Well cared for hay can last for over a year.  Most of the hay that we purchase for our buns was harvested months ago and stored by the manufacturer.  The biggest things to avoid are moisture (this will lead to mold formation which can be fatal) and sunlight (sunlight bleaches the hay and removes some of the nutrition).  Keeping the hay in an enclosed container is a good idea because it will keep the hay fresh smelling and better tasting.

I just bought a bag of Kaytee Timothy tonight and it has a "Best before" label on it.  The date on this bag is November 2008.  It’s lovely looking stuff and I’m sure that Sable will have gobbled it all up well before that.  Like Osprey said, the only thing I would be worried about is dampness getting to it which isn’t a possibility in our storage room… no sunlight either.

hi Trishie – welcome to the forums!! 🙂

You got great advice from osprey and anitastark. If you’re buying only small bags that you go through in a few weeks, it likely is ok to keep it in the plastic bag.

The best way to store hay is in a well ventilated dry storage area. Since I have 3 bunnies, I often buy a flake of hay (small portion of a bale) and move it from the plastic bag into a fabric laundry bag. It’s a pretty inexpensive way to keep it fresh.

Plastic draws moisture which causes mold and rot. If you buy hay in plastic bags that will be around for a month or more – it’s a good idea to move it into a wooden or cardboard box or something that breathes like the laundry bag. Storing hay on concrete or directly on the ground can draw moisture causing mold and rot.

i just wanted to say WELCOME TRISHIE!     Great advice already – dry, well- ventilated container, away from sunlight.   I know that Oxbow sends their stuff in plastic bags, but they have holes in them.  But like gravehearted suggested, moving it out of plastic for longer term storage is best.   Paper or cloth bags, and cardboard boxes are great.

also if you are getting from a store (kaytee timothy hay at Target is really cheap compared to the petstores) you can pick out the greenest bags.

My parents have horses & live in the "sticks" so I buy a bale about every 4-6 months and keep it in my garage.  If anyone in the LA area is in a pinch for hay, I sell flakes for $3, but I usually only have one bale at a time so I don’t sell it too regularly..also in the LA area, you can go to:

http://www.protectingtheanimals.org and they will deliver hay to your house. This is the same foundation where my foster bunz are from!

SWEET MooBunnay! This is perfect. I have been looking for a cheap place to get hay! Thanks! Where are you located? I am in WestLA

Hi! I am in North Redondo, my boyfriend is in Culver City.  It seems a lot of bunny people are in West LA. We also bring a lot of the shelter buns to the West LA area to get spayed and neutered, so I am kind of familiar with the area. You got Medusa from the Bunny Bunch, right? I think I saw her on the site.  Did you go to one of those Centinella Feed adoption days on Saturdays? I go to those a lot just to visit the buns (and, oops, once I took home a boyfriend for my little girl )

hm i think i will order some stuff for home delivery once they get mats in. that’s a good price on hay. and yup i got medusa from centinela feed!

Well, I now know for sure how NOT to store hay for a long time. I had two flakes of orchard grass in my garage for about 3 months. I ran out of hay and had to open one up. The buns would not touch it. I thought they were just being picky, so I kept offering it. They kept refusing it. I even got some fresh orchard grass from the same supplier, and they gobbled it up. It turns out that the hay was spoiled. I had stored it in sealed black plastic trash bags, which I guess is about the worst way to store hay! It needs to breathe. So today, I added two flakes of hay and a generous bag of used rabbit litter to a neighbor’s compost pile. My pile was way to full to take it all. Maybe I will try Gravehearted’s trick of using a laundry sack to store it. Auntie Heather suggested the same thing when I told her the story. (Auntie Heather is the director of The Rabbit Haven)

hey moobunny- do you know anything about the hay in the equestrian center in Burbank…?? not for now but when I might be moving back home…