I found that big bales got damp too quickly. The farm I buy from now sells to a garden centre so packages it up properly and it stays fresh.

It is infinitely better than the stuff you get from PAH and other branded stuff. Long, stalky and smells great.

 

[Goth Mummy]

My rabbit and guinea pigs get the same hay as my horse does and I certainly would not feed my horse anything that was dirty or poor quality. Its much cheaper than buying bagged pet shop hay, the only problem I could see is if you dont have room to store it.

 

[MrsDownTheRabbitHole]

My rabbits get their hay from a farm which has a stable attached (they clearly feed their hay to their horses and to be honest with you I didn't see any livestock around when I went there). If you are unsure pay them a visit and you will be able to gauge what kind of quality the farm is generally.