Does hay go off / encouraging manger use?

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Lisajazz

Lisajazz

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Hiya

Quick question - does hay put in a hay manger inside go off? I am currently changing it once weekly.

Bessie and Gypsy seem to not bother at all with the manger and I am concerned they aren't getting enough hay. I put it in other ways too but would prefer them to use the manger if possible. At the moment I am wasting quite alot of hay.

Gypsy has dropped 60g over the last month, could that be down to not enough hay? She is 1180g at the moment.

All advice gratefully received :)
 
if the hay does not get wet or soiled it will not go bad you use the stuff they don't eat in their manger as their bedding and then throw it away?
 
mmmmmmm well i'm not really sure to be honest, but i was told to store my hay in dry area.
Have you asked your supplier how fresh your hay is? maybe it's not off, but more older hay..........cause of storage?
You could put some piles of hay in an area or two, if you know their poops areas rolleyes make sure then that you put some fresh hay in those NON poopy areas :))
As for Gypsy loosing 80g that's not a lot, but i'd personally weigh her weekly and then you'll know if it's just recent or not........then i'd be off to the vets pronto just in case :)
Do hope you don't have to go, but otherwise give little Gypsy some loves from us all xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 
They're on fleece so I just throw it away. I may try and feed it to the other six actually as they eat like mad and they have hay in a litter tray, that's not a bad idea - thank you :)

I have just been out and bought another 2 types of hay to see if they prefer any of those.
 
lovelygirl said:
if the hay does not get wet or soiled it will not go bad you use the stuff they don't eat in their manger as their bedding and then throw it away?
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yep i replace hay twice a day, being in the bedding area as well as any other areas i know that are used daily!
I do have a lovely hay basket tho so that keeps the hay off the ground, maybe you can find either one of them or one of those wire balls that you can put hay into as well :)

btw i never use hay they've been pooping or weeing on ......i throw that out, and when i'm cleaning out i check to see if hay wet, i'm now very careful about leaving anything wet behind :p i just throw more handfuls of new hay around.
 
Hay can keep for up to a year or two if stored in optimum conditions (dry and well ventilated). However, if it gets even slightly damp, even from just moisture in the air - or if it's held in an airtight contain and can't 'breath' then you can get mould developing and it starts to smell 'earthy'. This can be a big problem because mould spores make even previously dust-extracted hay very dusty indeed.
 
Lisajazz said:
They're on fleece so I just throw it away. I may try and feed it to the other six actually as they eat like mad and they have hay in a litter tray, that's not a bad idea - thank you :)

I have just been out and bought another 2 types of hay to see if they prefer any of those.
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awwwwww that's lovely well done, i do hope they now enjoy the huge effort you've put in xx>>>xx>>>xx>>>xx>>>
 
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