How do u know if farm hay is safe?

I have seen some local farmers on Gumtree advertising their hay. States good quality hay never seen rain suitable for horse, pony etc.Says it's June hay. Does it not have to be heat treated to remove mites or fleas and stuff?? Or would I still be safer buying from hay4pets though my last bag of 9 kg was very stalky and non of my buns would eat it - was supposed to be fine meadow hay but it's very coarse.

Try Timothyhay. Co.uk

only extreme specialist hay would have any kind of treatment after harvest (dust free hays etc).

You cant really 'heat treat' hay as its very flammable!! Hay ricks and bale piles occassionally self combust especially if they are put up too quickly after harvest.

Almost all the hay you get will be more or less 'as it comes' from the farm, although some farms who have more specialist interests will perhaps know the actual types of grass/composition of their hays -

Timothy hay for example is as it says 'from a grass type known as 'Timothy' and Alafalfa is the same - from an alafalfa mix.

Most of the mixes such as 'dandelion and chamomile hay' actually have the 'added' bits literally added in after harvest. Dandelions rarely grow in hay fields.

The great thing about getting hay direct (even if its just 'mixed meadow hay) is that its fresh - otherwise it will have been cut, dried (in the field), baled, then sent to a main warehouse, then re split and packaged into bags, then sent out to another warehouse, then to pet shops and re-distributors - then to you.


The very specialist 'hays' will be stuff like the mountain hays from Germany/Swtzerland; or sometimes the alfalfa hays and dust free hays will have been processed differently.

For more info ask Lisa at The Hay Experts - she is expert!!!

I am also selling fresh hay (cut this weekend and now drying in the field as I watch!!) this is mixed meadow hay and I am selling it in bags PRE BALED - so it has not gone through the baling which does tend to crush it.

See my thread of Hay for sale

It needs to be suitable for horses and ragwort-free (which it should be if suitable for horses).

Sam and Truffs said:

It needs to be suitable for horses and ragwort-free (which it should be if suitable for horses).

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A hay farmer who sells their hay will have to keep their fields ragwort free - otherwise the hay is useless for selling for feed.

They don't ship to northern ireland

I think the Oxbow hays are treated to fit in with import regulations, but I don't think any other hay is.

Yeah the oxbow timothy was great they loved it but i couldn't afford to keep buying it. Thanks for explanation on the hay. Guy i just rang says his is totally organic no sprays no dung !! Nothing put on it and it was just cut on a week ago and baled on Saturday past. He said its basically grass and said very sweet smelling and green very like meadow hay he said. I dunno I so worry about giving the buns something different incase it poisons them or something !! How wouldI know if the grass was alfalfa as I need to avoid that for my sludge bun? He said it was two different types of seed but didn't say wot type.

I'm sure it will be fine. I buy my hay from local farmers, it has been very cheap in Warwickshire as so plentiful last year.

I think normally if it's suitable for horses it's suitable for rabbits

nickybunny1 said:

Yeah the oxbow timothy was great they loved it but i couldn't afford to keep buying it. Thanks for explanation on the hay. Guy i just rang says his is totally organic no sprays no dung !! Nothing put on it and it was just cut on a week ago and baled on Saturday past. He said its basically grass and said very sweet smelling and green very like meadow hay he said. I dunno I so worry about giving the buns something different incase it poisons them or something !! How wouldI know if the grass was alfalfa as I need to avoid that for my sludge bun? He said it was two different types of seed but didn't say wot type.

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Sounds like the real stuff! My neighbour is a hay farmer and he would say exactly the same to you - except his has nt been re-seeded for several years as no need so his probably has a richer assortment of different species.

It is extremely unlikely to be alfalfa as that is not a traditional grass hay in England - its actually a legume technically. he would therefore say if it was alfalfa.


Why not try a bag of the stuff I will be selling and then if thats ok you might have more confidence in local farms? Mine will have the 'approval' stamp of my 33 buns plus others I am sending out to on RU.

Thanks parsnip bun I may take u up on ur offer. I don't think I will go with the local farmer as I am worried about maxi fleas in the hay as it is so fresh as there is a lot of maxi about here at the moment. My thinking us if i buy bagged hay that has sat for a month or so the fleas should hopefully have died by then ?? Dunno I just am warty of the fresher stuff at the moment.