Can hay dry out? Loose it's moisture?

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Pig007

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Ok probs a daft question but here goes:

Thinking of buying a 4Kg bale of oxbow hay as opposed to my usual 425G. I am assuming it'll last a while and my concern is once I've opened it that the hay will become dry. Loose it's moisture. What do you think? ?/
 
I think it can go stale after a while, but so long as you keep the top of the bag rolled up and clipped closed it should last much longer, however i have never had old hay turned down.....expensive hay they wont eat, but cheaper old stuff they will scoff.....? fine by me!
 
Hay is dried to preserve it, it is not supposed to be moist. Storage in a plastic bag can lead to mould which can be harmful. You can get special hay bags for storage, we keep ours outside in a dry barn (we have sheep) and it lasts for months.
 
It can go a bit past it's best ie. not as green as it should be but providing its kept dry and do free it should be fine. Think how long farmers store hay for!

Where are you getting this 4kg from by the way?
 
Take it out of the plastic bag so it doesnt sweat - I have 12 bales of farm hay stored in a dry garage it will last me till next cut and will stay nice and green as long it is kept dry.

The 4kg of Oxbow will be in a plastic bag and boxed. Slice the bag fully open, (hay shouldnt be kept in closed plastic bags). Then leave it in the box and dig in :)
 
Mine has definitely gone strange after being kept open for awhile. We forgot we had a bag open and when we came to use it, it wasn't very green and fresh anymore it was all brown and horrible so we chucked it.
 
I buy the 4kg bag and its fine. Although i di have 12 to feed so it doesnt last really long. I bought mine from http://www.pet-supermarket.co.uk/ where i usually get it.

Hay shouldnt have any moisture in it, its dried out grass. However if left in the sun for months its will lose the green in it. The Oxbow hay is sterilised as it comes from america so you wont have any mold, mites or nasties etc inside (unless you spilt water over it or something)

Just store it away from direct sunlight, in a cool dry place as they say. Mines just in the store cupboard at home.

x.
 
Thanks for the replies.:) I think I used the wrong term when I said 'moisture', what I meant was I didn't want the Hay to loose it's green/whilt as Oxbow is expensive. I've took your advice and emptied a pack of hay into a box - it's a 1Kg bag but I thought it'd make a good dummy run. Defo much easier to dish out as it's not so compressed -more fluffed up.
 
hay will naturally change colour the "older" it gets, I advise that if you buy bales from farms you choose the greenest of the bales as you know you are getting this years crop so its fresher, it will over time start to change colour when you store it, common factors are sunlight and rain/wind. Most pet hays are green and will stay greener for a while.

Hay does still contain a small amount of moisture content - field dried hay is 15-10% moisture content, barn dried is under 10% and after it is taken from the fields and stored the hay will loose a little more of the moisture - which is why it changes to a yellowy colour over time (talking over 6 months, not weeks).

I have bags of meadow hay that I use, I store the unused bags in a dark cupboard (only cos its the only space I have and not in direct sunlight) and they store well. Each of my bags last my 4 guys over a week to 2 weeks depending on how greedy they are being, it never goes stale or yellow, but then its not around for very long.
 
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