Sift through hay before feeding

[Shellion Mama]

We just got 10 inches of rain so it’s very wet and was only 62 degrees, so my shellions were in their greenhouse today eating some potted grass and hay.
I was taking some hay out of the bag and pulled out a bird feather then after digging more, I found what looks like a portion of rope, maybe.
Thank the lord I noticed this! I will check the hay over better from now on.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

We just got 10 inches of rain so it’s very wet and was only 62 degrees, so my shellions were in their greenhouse today eating some potted grass and hay.
I was taking some hay out of the bag and pulled out a bird feather then after digging more, I found what looks like a portion of rope, maybe.
Thank the lord I noticed this! I will check the hay over better from now on.
View attachment 365887

That's an excellent tip.
I also found dangerous. Foreign items where I didn't expect it.
In my case. A sharp metal lid and parts of what seemed to be a steel can in a bag of cypress mulch.

 

[wellington]

I would call the place purchased from and complain. The person selling the hay needs to be told so they can let their source know. That's pretty disgusting let alone dangerous.

 

[dd33]

It is pretty routine to find stuff like this in hay. I’ve found dead snakes and entire cow poops in addition to small trash pieces.

 

[wellington]

I can honestly say, in all my years long ago having horses, I have never found anything in my hay except hay.
Dangerous stuff needs to be reported. They know the hay is going to be feeding an animal.
If they aren't put on notice, it will never change.

 

[Shellion Mama]

Dangerous items, sharp objects and dead snakes, crazy!
I ordered it from Amazon in a pinch to get some organic stuff quickly, they really don’t care.
I did email the company, no response as of yet.
This is the first time I’ve found anything in the hay but maybe I haven’t looked as closely as I should’ve. I will now!

 

[Tim Carlisle]

Dangerous items, sharp objects and dead snakes, crazy!
I ordered it from Amazon in a pinch to get some organic stuff quickly, they really don’t care.
I did email the company, no response as of yet.
This is the first time I’ve found anything in the hay but maybe I haven’t looked as closely as I should’ve. I will now!

I'd be curious to see if they DO respond. And if they do, if they offer more than the typical "canned" response you usually see from most companies.

 

[Shellion Mama]

I’ll let y’all know if I get a response.

 

[wellington]

Please let us know who the seller was thru Amazon. Members should know to either not buy from them or to check thru it if they do.

 

[Megatron's Mom]

Also post a review on Amazon about it. The company may reach out to you faster than the email reply.

 

[MPRC]

We go through a decent volume of hay at the barn. I often find clear plastic wrappers in the timothy. We buy from several people and it seems to be a fact of life anymore.

 

[EppsDynasty]

Dangerous items, sharp objects and dead snakes, crazy!
I ordered it from Amazon in a pinch to get some organic stuff quickly, they really don’t care.
I did email the company, no response as of yet.
This is the first time I’ve found anything in the hay but maybe I haven’t looked as closely as I should’ve. I will now!

I live in place that has unsafe well water throughout the entire area. It is VERY common to have varying levels of Uranium, Arsenic and other heavy metals in your water test results. There are properties with so much iron in the water it has affected the peoples health. I posted on another thread that there is a community where I live surrounded by an Alfalfa Farm that has water so contaminated is is unusable. The Alfalfa operation still uses the water, to water there fields. Just as it important to not buy from a place that has "Foreign Material" in there product, it is to buy from a Grower or Supplier you can trust. Ask if there has been any testing of the Alfalfa, Timothy, Orchard Grass you are looking to buy.

We go through a decent volume of hay at the barn. I often find clear plastic wrappers in the timothy. We buy from several people and it seems to be a fact of life anymore.

The fact is all crops are susceptible to having unsafe levels of really bad things in it. This is a fact of life as well these days. If you search California town sues Dow Chemicals it will blow your mind. Counties and Cities have been suing for contamination in there water wells and winning big money, while private well owners are getting nothing. This includes wells that grow crops for the world to consume.
Buyer Beware is the new Fact of Life now.

 

[Shellion Mama]

Water contamination is a scary thought.
We just watched Erin Brockovich again recently.
I think I’ll look into water testing.
We have a spring on our property that feeds our pond. It has a lot of wild turtles living in it. We also have a huge creek that we swim in.
I really don’t need to buy hay, it just makes it easier on a muddy, rainy day. I have potted grass in their greenhouse & give them 50/50 hay and grass on those days.
It doesn’t snow here, the grass is green outside.
I’m going to plant more potted grass today & stop using hay all together.
It’s about that time of year to start my seeds for the garden too.

 

[Shellion Mama]

Please let us know who the seller was thru Amazon. Members should know to either not buy from them or to check thru it if they do.

It was oxbow hay sold by Amazon.

 

[EppsDynasty]

Water contamination is a scary thought.
We just watched Erin Brockovich again recently.
I think I’ll look into water testing.
We have a spring on our property that feeds our pond. It has a lot of wild turtles living in it. We also have a huge creek that we swim in.
I really don’t need to buy hay, it just makes it easier on a muddy, rainy day. I have potted grass in their greenhouse & give them 50/50 hay and grass on those days.
It doesn’t snow here, the grass is green outside.
I’m going to plant more potted grass today & stop using hay all together.
It’s about that time of year to start my seeds for the garden too.

I live less than 100 miles from Hinkley,CA ... Erin Brokovich's famous town. In Bakersfield, CA 1-2-3 TCP has been found in all rural municipal wells and some in town, a human Carcinogen. What about all the Agricultural wells? In central California (The bread basket of the world) after 75 years of using chemicals for the different aspects of farming our water is pretty bad. Well water WILL change, people test there water and then think for the next 30 years "The waters fine" .. Not true.
Your experience with Amazon is not rare. Human nature says the bottom dollar is more important than the animal(s) you are feeding with the contaminated feed. I really hope this raises some eyebrows and makes some people think twice before buying "HAY"

 

[wellington]

It was oxbow hay sold by Amazon.

Oh wow, I buy that a lot. Not from Amazon but I'm sure that doesn't make a difference. Will he checking from now on.

 

[Maggie3fan]

Hey you all...this is a suggestion on how I have been feeding my Sulcata for years..
In every town or CITY...if you look hard you will find a feed store.. wellington, you know the kind I mean if you have horses...before I go, I buy the biggest strongest plastic bags I can find...then I go, I make a deal with the stores who make the deal...I go to where the baled hay is, and generally there's piles and piles of loose hay, so I take to stuffing it in those bags, the hay in ALL the feed stores I used thru the years is soft sweet smelling locally grown orchard grass hay, or several of the other hays, while Amazons timothy hay is stems and sticks, in the feed store it is nice hay, so my 2 bags is usually 1/2 bale and costs thru the years from $2 a bag to $10...and the feed store I am using now sometimes they have full bags already...$10...and Mary uses about a 1/2 a bale to sleep in and poop in and eat all winter...you just get a lot, Sulcata, or a little...So seriously, wherever, look for a feed store cuz every farmer or rancher in the USA needs a feed store...if you
are in the city, there's small towns and feed stores...frankly, this is probably the best advice I ever gave...lol

(the devil Kitty got spayed 2 days ago, she's mad)

 

[Yvonne G]

It was oxbow hay sold by Amazon.

Oh, yuck! I NEVER buy those packages of hay sold in pet stores or online. Always buy from a feed store, fresh bales, NOT packaged! Those packages of hay are OLD, TOUGH, and HARD for a tortoise to eat.

 

[Yvonne G]

We go through a decent volume of hay at the barn. I often find clear plastic wrappers in the timothy. We buy from several people and it seems to be a fact of life anymore.

The farmer isn't responsible, nor can he see as he's baling, the garbage the wind blows into his hay field.

 

[dd33]

If one was to fret about all of the things that could possibly be in their hay they should probably worry most about the chemicals that are intentionally applied to it. Our hay supplier told us to assume that most/all hay has been treated with herbicides. The amounts vary depending on the cut of the hay, the crop grown and how much money the farmer is willing to spend.
I believe these herbicides stick around long enough to pass through a cow and have the manure it creates contain enough chemical to kill the plants it is applied to.