Always check hay for misc hazards & extras!

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missy

missy

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Hi all,

Today I found several lengths of plastic twine in my bag of Dust Free hay, each a few inches long. I'm sure these could be a choking hazard and cause a serious problem, if swallowed, but thankfully I noticed them (and removed them) before letting my pigs loose on it. :...

I can understand the odd random thing occasionally finding it's way into a bag/bale of hay accidentally and I'm sure I'm not the first to find something unexpected but this is the first time I've spotted a 'foreign object' myself (in 3 years of keeping pigs). This was the first time I'd tried DF Hay and I don't think I'll get it again but there you go!

Just wanted to remind others to try and be vigilant and check the contents of any hay (any brand) before you give it to your piggies. It's not likely that there's anything hazardous in there but you can never be too careful! :)
 
I've had a bag of hay before that had lots of twigs in it so I removed them. There was another time where we found a dead rat so I am now very carful in checking the hay before giving it my pigs :)

Thanks for the warning :)
 
Claire W said:
There was another time where we found a dead rat so I am now very carful in checking the hay before giving it my pigs :)

Thanks for the warning :)
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Yuck! :)>>>

I think I'm preaching to the converted here! If I found a dead rat then I wouldn't need reminding but I'm not sure I could face hay ever again! Was it from a local farm?
 
missy said:
Yuck! :)>>>

I think I'm preaching to the converted here! If I found a dead rat then I wouldn't need reminding but I'm not sure I could face hay ever again! Was it from a local farm?
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It was from the range. It looked like the rat had been compressed in to the bag :)>>> Luckily, it was at the top of the bag and it was my hubby who spotted it. When we opened the bag, there was a dreadful smell which gave it away that there was something not quite right.
 
I found two great big grass-hopper/cricket type bugs in some pre-packed hay once and I jumped a mile until I realised they were well and truly dead! :{ Not nearly as bad as a dead rat though! :o

Thanks for the head-up though. You just can't be too careful :)
 
ooh my gosh I'm going to be scared now to mess in my hay as i just shoove my hand in the big bag with out looking at what I'm grabbing:)):...:(|):(|):(|)
 
I came home from camping and found a dead rat in one of my traps, I was quite pleased to see it, it's been terrorising my bunny for the last 2 weeks. It totally ignored the bait stations the council put down for me, so they took them away. Sorry to all the ratty lovers but it just had to be done.

Never found anything nastier in hay than thistles though, that was a bad batch from P@H, found a new supplier of Yorkshire hay, and never changed since. If I'm desperate my dad let's me have a bale of his hay but I find it's a lot dustier and makes the eczema on my hands flare up.
 
clairelove said:
ooh my gosh I'm going to be scared now to mess in my hay as i just shoove my hand in the big bag with out looking at what I'm grabbing:)):...:(|):(|):(|)
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I know what you mean, Claire! I'm beginning to wish I'd kept quiet....makes my bits of twine sound very lame! :(|)

In all seriousness though it's good to get into the habit of checking but thankfully it's not very likely that you'll find anything untoward. Just look before you grab....now there's a good motto to stick to in life, eh?! ;)
 
missy said:
I know what you mean, Claire! I'm beginning to wish I'd kept quiet....makes my bits of twine sound very lame! :(|)

In all seriousness though it's good to get into the habit of checking but thankfully it's not very likely that you'll find anything untoward. Just look before you grab....now there's a good motto to stick to in life, eh?! ;)
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:(|):(|):(|):)):));)
 
This reminds me - few months ago i found a dead bird in mine, feathers on it and everything! Utterly disgusting !

I threw the rest of the bag away and told my local pet shop and they were all defensive. I just wanted them to be more vigilent with the rest of their stock. Dave is now loving his new hay - excel hay with marigold and dandilion in... mmm yummy! I still check every handful that goes in though.
 
A few times when I've bought hay in my local pet and garden shop (no animals sold there) there have been bits of twigs and plants that are really sharp and I've hurt my hands on when grabbing a handful. I hate that hay and I'm really allergic to it, so the pigs only get it if I'm really stuck, but luckily not much!
 
I've found twigs and twine before but never any dead creatures. Not quite sure how I'd react to that (very badly I'd imagine). Will also be checking before I shove my hand in now. :{
 
Finding a dead rat or bird is well rank!
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Meanie Mummy found a 4 inch long piece of skin with fur attached.
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She’s as blind as a bat because she transferred some hay from the bale into a smaller bag and then later transferred it to her bunnies hay rack, she found it the next morning being the only thing left hanging from the hay rack.
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She thinks it might be part of a weasel and now the both of us are left wondering if we’ve got the rest of the body in our two bales.
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You don’t know how scared I am each time I pull some off my bale.
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I keep horses and some of the things ive found in hay is unbeleivable! Empty cans of juice (very squished) lighters bits of metal string and even a bottle of budweiser :)p I can give reason why you might find random things in your hay... when its bales its compressed through the harvester and the farmers dont actually check the hay before its baled so its pretty much a pot luck! I'm getting some good hay just now its expensive but its good stuff :) my horse is particularly picky when it comes to hay he prefers haylege in saying that the piggies and bun are muching their way through a lot of it so it must be tasty tasty x
 
Sue_P said:
Meanie Mummy found a 4 inch long piece of skin with fur attached.
g014.gif
She’s as blind as a bat because she transferred some hay from the bale into a smaller bag and then later transferred it to her bunnies hay rack, she found it the next morning being the only thing left hanging from the hay rack.
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URGH! That's hideous! I'm not sure what's worse, an unidentified body part or the complete thing....either way, sounds terrifying! I'm not sure I could ever go near hay again if I came across either of those lovely surprises - you're braver than me! :...
 
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