Timothy Hay Color

[Luna]

I’m a relatively new bun owner. I used to buy hay from the pet store, but am now purchasing hay online from a farm. The hay is green, has very few brown pieces, and smells ok (not the sweetest hay I’ve ever smelled but still pretty good and not musty). The problem is that there are pieces that have slight discoloration (see the individual pieces on the right). Is this just from sun bleaching or is there something wrong with the hay? The pile of hay on the left is what most of the rest of the bale looks like (green and delicious). Also, every now and then I’ll find a dirt twig-like thing in the bale (top right of the photo). Could this be mold? Is it just dirt? It doesn’t look like the pictures of moldy hay that I’ve seen online.

[JackRabbit]

Pretty sure I already know the answer but I have to ask anyway ……. Where did you order the hay from?

[Luna]

Small pet select.

[jerseygirl]

Those pieces might be something other then timothy (weeds) that look different when sun-cured. Or it could be some rain damaged hay that takes on black spots. It’s sometimes called weather staining. It affects the appearance of the hay but still smells normal, not musty like mould.

[JackRabbit]

I actually thought it may have come from another place since you said you ordered online from a farm! SPS is actually a distributor and they buy hay in large quantities from various farms. Their hay is generally pretty good although it can be a bit chaffy at times. I usually pick out any large stick-like pieces (they’re just stalk from 1st cutting that was left in the field during the cutting and baling processes).

[Luna]

Oops I thought they grew the hay themselves! In my defense the postcard they send with the hay looks like farmland lol. Thanks for your responses everyone!

[Author]

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