Fresh local hay?

[Chin_lvr]

Any issues with local fresh hay? I searched for previous posts with no success. What would you look for in the hay?? Qualities etc?

 

[Pooky125]

Fresh local hay should be fine if you can find good quality.

When you're looking at the hay, look to see how dusty it is. Lots of dust? Probably not worth while. Is it moldy? How does it smell? If it's musty, the chins will probably turn their noses up at it. Is it mostly hard stems? Or leafy? Are the leaves thick? Or fine? Are there lots of the puffy seed top bits of hay in there? Or only a few? I've personally found, the nicer the hay, the more and better quality hay tops they will be. Is it first cut? Second cut? Third cut? First cut tends to have more sugars in it then second or third. Second cut more then third. This will play a factor in the taste of it. What kind of hay is it? Timothy? Orchard? Grass? Alfalfa? A mix? Is it cow hay? Or horse hay? Horse hay is better quality. More chinchilla friendly. If I were buying local, I'd probably be on the look for hay they're advertising for pregnant dams or competition horses. That will tend to be higher quality then your average pasture puffs hay. Cow hay probably isn't worth your time. Do you see visible weeds in it? Nothing worse then cutting into a bale and finding half of a blackberry bush in it. No easy way to get that out without hurting yourself either. Been there, done that. Ouch! Color isn't necessarily a deciding factor. Best hay I ever bought, was 3 bucks a bale in little 2 string bales from this tiny old woman. It was sun bleached and ugly, but smelled amazing and was super fine. My horse couldn't get enough.

2 String bales usually weigh between 45-65 pounds. 3 String between 80 and 200. Keep that in mind for moving and storing it.

Not sure if that was helpful or not. Good luck in your search!

 

[summerdays]

also, something i was told before was to ask for horse quality hay.

 

[greychins]

I use local hay - I put an ad in the local craigslist looking for someone selling hay. I think I specified, had to be horse hay, had to be a grass hay mix (lots of people farm alfalfa by itself around here). Found someone who grows hay for their horses and sells it, mix of timothy, orchard grass, alfalfa, and rye. Very nice. Not the greenest hay you ever saw, but it smells awesome and the chins love it! When I first got my first bale from them, I was a bit leery because I was used to the bright green hay from the pet store... while parts of it (the orchard grass parts) are that green, the rest is less than vibrant -- but our chins eat it like it's candy! So while I'd prefer greener hay, apparently for some chins it's not a huge factor.

 

[Snickers]

I end up going to 2 to 3 different feed stores to find the best timothy hay I can find. I finally purchased a bale which my chins love. I have the pickiest eaters. I end up giving part of the hay to the animal shelter or people that just need it.

 

[Encantadora]

Watch out for fescue, you don't want that. And ideally, first cut.

 

[Chin_lvr]

Thanks for all your help! It seemed that it would be better than something that had been bagged. Not to mention less expensive, I just didn't know where to start.