i got some FREE hay today.
the person says he sells it for horses. says its grass hay that has timothy orchrad and other grasses.
should i be worried about any plants in there that is harmful.
he acted like he didnt even know what the \"other\" grasses were....
I would be sure to check that the hay is free of mold. Why was it free?
He might have been just trying to be nice and the hay could be fine. Or...there is a problem with the hay. If it\'s not fit for horses to eat, it\'s not fit for rabbits either. I\'d probably ask why the hay is free.
If push comes to shove, I\'d always be inclined to err on the side of caution.
Charlcie Gill
Zodiac Rabbitry
Astoria, OR
http://www.zodiacsatins.com
People who buy hay for horses, buy many bales at a time. My friend paid $3 a bale for the hay she gave me. If he sells to horse owners, I would guess that it would cost him less then half of that. It could be that just giving you the bale would cost less than doing the paperwork on one bale. If he gave you a bale and your rabbit got sick from it, you might cause problems for him, so he would have to be stupid to give you a bad bale. I don\'t think someone in his business would want to run that risk. But there are stupid people in this world, so I would take Charlie\'s advice.
oh this guy was being nice. he heard how much i was spending on oxbow and APD etc. so he said \"heck you can just have some hay of mine\"
i do trust this guy. he resuces horses and its what he feeds his horses. the hay smell good, its soft, and has a large amount of green in it. its not dusty or anything. i was just worried about poisious plants for rabbits. i know some wild weeds are dealy to rabbits. and this hay seems to have alot of weeds in it. like the ones i see outside alot. but she has been eating it for three days and has been fine. she still has accesss to the old hay that she is used to. i actually am using this hay as a litter for her box. but she sure does love it! of course she doesnt eat it all but there are things in there she loves to pick out. i am just hopping there is no alfafa in it or any other weeds with lots of cacium/protien to cause her problems. i am keeping a close eye on her. see seems great.
Well, that\'s good to know.
If horses are eating the hay and doing well, so will the rabbits. Horses are susceptible to noxious weeds also. The main offending plant that can be found in hay seems to be wooly pod milkweed which is found primarily in the Pacific Southwestern US. Milkweed is toxic to other livestock as well, so if this hay is not causing a problem otherwise, it is most likely safe.
I buy my hay by the bale which is infinitely less expensive than buying it in the pet store. Sounds like this fellow is just trying to pass along a good thing.
Charlcie