Hay From A Farm
- Thread starter Demi
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Basically does it look and smell good.
If you stick your hand in the middle of the bale, does it feel soft and dry?
Hay direct from the farm can be brilliant - let us know how you get on with it (and what the piggies think of course)
If you stick your hand in the middle of the bale, does it feel soft and dry?
Hay direct from the farm can be brilliant - let us know how you get on with it (and what the piggies think of course)
We get ours from our local farm. I sift through it first and get rid of the stalky stuff and brambles. It all depends on the meadow it has come from. Ours is very soft luckily but sometimes come across the odd bramble or two
thank you 
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i often buy farm baled hay, tell them you want to see the hay first, it should be slightly green, not too yellow or brown (that would indicate old hay, possibly dried up & straw'y).
give it the sniff test - basically bung your head in it at both ends & the middle (turn it over & do the bottom too if you can) it should smell sort of sweet & grassy, if it smells mouldy then its no good.
also it you do as Swissgreys suggest see if you can pull a bit from the middle of the bale, it should come away without clouds of dust ( this could be either - dust, dirt or even worse mould spores that could cause respiratory problems
look for grey/black patches of mould too - if you see it -definitely dont buy it!
the last bale i got i was climbing all over the bales in the barn & seen a lovely green bale, but when i did the sniff test it had a mouldy/damp smell to it - it had been close to the edge of the barn, so had been exposed to the elements, although it did look good.
tell them you want minimal dust & good quality hay, its usually so much cheaper if you can find a good bale & have room to store it.even if you share half a bale with somebody else its even more economical. x
give it the sniff test - basically bung your head in it at both ends & the middle (turn it over & do the bottom too if you can) it should smell sort of sweet & grassy, if it smells mouldy then its no good.
also it you do as Swissgreys suggest see if you can pull a bit from the middle of the bale, it should come away without clouds of dust ( this could be either - dust, dirt or even worse mould spores that could cause respiratory problems
look for grey/black patches of mould too - if you see it -definitely dont buy it!
the last bale i got i was climbing all over the bales in the barn & seen a lovely green bale, but when i did the sniff test it had a mouldy/damp smell to it - it had been close to the edge of the barn, so had been exposed to the elements, although it did look good.
tell them you want minimal dust & good quality hay, its usually so much cheaper if you can find a good bale & have room to store it.even if you share half a bale with somebody else its even more economical. x
Demi
Junior Guinea Pig
Ahh great I will be sure to look out for all them things, I finally have a large shed to store it in so I'll be getting the bale for myself. What do you guys store it in so the hay doesn't go everywhere
Kit06
Junior Guinea Pig
I store a bale in a 1 tonne builders bag like this:
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