Anyone get hay from a farm?

[skibunny8503]

My brother-in-law said he could give us a whole bale of hay for like 5 bucks or so.  I told him I needed timothy hay and he said all that is, is the second chopping of hay (or something like that).  His in-laws own a farm so he could get the hay from them.  So my question is, should I do this?  Or keep buying it from the store.  It’s a pretty good deal.  And how long is hay good for?  Is there so long you can keep it before it goes bad?  I’d store it in a garbage can in our basement.

Thanks! 

[Sarita]

That’s a great deal. Sounds like 2nd cutting timothy hay which is good stuff.

I think a bale is 50 pounds (but I’m not certain). As long as you keep in a dry dark place it should be fine I’ve had some of my hay for about a year and it’s still good – the bottom usually gets a little rough and then it’s toss time.

I say for 5 bucks it’s worth giving it a try. You may want to see if you can get a flake first though to see if your rabbits will even like it before you lug the whole bale home.

[skibunny8503]

Good idea!  Would be a waste to bring it home if he won’t eat it.

[kralspace]

I get my baled hay from a local feed store, as long as you store it where its dry and ventilated (like window screen over the top instead of the lid or holes in the lid) it’ll last a long time. I get coastal bermuda which they love to nibble on and put in the litter boxes. Just look through it as you use it to pick out any strange plants, sticks or dead snakes 😉

I had a horse for 32 years and you’d be suprised what you’ll find in a bale, like the prize in the box of crackerjacks.

congrats on the find! Kathy

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Totally go for it-it’s waaay cheaper and even if it does ‘turn’ and you have to throw some out, you probably made money on it, it’s so cheap Bales are around 50-65lbs (more then 70 the hay likely was baled while wet and will likely have mold). To keep hay, I just keep mine in a laundry basket, it allows air to circulate-and just always check for mold-which is very easy to spot!

[Beka27]

timothy hay is a specific type of grass hay. so i’d double-check that the bale is in fact timothy. the cutting has to do with when it’s harvested, not with what type of hay it is.

[KatnipCrzy]

I was able to get a bale of hay from a local farm for $4.  It is a mix of different grass hays- including timothy and it was 2nd or 3rd cutting (can’t remember now).  But I store my bale in my garage wrapped in a large cotton blanket and it is set inside our wheelbarrow to keep it off the floor so it can not get wet.

My bunnies seem to like variety- so I do still buy other hays- like the oat, wheat and meadow and I fill their hay bins with that- and I use the other bale hay on the grate of their litterboxes.  To make less of a mess I take my hay storage bin outside with the wheelbarrow and pull handfulls of hay off the bale and stuff the storage bin full.  I find that the hay is messy to feed when it is still so compacted because the compacted pieces are so dense and large.

I have been feeding this hay for about 2 months now- and the buns seem to love the variety.

 

[bunnytowne]

I get bale hay too and what falls from the bales as well. Right now I have 2 bales of hay.  At first they ate it like crazy.  And they love brome hay too.

well I noticed they aren’t eating it a whole lot.  However it may be because I am feeding too much pellets.  I am feeding 1/4 a cup of pellets lately 2x a day for they eat it all.  I believe I should be feeding 1/4  only 1x a day due to their small size.  cotton 3.lb 2 oz  ruby 3lb 8oz.

I am going to get my small measuring cup for 1/8 and feed that 2x a day so they have pellets but not as much.

Or maybe it just got old cause it been around for a while.  Which I doubt.

This week I am going to buy the timmy from the store and see if they gobble that up.  since the brome is not being gobbled up like it used to be I think maybe it is too much on the pellets. For brome is their fav hay.

I am not saying you should not feed the hay bales from feed stores not at all.  It is cheaper and really last.  IT is well worth it.

I just don’t like how long it is. But then I am not the one eating it.  lol.

[skibunny8503]

Thanks guys!    I’ll have my husband call his brother up sometime this week and see if we can’t get just a little bit of it to see if he’ll eat it and make sure it is timothy hay.  I’m not exactly sure where we’re going to store it though   I guess the basement is ok right now since it is winter and hasn’t rained too much….but our basement is leaking and the guy is coming out next month to clean our footer drains out, so hopefully that will work.  Maybe I’ll wait until after we get the drains cleaned to get the hay.  Our garage isn’t really attached to our house and I don’t think the garage door seals up because we had a lot of rain come into the garage.  (we just bought this house).  

[Dorcas]

We order ours from http://www.sweetmeadowfarm.com. I think $5 is a great deal and 2nd cutting is a nice hay. the hay should be dry but not brittle and dusty, have a nice green color and a fresh scent. and as long as you keep it in a dry, dark place I don’t see why it won’t last.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Mostly animal/horse hay is timothy hay-if you just buy any hay it’s generally timothy And when you buy it baled locally it’s in really nice condition!

[Beka27]

isn’t it possible to get a mini-bale? like a third the size of the full bale? you might have to spend a little more buying it 3 times, but i wonder if storage-wise, it might be better idea…

[Sarita]

It doesn’t have to be timothy hay – it can be any grass hay -there are plenty of choices – it could be orchard or brome or a number of other types. You just don’t want alfalfa. So even if it’s not timothy hay I say give it a try to see how they like it.

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