Grrrr

[muffin]

Must grumble. Finally got the shed roof re-felted so it's dry in there and set up a stand of grids. Went out to a feed store a bought two bales of horse hay, was very pleased with myself and excited for my piggies. The hay smelled sweet and looked fine (yellow/brown- but it seems all horse quality hay in the UK is like that). After heaving it into the shed and struggling with the stand I opened up the bale and to my utmost misery the inside smells musty and feels slightly damper than the outside. Grrr. I'm just so annoyed- had to vent. At least it wasn't too expensive.

[Clementine]

Maybe horse hay is made that way.

[Rachy1412]

I use horse hay too and it does tend to be brown. But since I cannot get timothy bales it may just be the colour of meadow hay which is a combination of lots of different hays! Although the bale I have been getting recently is very green but it doesn't smell as nice as the brown stuff!

[krittercrazy]

You should be able to return the hay and get your money back or at least a fresh bale.

[muffin]

I would except I am going away this weekend, and the hassle and cost of getting it back there don't make it worthwhile really. It only cost £8 ($18) for 2 bales, so I haven't lost too much. I'm just annoyed. My car is full of stray bits of hay for nothing. I'm going to try and go to a riding stable and get their opinion on it before I toss it for good. It looks and smells like pet store hay, but inside the bale is ever so slightly damp and has a strong musty 'mushroom' aroma. This isn't normal is it? Compared to Oxbow timmy anything smells musty, but this stuff just seems too risky. It has that smell of meadow grass that's grown all summer and not been cut and then died down and gotten wet and thgen semi dried off. That sort of smell.

[JarBax]

Definitely forget giving it to your piggies! Instead of dumping it - do you have room to compost it? Aparently if you regularly pee on a bale of hay, ag=fter 6 months, the inside will have turned into the best compost known to man!

Thistle have started selling Oxbow by the box!

Herbs,Hay and tasty treats.

[cookie_gal]

I dunno, the farm I go to in the UK gives up greenish hay at times, I think it depends on time of year or something.

[Ly&Pigs]

If it's moldy smelling in the center, don't use it as it could be harboring mold or other deadly bacterias in it. Bales of hay should be dry and fresh smelling all the way through from one end to the other.

[Emmett]

The hay must of been put up (baled) wet. Don't use it. No one should feed moldy hay to any animal. The only thing it's good for is compost. I would complain to the feed store. I bought 4 bales I opened one and gave another to a friend and they were both fine. I covered the other 2 with a tarp. A couple weeks ago I went to open one of the bales and found out the tarp had leaked and the top bale was one big white moldy mess. Luckily the bottom bale was pretty much ok and only had to throw out 1/3 of it. Good thing hay season is coming soon.

[muffin]

Hmmm, I don't know about peeing on my bales of hay, even if my shed does have net curtains! I'll give it to my Mum for her composting bin empire she is about to start. I do have a compost bin, but it's too small to fill with hay. I've been putting in 3/4 piggy hay/straw waste to 1/4 kitchen waste, and churning it about with a fork now and then, and all is going well. I was just so excited to find someone that sold bales of hay. I'll try phoning a riding school or two and try and find someone local. I will complain to the feed store, if only to warn them for their other customers. I reckon it probably was baled when wet, since last summer was so horribly wet.