Hay: sneezing, What to buy/do?

[mocha200]

 

1 .So I have noticed that Mocha and Lulu have been sneezing when eating hay. Not every time but I here them 2-3 times per day. I am wondering if I need different hay or if I just need  to shake it out before I give it to them. 

2. As some of you know our horse Prince died last week Thursday night, my sister gave her left over oats and other stuff to her friend ( aka Lulu’s old owner) and said she might sell most of the hay to someone because we have about 20+ bales left. She is going to leave some bales for me and I was wondering how many she should leave? They eat about 1 bale every 2 – 2 1/2 months. The place were we get it from doesn’t get more until June.

3. If I did get different hay were would I get it from? Now we pay about $3 per bale, and the stuff they sell for small animals costs about $3+ for just a tiny bag! I don’t want to pay that much, my buns could go through 1-2 of those bags a day!

 

[BaileyBun]

With Logan’s hay sneezing issues, the vet recommended trying to get as many of the little pieces out as possible before putting the hay in their rack. She said I could shake it out as I put it in the rack, and then toss the little bits. His foster mom also suggested misting his hay lightly before feeding, but you have to make sure they eat it up so it doesn’t go bad from the moisture. I would try shaking it out and seeing if the sneezing stops.
I used to get my hay for free from the stable I worked at, but since it really bothered Logan, I found a cute little country store that sells hay and other rabbit supplies and the bunnies LOVE that stuff! I found it from searching for “country stores” and “feed stores” online, and I also called an organic farm to se if they could recommend a place to buy good quality hay. I was thinking about buying hay in “bulk” (aka 10 pound boxes) online, but I wanted to be able to check out the hay first- plus shipping for that much hay gets expensive- so I was glad to have found a place nearby with really good quality hay. I would think that if you have horses in your area, you should be able to find different types of hay to test out. Good luck!

[mocha200]

Thanks. I am going to try shaking it out real good before I give it to them. Another thing I don’t like about the hay I get is that its mixed with alfalfa because its hard to get just timothy.

[mocha200]

I just saw mocha sneeze when he wasn’t even eating hay. He was standing next to the hay bin but it is closed. could something else be wrong?

[BaileyBun]

Hmm… it could be that he has hay dust still on his fur, which might irritate him. I just switched to a hayrack instead of loose hay in their litterbox, so now Logan gets less hay on his fur. Logan mostly sneezes when eating hay, but he also does sneeze other times, like when he’s hanging out under my bed, because (supposedly) the dust is still bothering him- either lingering on his fur or around his nose. Of course, it could be something else bothering him- something else in the environment, or (hopefully not!) a respiratory problem.
My vet told me to try and keep a log of when Logan sneezes and where he is/what he’s doing to see if we can find a pattern. That might be helpful for Mocha.

[mocha200]

Thanks! I will try that

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