Hay

[lunavenus]

Hi, 

So I got hay about a 3 weeks ago in preparation for the arrival of my two bunnies. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I had to wait a bit longer (almost a month) before I can get them. I’m due to pick them up next week. I’m just wondering if hay ever goes bad because I don’t want to feed my rabbits bad hay…. that’d be a horrible first start to coming into a new home… 
Should I go buy new hay? 

[Love4Bunny]

No, it’s fine. You can keep hay for a while in a cool, dry and dark place. My hay lasts a little over a month with 2 rabbits, but I used to keep hay for 2 months when I just had one rabbit. I now keep it in the box it came in, and I cover it with a cloth. You don’t want the hay to become moist because it will become mouldy. Ideally, it should have airflow underneath (be able to breathe), but if you are not storing it for months, it should be fine. Well, at least, I’m okay with it because I don’t order massive quantities.

[Bam]

Hay does keep well stored dry and away from direct sunlight. In the olden days, you had no choice but to give your animals “old” hay in the spring until you could let them out to graze again. Since we don’t rely on our bunnies getting all their nutrients from hay only, but also feed pellets and fresh greens, your hay will be fine. The hay I used to give my buns (supplier went out of business, I’m still upset because my buns LOVED that hay) was all harvested in the beginning of July.

Hay can get moldy if it’s stored in moist conditions. That’s dangerous. But it won’t get moldy indoors.

[Author]

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