Is timothy hay supposed to be brown?

Hay can be packaged with a beautiful green color however if the product is stored in a lighted area it will begin to turn brown. This does not mean it has lost its nutritional value.

What Colour should timothy hay be?

Soft Timothy Hay should have these qualities:

Color: Described as hunter or deep green. Soft Timothy Hay should be noticeably darker green than Coarse or Medium Timothy Hay. Stems/Stalks: The stems of Soft hay should be very thin, less than 1/32nd of an inch, if any at all.

Can timothy hay be brown?

If you buy your hay from a big box pet store or eCommerce site, you might be surprised to open a box of hay and see dry, brown, brittle Timothy hay. While brown hay doesn't necessarily mean your rabbit's hay is bad, the dried up stuff doesn't have as many nutrients.

What should timothy hay look like?

Timothy hay looks like long strands of dry grass. It can be light to pale green or light straw color, depending on its age and quality. The hay should have a fresh-cut grass smell. Alfalfa hay is higher in protein and calories, but timothy hay has more fiber and better calcium to phosphorus ratio.

Does timothy hay expire?

If stored properly in a cool dark place with good ventilation, the Timothy Hay Food may keep for 6 months or longer.

Timothy Grass

How can you tell if hay is bad?

Signs that your horse hay may be bad include a lack of color or dried-out appearance, a moldy smell, excessive dust, visible mold, or excessive heat towards the center of the hay bale. Because hay provides your horse with so many essential nutrients, you must provide your horse with the best quality hay available.

What does good timothy hay smell like?

Good hay smells fresh and slightly sweet. Acrid or musty smells usually indicate the presence of mold.

Why is some hay green and some brown?

Hay that was cured quickly and stored properly is usually a bright green color while hay that was cured slowly or damaged by rain after partial drying may be pale yellow or brown because of bleaching and/or leaching.

Does hay go stale?

Hay is a natural product that doesn't expire in the traditional sense of the term. When stored in the proper conditions, hay will retain its nutritional value for many months. Hay is required to feature a “freshest by” date that you will typically find on the back side of your hay packaging.

Can guinea pigs eat brown hay?

Make sure you buy high-quality hay for your guinea pigs. This means it has a nice color, has a nice fresh hay smell, is dry, but is not very dusty. Dusty hay can cause allergies for both you and your guinea pig. You don't want all your hay to be brown and dried out because it won't have much nutritional value left.

What hay is bad for rabbits?

Grass hay is high in fiber, which is critical to maintaining a rabbit's healthy digestive tract. While young, growing rabbits can eat any type of grass hay, alfalfa hay is not recommended for adult rabbits, as it is too rich in protein and too high in calcium.

How often should I change my rabbits hay?

Hay bedding in a rabbit's living space should be changed once a week if the rabbit uses a litter box. If a rabbit doesn't use a little box, this hay will need to be changed once every 2-3 days. Additional hay should be added at least once daily as rabbits will likely consume this hay for food.

What is moldy hay?

Mold will grow on hay without preservative at moisture levels above 14% to 15%. The mold growth produces heat and can result in large amounts of dry matter and TDN (total digestible nutrient) loss – a loss of carbohydrates and binding of proteins.

What Colour should rabbit hay be?

You may need to shop around to find good hay as some bales may be old or poor quality and likewise some pre-packaged pet shop hay can be quite dusty, brown and generally unappetising. Good hay should be green, smell sweet not mouldy, and not contain a lot of dust or be damp.

What is the color of good quality hay?

Good quality hay should be bright green in color with little fading. A bleached, yellow, brown or black color may indicate aged hay, mold or poor storage conditions. Storage condition and age have a significant effect on vitamin content of hays.

Is brown hay good for horses?

Palatability of low-quality brown hay is usually poor. Due to the predisposition to mold and unpalatability, this hay should not be fed to horses.

How do I know if my hay has mold?

Look for Mold

Cut open a bale of hay and separate the flakes. Look for the presence of mold in any of the flakes. Moldy hay generally presents as darker areas which are grey or black. If you find mold, refuse the bale – mold indicates that the hay was baled when it was too wet.

Is Timothy hay dusty?

Timothy hay in general just contains a lot of dust.

How do you know if hay is good quality?

Look for the following characteristics: Maturity - High quality hay will have a high proportion of leaves in the bale, with few or no coarse stems or seed heads. Condition - High quality hay will contain little dust or mold. Color & odor - High quality hay generally has a bright green color and a sweet, fresh odor.

Does hay turn brown?

When bales are baled too hot (135 deg. F. or above) hay will caramelize, smell like tobacco and turn brown. Not only does the appearance of the hay decline, but so does the value and digestibility of hay. In fact, bale heating can cause some of the protein and fibre to become less digestible.

What is brown hay?

Definition of brown hay

: hay stacked when partly wilted, turned brown as a result of fermentation, and closely approaching green hay in feeding value.

Is hay brown or green?

Hay and straw is a brown material type which adds good structure to your compost. It is very tough and breaks down slowly, and it's not the kind of thing you generally find in a backyard. But in the summer, when “browns” are rare, some people purchase hay as a substitute carbon material.

How long is hay good for?

If the hay was of good-quality when harvested and stored in a dry place with sufficient airflow, hay is likely suitable for consumption for two to three years. Keep in mind that hay, even premium forage, loses much of its vitamin content in the first few months of storage.

Why is my timothy hay soft?

Soft Timothy Hay contains mostly leaves with very few stems or seed heads. This grade of hay comes from the third harvest of Timothy Hay or an exceptionally soft second harvest. Stems, if any, will be thin and occasional seed heads will be short.

Can rabbits just eat timothy hay?

You can give rabbits an unlimited supply of hay. Timothy Hay or Oat Hay are good sources of fibre. The only hay that should be limited or even completely eliminated from the diet of an adult rabbit is alfalfa hay.