# storing bulk of hay, how long is hay fresh?



## planetjenessa (Sep 7, 2012)

Im sorry if this topic is not in the right place, 
later on this afternoon, im going to pick up BULK HAY, not a bail of hay. Somewhat like a "trash-bag" size of hay.

Can anyone give me ideas, on how i should store the hay?
And how long does hay stay good/fresh for? 

:?


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## Watermelons (Sep 7, 2012)

Erm... Bulk hay? That worrys me lol. If its something somebody has scraped together from leftovers from previous bales then who knows whats up with it, or whos walked all over it. 
As long as it stays dry, its good for a long time. I bought a bale last summer and still have a few flakes left, it still looks good, smells good, and the bunnys approve!


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## Blue eyes (Sep 7, 2012)

:yeahthat:

I bought a bale in March and it is still fresh, greenish, and bunny approved. It's dry here (like CA). I keep mine in a plastic bin. Some suggest poking holes in the sides for air.


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## LakeCondo (Sep 7, 2012)

If you're not in a dry climate, the container really needs air holes. And every time I remove some hay to take inside, I turn the rest of it so different parts are in the center. 

Hay is available only certain months of the year. It's then a matter if you store it or the supplier does. Getting a year's worth at a time is no problem as long as you have the room. Maybe even 18 months' worth would be ok.


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## ldoerr (Sep 8, 2012)

I have hay that is over 2 years old. My rabbits LOVE it. I have bought 2 bales of hay in the past month trying to figure out what my rabbits like. The bale of Coastal I store at a friends house. The bale of Timothy I store in a garbage bag at my parents house. Both bales are ~70lbs each. when I had my rabbitry I would buy a bale of hay that weighed ~125lbs. That would last 3months to a year. Where I am from you can get hay year round.


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## MiniLopHop (Sep 8, 2012)

I have an apple box (cardboard) I stand the bale up in in the corner of the bunny room, then NIC around it to keep naughty bunnies from eating streight from the source and pottying on it. The room is ac/heated and not terribly humid. A bale lasts about 6 months in my house, but then it's gone. Bunny approved from start to finish.


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## Toady (Sep 8, 2012)

I bought a bale of hay back at the end of May and still have a biscuit and a half of it left, I made a 'bale bag' out of calico which I've just put my new bale of hay into, the calico allows for the hay to breathe and not go mouldy or stale. But I've seen 'bale bags' that hold a standard 40-50lb rectangular bale of hay made of canvas that horse people use, I find it good to keep my cats off and keep bits of hay from getting everywhere. I then cut my hay into foot long lengths for the bunnies and put them into a feed bag for easier feeding


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## BlueCamasRabbitry (Sep 9, 2012)

I buy a bale at a time and just keep it in my barn. 
It stays fresh for a long time. 

Emily


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## planetjenessa (Sep 9, 2012)

Watermelons wrote:


> Erm... Bulk hay? That worrys me lol. If its something somebody has scraped together from leftovers from previous bales then who knows whats up with it, or whos walked all over it.
> As long as it stays dry, its good for a long time. I bought a bale last summer and still have a few flakes left, it still looks good, smells good, and the bunnys approve!




of course i wouldnt buy "scrap hay"
Its from a feed store.


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## SOOOSKA (Sep 11, 2012)

I bought a Bale Bag a couple of years ago. It has air holesso the hay can breathe. It was well worth the money no mess.

I love it especially since I'm in an apartment now. I also store hay in the huge garbage compost bags, also store my excess willow leaves and branches in the bags.

http://www.tackwholesale.com/bale-bags-c-11.html

Susan


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## Blue eyes (Sep 11, 2012)

*SOOOSKA wrote: *


> I bought a Bale Bag a couple of years ago. It has air holesso the hay can breathe. It was well worth the money no mess.
> 
> I love it especially since I'm in an apartment now. I also store hay in the huge garbage compost bags, also store my excess willow leaves and branches in the bags.
> 
> ...


Oh! Those are really nice. Thanks for posting.


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## Aph10 (Apr 21, 2022)

planetjenessa said:


> Im sorry if this topic is not in the right place,
> later on this afternoon, im going to pick up BULK HAY, not a bail of hay. Somewhat like a "trash-bag" size of hay.
> 
> Can anyone give me ideas, on how i should store the hay?
> ...


I have 2 indoor rabbits and they go through hay pretty fast cus one likes to keep his back to the wall and that’s where the fresh stuff is so whatever he doesn’t move he ends up peeing on. (If I put it where he likes he won’t get in the litter box and just eats over the side). But I buy a 50lb compressed bag of hay from either tractor supply or fleet farm. They cost around $25-30 but you can get a $3off coupon from standleeforage.com.

If you don’t have those stores near you, standlee website can find where it’s sold near you.
But back to my hay talk. Lol. They go through this bale in about 6-8weeks but that’s for two. I store 1/2-2/3 of it in the opened bag and as much as I can in an open plastic storage tote bin. It’s never gotten moldy but it does have a LOT of dust/crumbs in it so that’s the worst part.

But my fluffle loves it when I put that in a little bowl for them. I started putting a little dried herb mixture that I got on smallpetselect.com and they go crazy for it. Nice to make sure those pounds of crumbs and bits don’t have to go to waste!


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## Blue eyes (Apr 21, 2022)

This post is 10 years old. Keep an eye on that green bar above each post to be sure your posting on current threads.


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