Does hay go bad? - Guinea Pig Cages, Care, Store, Photos of Guinea Pigs and More Forum!

**nismosmama** · #1 12-16-05, 11:08 am

I bought a box of hay for the piggers a few weeks ago. They are not even close to halfway through the box, the pigs just don't go through that much hay. Now I"m afraid of it going bad or something. Is that something I should worry about? How long does hay last before you should throw it out?

**Slap Maxwell** · #2 12-16-05, 11:10 am

Hay will last from around a year. If it is this year's hay, you don't have to worry about it.

**homeschoolmama** · #3 12-16-05, 11:18 am

I keep my hay in an airtight Rubbermaid bin, so moisture can't get into it & rot it. That's the only way other than keeping it a loooong time, that I know it would go bad. Up until rescuing Oreo, I would have said that there is no other way for it to go bad. But he came with a small bag of Oxbow's Timothy that was grey, and smelled like nasty gym shoes. So obviously, I was wrong. Knowing how little he was getting at a time though, I would say that it was time rather than some other element that caused his to go bad.

**BabyGrl** · #4 12-16-05, 11:21 am

I thought you were supposed to store the hay so the air can get to it? I took mine out of the plastic and then put it back in the box and put about 17,000 holes all over the box.

**Slap Maxwell** · #5 12-16-05, 11:22 am

You are supposed to store hay in a breathable container. A cardboard box works well.

**BabyGrl** · #6 12-16-05, 11:24 am

Whew, I thought so but I get worried sometimes. Thanks.

**Access** · #7 12-16-05, 11:31 am

I go through hay at the rate of about 1 bag per 1-2 months and I haven't had any problem with it going bad. The bags themselves have small holes to allow it to breathe. I've never had a problem with it going bad; when I pull it out of the bag it always has that 'fresh hay' smell.

Once I put it out for the pigs, it's good for no more than 12 hours. After several hours you should throw away what's left and put out new hay. My pigs seem to know it's not fresh anymore, after a few hours they will just start to ignore it.

**laura220** · #8 12-16-05, 11:34 am

It'll only rot if it gets wet and starts to mold, right?

I go through a bag of hay in less than a month which is getting costly. Now I'm going to be getting it from a family friend with a farm. Why I didn't think of that before I don't know.

**Percy's Mom** · #9 12-16-05, 11:37 am

It's true that it will only rot if it gets wet, but really old hay will turn grayish brown and lose that fresh yummy hay smell. So really old hay needs to be tossed as well.

**Ly&Pigs** · #10 12-16-05, 11:40 am

Quote:

I keep my hay in an airtight Rubbermaid bin, so moisture can't get into it & rot it.

You need to take the lid off, it can stay in the rubbermaid bin but in a dark, dry area so air can get to it. I store hay in bins like those with no lids and they last for many months.

**Lost_Soul** · #11 12-16-05, 11:41 am

I bought a bale of hay in the summer and its still good, I also bought one of those large plastic storage containers I leave the lid loose though... and put the whole bale in it...I am due for another bale though...my girls go through it like water...And my bunnies too...I store my hay in the house though...

**homeschoolmama** · #12 12-16-05, 11:59 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slap Maxwell

You are supposed to store hay in a breathable container. A cardboard box works well.

Might I ask why? I had not heard this, and have stored mine in plastic so it would not rot during our very humid summers. If there is a better way to be storing this, I would love to know! We store 2 bins side-by-side under the piggie cage, so it is dark already. Would just keeping the lids off be better?

**Percy's Mom** · #13 12-16-05, 12:16 pm

If you keep the lids on tight, the natural moisture remaining in the hay can condensate and make the hay rot. If the lid is off, air can circulate and the hay will stay drier.

**Piglet** · #14 12-16-05, 12:22 pm

My last bale lasted my just under a year - I keep it in a cardboard box in my garage. It's kept off the floor and the lid is open. The last flake remains just as fresh as the first

**homeschoolmama** · #15 12-16-05, 12:30 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Percy's Mom

If you keep the lids on tight, the natural moisture remaining in the hay can condensate and make the hay rot. If the lid is off, air can circulate and the hay will stay drier.

Ahhh... I guess I'd thought that it was dry. But this does make sense. I just pulled the lids off our bins. Thank you all!

**nismosmama** · #16 12-16-05, 12:33 pm

I also read somewhere that hay must be stored in a breathable container like a carboard box. It said if you have it in plastic to take it out and put it somewhere air can get to it. I don't remember where I read it though.
Great, its good to know then that the hay I have will last a while longer. When I got it, it had JUST arrived at the vet's office from the rescue, so it was very fresh, that was about 3 weeks ago, and it came in a big carboard box. Thanks!

**Ly&Pigs** · #17 12-16-05, 01:25 pm

All hay has some moisture in it already, if you store it airtight, molds can easily grow and cause it all to go bad. You cannot feed moldy hay to piggies.

**aqh88** · #18 12-16-05, 02:40 pm

There was a thread on gl discussing how in some areas the moisture of the air is higher than the moisture in the hay and can actually increase the moisture content if the hay is left completely open. In most cases though green hay especially KM's is so fresh that it still retains a fairly high level of moisture and closing it up airtight will probably lead to mold. We dry the hay we bale a bit more(some turns brown) so that we can make really tight stacks with it and actually fit all the bales for the whole winter but when I slide my hand into a box of KM's hay it's still quite moist and somewhat warm. Warm means it's about to start molding if it doesn't get some cool air.
The best is a cardboard box. It will absorb small amounts of moisture both from the hay and from the air passing through the box so that the hay stays dry. I do put some of KM's hay in closed storage containers but that's only 1 weeks worth that I haul here and it's only the top layer which has dried the most. Our air is dry enough that just leaving the box open allows the new top layer to dry before I stuff it in containers to take from the stable back to the apartment. Otherwise hay stored properly does not start to break down in nutrients until about 1year old.

**Access** · #19 12-16-05, 04:29 pm

Here is another thing to think about, people talk about storing it in a cardboard box for long periods of time but I would not esp. if the box is made of corrugated cardboard since paper itself and esp. the glue used to bond the paper can contain formeldahyde. Among other nasty industrial chemicals. Even in trace amounts, it is not a good thing for pigs (or people).

FYI if you can view PDF's here is a link:
http://www.oehha.org/air/chronic_rel...cardboard'

One warning if it's not too late to add the link above contains multiple references to studies done on animals in which animals were killed.

**suzilovespiggie** · #20 12-17-05, 03:48 pm

I store a bale of timothy hay in my shower stall. I stand it end up. I do not use my bathroom for shower or bath purposes, so there is no water or moisture. The hay is enclosed with the top open. The bales have lasted 8 months. The bale I just bought is a 2nd cutting of timothy. My pigs absolutely love it and can't eat it fast enough. I have found all the hay in plastic bags here to be brown in the middle and my pigs won't eat it. I would love to buy from Oxbow or KM but I can't afford the shipping. I feel very fortunate we have good hay here in AZ. There is so many cattle and horses you can buy it cheap. The timothy is the most expensive at 20.00 dollars a bale. Alfalfa and bermuda grass hay or a mixture is under 10.00 a bale.