grey specks on hay

What are these specks on this hay? They appear grey/black. It smells like hay, but could it be mold? Picture attached..

When in doubt chuck it! I can't zoom in on my phone but Moldy hay is no joke.

I would be worried that it's mold. I can't tell for sure, but that's what it seems like to me.
Make sure your hay is sealed and stored in a dry place!

Its oxbow western timothy hay that I just bought today. i only saw it on that price so i was hoping it could be something else. Thank you.

I took a closer look and plucked the dark peices from what are those called, flower heads? The dark spots are actually brown. Do the flower heads (or whatever they're called) turn brown like the rest of the hay? It doesn't look like mold to me, but I'm not familiar with mold.

They can turn a bit brown, but it would be a dry, crunchy/crumbly brown. Now that I dug out my laptop, that looks like mold to me. I'm sorry I can't be more positive for you!

I see in the pic that instead of shriveling, the brown parts look as thick or thicker than the lighter coloured strands around them. In addition, its not starting at the tip and working its way down like I would expect, but its a random pattern, circular, and reminiscent of mold cultures.

All in all, I would rather err on the side of caution, and lose the cost of the hay. A bag of hay is always going to be cheaper than the vet bills and to me, its worth the peace of mind.

Thank you

TnkTaingTal said:

Its oxbow western timothy hay that I just bought today. i only saw it on that price so i was hoping it could be something else. Thank you.

Click to expand...

Before you chuck it, I would call Oxbow and ask them, they are really roids about there hay quality, and would want to know if there was a problem and usually replace the bag.

Even if I bought it from pet smart?

Do you still have the receipt? they should honour it.

That really doesn't look very good, seems to be some sort of mold, or even a type of fungus. I wouldn't let your chin eat it whatever! I'd be taking it straight back to the shop for a refund or replacement. If you get a replacement make sure to check that one too, they could have had a whole batch of bad hay in.

Thank you, I bought more hay while I wait for my usual hay to get here.

Yes if you kept the receipt and you only just opened it, you should be able to refund it!
All the pet stores around here will do that. )

TnkTaingTal said:

What are these specks on this hay? They appear grey/black. It smells like hay, but could it be mold? Picture attached..

Click to expand...

Looks like the flower heads are going to seed. Google timothy hay seeds and check out the images, they look pretty similar to me.

Thank you! I thought I was crazy thinking that! I didn't want to keep questioning it. I wish I could know for sure :/ I dont want to return it if there's nothing wrong, but don't want to risk giving moldy hay even more

For anyone who experiences this, oxbow got back to me and this is what they said.....

Dear Amanda,



Thank you for taking the time to contact Oxbow with your concerns about the brown specs on the seed heads of the Western Timothy you purchased. I asked our Hay Specialist and he said it is part of the seed head, when it blooms it gets little purple/brown flowers on it. I hope this helps to answer your question. Please let me know if I can help you with anything else.



Regards,





Teresa Campbell

Oxbow Animal Health

TnkTaingTal said:

For anyone who experiences this, oxbow got back to me and this is what they said.....

Dear Amanda,



Thank you for taking the time to contact Oxbow with your concerns about the brown specs on the seed heads of the Western Timothy you purchased. I asked our Hay Specialist and he said it is part of the seed head, when it blooms it gets little purple/brown flowers on it. I hope this helps to answer your question. Please let me know if I can help you with anything else.



Regards,





Teresa Campbell

Oxbow Animal Health

Click to expand...

That's good for future reference. Thanks for posting for us!

Yes thank you

You're welcome and thank you for the replies!

TnkTaingTal said:

For anyone who experiences this, oxbow got back to me and this is what they said.....

Dear Amanda,



Thank you for taking the time to contact Oxbow with your concerns about the brown specs on the seed heads of the Western Timothy you purchased. I asked our Hay Specialist and he said it is part of the seed head, when it blooms it gets little purple/brown flowers on it. I hope this helps to answer your question. Please let me know if I can help you with anything else.



Regards,





Teresa Campbell

Oxbow Animal Health

Click to expand...

Very good to know!! Thank you for sharing with us.
:thumbsup: