Hay storage

[ladysown]

the thing is air cicurlation.

IF the air in your house is generally dry, your hay will be fine.
IF you have it in an open container...ie. NOT SEALED it should be fine.
IF you live in a humid building...possibly a different story. But as you say..you have a dehydrator, it's in an open container, it should be just fine.

The hay I have here is good hay...high quality horse hay actually. I spent a good bit on it. But I too have learned, some mould is bad, other mould...not so much as issue. BUT the caveat is always to give the best you can.

If your hay is mouldy it has an odour to it.
Good hay doesn't stink, it has a smell but not a stink.
Bad hay stinks. God's way of saying HEY...be alert here something is off!

 

[cav.]

the thing is air cicurlation.

IF the air in your house is generally dry, your hay will be fine.
IF you have it in an open container...ie. NOT SEALED it should be fine.
IF you live in a humid building...possibly a different story. But as you say..you have a dehydrator, it's in an open container, it should be just fine.

The hay I have here is good hay...high quality horse hay actually. I spent a good bit on it. But I too have learned, some mould is bad, other mould...not so much as issue. BUT the caveat is always to give the best you can.

If your hay is mouldy it has an odour to it.
Good hay doesn't stink, it has a smell but not a stink.
Bad hay stinks. God's way of saying HEY...be alert here something is off!

haha yeah I figured mouldy hay should be rather stinky! Im not too worried now. I just check before I give it to her. Im just pondering what to do with my current hay if it's a mix of alfalfa and timothy...should I continue to feed or give away and buy at petstore

 

[eco2pia]

Many of us feed grass and alfalfa in varying proportions...MaggieJ does, I believe, check threads on natural feeding room. I know someone aiming for a straight showroom production wouldn't usually rely on grass hay exclusively, but I believe Ottersatin (who shows--I don't) mentioned he used it as a fiber supplement to pellets (something to munch on), and I use it with pellets in the winter--in the summer they get more grass and weeds and such.

 

[trinityoaks]

Im just pondering what to do with my current hay if it's a mix of alfalfa and timothy

What's wrong with that? I would feed it. I know many people who feed timothy. I would if I could get it here (in bales, not the teeny-tiny expen$ive bags at the pet store). The only grass hay I can get here is coastal, and my buns don't seem to care for it (except for in the nest box).

 

[cav.]

Oh, I just cant trell which is timothy and which is alfalfa. Im assuming the greener one is mostly alfalfa and the lighter bail is probably mostly timothy. I was just doing a lot of reading saying that alfalfa has too much calcium which aint good for their kidney/bladder? Coz Im already feeding her alfalfa pellets in the evening

 

[ladysown]

just feed it. Seriously Cav... she'll be okay, particularly if it's a mix.

There are ways to combat calcium...aka..some people feed a bit of orange (aka, a slice or two per week). apparently helps with calcium build up. haven't done it myself, but something to consider.

 

[cav.]

I love this forum Thank you so much guys

 

[MaggieJ]

An alfalfa/timothy mix is just fine, Cav. It will help keep your rabbits from getting too fat as they will nibble at the timothy when the alfalfa is gone. It keeps them satisfied. Whet else do you feed in addition to the hay? Mine get a small amount of grain (wheat. barley or oats) plus as much fresh food as the season permits (basically just treat sized in the dead of winter) and they always have a trace mineral block and water available.

 

[cav.]

Well I also feed a little bit of Martin Mill's Little Friends Original Rabbit Food during the evening. A little bit of basil, carrot tops during the week (I try to change it every week so she wont get bored), probably twice a week and maybe a wee bit of fruits here and there. I have a mineral block sitting on the desk, wasnt sure to use it or not XD

 

[MaggieJ]

Yeah, I was scared to give them the mineral block for a long time too, but finally gave it a try. It is one of the reddish-brown ones from Windsor Salt. They seem to enjoy it and since I do not feed pellets I felt it was probably beneficial.

Hay is the basis of a good natural rabbit diet, but feeding the greens from time to time is a good idea. Likely the small amount of pellets you are feeding supplies enough carbohydrates. You don't want her to get fat. I find observing the rabbit at feeding time helps. If they shrug and say "Ho-hum, here's Maggie with the feed" I know they are getting plenty. If they attack it like they haven't seen food in months, then you know they need a little extra. The exception to this is the piggy rabbit that will eat anything and everything you give it. Most rabbits are not like that, however.

 

[Devon's Mom Lauren]

Those bales look like Timothy to me anyways, although its a harder to tell from a picture. Rabbits do not store calcium in their bodies but use what they need as they eat and the rest gets flushed out their urinary tract. Not a big deal but a continuous overload *may* lead to bladder sludge over time. I do believe, though, that rabbits do have a unique urinary tract to deal with sludge, I just can't find that link where I read this... anyways a couple bales is not going to hurt them

 

[cav.]

Hm, whenever she hears me open the bag of pellets she ruuuuns towards me, runs in circles all excited. Then when I put the bowl down shes like "A-NOM-NOM-NOM." But I give her a good handful of hay in the morning O_O Unless she just realllly likes pellets that much haha. Usually I just give her a good 16g of pellets >_>

Yeah i figure Im just gonna go with this hay Should be ok as it is a mix. Just give her oranges 2-3times a week