BONES in my straw!

[Kim P]

I was spreading some fresh straw in their pen in the area where they poop and I found 5 big bones packed in it! They were about the size of a big chicken leg bone but a bit shorter! I was rather grossed out! It was standlee straw that was packed in a bag from tractor supply. Has anyone else ever had this happen?

 

[Brody]

I haven't ever had that happen with packaged straw, but I have encountered 'critters' that were baled into hay. Last year when I was feeding a bale of hay I came across a decomposing possum. Several years back when i was loading hay with my family, a friend who was with us went to pick up a bale and ended up getting several quills in his leg as there was a dead porcupine in the bale. While it's disturbing, I wouldn't think too much of it - as anything that may have wondered into a hay or straw field could encounter the same fate!

 

[Kim P]

I was shocked, but I guess in reality we could find all kinds of things from time to time. I sure hope I never run into quills!

 

[Ryan Johnson]

Cant say I have ever had bones in my hay either. But I have often had pieces of hay netting that's used to bale the round ones.

Glad you came across them before the little ones did.

It might be just me, but I always and have a good look thru the biscuits before the little ones get it.

 

[chandab]

Over the years I've found interesting things in baled hay, but rarely in bagged feed (except one company that I found a lot of rocks in their hay cube bags, the kind of rocks that I've seen laid as a pad under hay stacks for drainage, shale type pieces).

I've found dried up snakes, garbage, cow manure (our cows graze our hay fields in the fall, it's usually quite dried out by the next hay season), twine, and the usual; but the best was when I was working at a horse ranch and the boss came in from feeding and asked if any of us were missing a top... He had found a bikini top in the hay bale, now that's a roll in the hay.

 

[Ryan Johnson]

^^ LOL Chanda ^^

 

[candycar]

I found a nasty arrowhead that could only come from my hay! The claw & razor kind. I actually found it in the stall after the horses finished the hay. I'm so glad no one stepped or laid on it! Freaked me out!

 

[amysue]

It is less common in bagged forage but possible. When mowing the fields, sometimes small critters get mowed or bailed up in the tall grass. It is also common for debris left behind on the ground to be raked up into the bale. I have found lots of sticks and leaves, small animals and feathers, snakes and turtles, plastic garbage and tractor and implement parts and once I found an antler from a deer. I was surprised it made it through my square baler without breaking something. Usually, animals will not eat it as it doesnt smell right, but it is best to remove debris so none of your animals eat it.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I haven't found any of the weird things in my hay you guys have seen, thank goodness. But my neighbor discovered this hay bale in his yard one Halloween...

 

[lkblazin]

Lol wow I'm lucky so far. All I have come across is the occasional dirt chunk or rock, chips or snack bags. Although the other day I found what seemed to be small tree sprout stumps. They were as thick as a full grown corn stalk. Quills wow!! Marsha that's hysterical!!

 

[Field-of-Dreams]

We found a deer leg one year in our hay....

 

[Kim P]

Lol! That is a funny little icon!

 

[shorthorsemom]

It happens.... Critters hiding in the straw or hay cannot get out of the way of the cutters. Especially with those fast cutters like a discbine where you can level a whole field pretty fast. Then the critter dries along with the hay and gets baled. It happens.

 

[amysue]

At least once a season, hubby mows a turkey over and rushes to find her eggs to get them into the incubator before its too late. Its funny because come haying season EVERYTHING takes a back seat, he is like a fiend on the tractor "don't bother me, i've got hay to make" he'll say, but once he sees that poof of feathers he knows, there will be heck to pay with me if he doesn't get me those eggs. However, he never picks up the darn bird, even though he had to get out of the cab to get the nest, he is still to lazy to clean up the feathers, so I end up picking them out of a bale later.

 

[Jean_B]

I'm always careful of any critters that are baled up - a neighboring dairy farmer feeds "baleage" which is haylage that is put in those huge bags. A fawn was caught by the haybine - and he had over 30 head of good dairy cows that ended up dying from botulism.

 

[Kim P]

That is funny Amy sue. He could toss it to the side. My son says it looked like deer bones. I got them out. It was only in some straw not their hay. I will pay more attention to the hay after hearing some of these scenarios. When we move, we are going to try doing hay ourselves. It will be a couple of years though. We want to try to start building this summer. Oil field has to pick back up first! I know everyone likes these low gas prices, but it is hitting us hard.

 

[AngC]

Interesting that you mention the Standlee brand of straw. I have no experience with their compressed straw. I have looked at Standlee's various compressed hay varieties at a local co-op and was puzzled that anyone would feed that to their animals. Our three are so spoiled that they would have to be literally starving to eat it. I reckon that people use these products because that is all they have available in their area?

Anyway, the husband and I used to go to a lot of on-site jobs around the northwest, so one time we stopped by a Standlee hay facility in Idaho. This was not a retail outlet, but rather it was one of the places where Standlee gathers up massive amounts of hay. Before they noticed us to kick us off their lot, the husband (who speaks Spanish chatted with some of the workers) and I was able to snoop around. What I learned is that Standlee gathers lots of hay from the area--several states--and the best hay goes overseas. The quality of the hay didn't seem all that bad, and storage conditions seemed ok, but it's the lower quality stuff and floor sweepings that's "chopped up" for the compressed hay bales.

I always, "floof" our hay into a bin before I carry it to the feeding location. I've only come across some few rocks/dirt, but the worst is the baling twine they use around here. It shreds. I don't know how much a horse could handle eating shredded twine pieces. Perhaps I worry too much because I've seen on the internet that people use the same twine to make hay nets.

 

[paintponylvr]

I have purchased hay that was baled along road medians years ago (before the spraying went crazy). Routinely found trash (cigarette butts, shredded tin cans, plastic bags, snack food bags etc.) in them.

Like Chanda, we once found a whole set of clothes in a round bale that I purchased. Tan twill work pants, a heavy duty denim shirt, over the calf style white socks and BOOTS. No other underclothes. They were all damaged beyond use BUT weren't completely shredded. I wondered what happened to the person who'd been wearing them??

We find more things in hay these days then we did when I was growing up. I attribute it to newer, faster equipment. My biggest worry, when I purchase alfalfa products (including pellets or cubes) is blister beetles. Even dead, the poison in one beetle can kill a whole barn if flakes are "shaken out" and split between horses. This became a problem in the early 80s in CO for a couple of years and also seemed to hit a couple of huge barns in TX at the same time. Blister beetles follow grass hoppers thru Alfalfa hay fields - hay producers that our family knew personally never baled hay after seeing grasshoppers or if they had a grasshopper "infestation"... Seems like a bit of a waste - I can't remember when/if they baled or what they did w/ the hay... Today, I don't personally know any alfalfa hay growers - if I want alfalfa I purchase cubes or pellets.

Marsha - that was GREAT!! We had a witch hit one of our round bales a couple of years ago... Her broomstick and part of her hat were all that remained from "her crash".

 

[Kim P]

I am having a hay issue. It is with me though. I think I am allergic to it. The coastal is not so bad, it is just giving me a little bit of hives. I am not sure about the straw, bc I handled it the same time as the coastal. The alfalfa made my face, throat swell up. I sounded tongue tied. My hands itched so bad that I wanted to cut them off. I have not done that again. I know Patty needs some alfalfa but I am not buying it anymore. I thought about getting some of those cubes and using gloves maybe. I don't want any dust. Maybe I could try pellets. Which one would be best if I am allergic?

 

[candycar]

I'd go with the pellets. Small ones don't have to be soaked where as most people soak the cubes. Wear a mask and gloves when you get down to the bottom of the bag, there is some dust at the end. I got mine from Tractor supply. 1 cup usually weighs 5 ounces so figure how much you want to feed based on how much she was getting of the alfalfa hay.