|
|
Post by renrooo on Oct 9, 2012 23:34:40 GMT
I read that hay can have mites in it and I should freeze it overnight to kill them off. Is that true?
|
|
|
|
Post by yasmin on Oct 9, 2012 23:54:30 GMT
Are you buying it pre-packaged or getting it from outdoors?
|
|
|
|
Post by renrooo on Oct 10, 2012 1:21:03 GMT
I will buy it prepacked from petsathome most likely. What would be better though?
|
|
|
|
Post by amie on Oct 10, 2012 2:49:14 GMT
I really wouldn't freeze it. The point of hay is that it is meant to be dried out. Freezing introduces moisture which can then lead to all kinds of mold growing once the hay has thawed. If you're that worried, I'd be more inclined to put it in the oven on a VERY low temperature for an hour or so to dry it out even further. But, saying that.... probably a big fire hazard!  I've never done anything with hay other check the bag's ok  |
|
|
|
Post by Lrak on Oct 10, 2012 8:19:41 GMT
I steam hay for my horse, gets rid of mites and dust as she has something ike asthma (cant think what its called atm) I had to build a large steamer for it and i steam it las thing at night and then let it dry over night.
But as Amie says, it could lead to mold and stuff growing in it.
|
|
|
|
Post by ntg on Oct 10, 2012 14:27:28 GMT
It isn't the very general term that is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is it? I love it when people say that as though it narrows things down :')
|
|
|
|
Post by yasmin on Oct 10, 2012 15:38:37 GMT
I buy the hay (I'm a particularly paranoid person when it comes to my pets' health so I'm too afraid to take a chance on other hay  ) at a pet store (Oxbow Western Timothy Hay) so I trust there are no mites etc. and therefore don't do anything to it – just feed it to them from the bag. |
|
|
|
Post by moletteuk on Oct 10, 2012 18:40:11 GMT
Mites crop up very rarely on the forum, so it's not the problem that you might imagine.
I know when I moved from hamsters to degus I also thought that feeding hay everyday might bring mites and skin problems in, but it really doesn't seem to be a problem for degus. I know a few people with guinea pigs and they seem to get skin issues quite a lot in comparison, I don't know if it's a difference between the species or that GPs get more farm/ horse type hay.
Most small animal hay seems to be quite heavily processed, it's carefully dried and dust extracted so I think that must help - they certainly ought to be doing something fancy to it to justify it being about 20 times more expensive than hay in bales!
|
|
|
|
Post by amie on Oct 10, 2012 20:50:55 GMT
"they certainly ought to be doing something fancy to it to justify it being about 20 times more expensive than hay in bales!" Yeah, they put the pets at home logo on it lol. |
|
|
|
Post by renrooo on Oct 11, 2012 0:43:51 GMT
Thank you for all the replies I will probably just let it be then. I'm just paranoid because when I had rats I bought them a hay house and they got mites lol |
|
|
|
Post by Lrak on Oct 11, 2012 7:31:51 GMT
@ NTG Yea thats the thing ;D i just say its asthma ;D makes things easier ;D @ Amie ;D They sure do  I was thinking about getting bales of hay as it works out cheaper but not sure on this one. |
|
|
|
Post by ntg on Oct 11, 2012 9:05:58 GMT
I was looking at smaller suppliers but Timothy hay seems to be expensive as they prefer to import it.  And meadow hay isn't as fibrous! It's the mould and dust that I used to see on hay bales that puts me off getting one (plus, where would I stick a massive hay bale?! Lol). |
|
|
|
Post by moletteuk on Oct 11, 2012 10:41:07 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by ntg on Oct 11, 2012 10:52:00 GMT
Yeah I'd been looking at it the other day just noticed that a lot of it is expensive unless it's in the bigger sizes |
|
|
|
Post by renrooo on Oct 11, 2012 23:12:01 GMT
Moletteuk, it looks pretty good, might order it |
|
|
|
Post by Lrak on Oct 12, 2012 8:01:14 GMT
Might order some sample bags to see what its like
|
|
|
|
Post by 36riffin on Oct 12, 2012 8:12:11 GMT
i used to use straw but i had to switch to hay after the goos started loosing hair on there paws and the vet said there was mites! so i wouldn't use straw again, i did use the straw for near a year and i never had a problem til the last batch. and it was store bought
|
|
) at a pet store (Oxbow Western Timothy Hay) so I trust there are no mites etc. and therefore don't do anything to it – just feed it to them from the bag.
And meadow hay isn't as fibrous! It's the mould and dust that I used to see on hay bales that puts me off getting one (plus, where would I stick a massive hay bale?! Lol).