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Discussion on Is this moldy ?
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Member:
leslie1
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 8, 2008 - 6:07 pm:
Hi
I purchased some alfalfa from a local guy. It was baled a week ago. It smells great. Nice green color...no brown or visible "Fridgerator" style mold. It is stemmy thou. It feels ever so slightly damp when you stick your hand in the middle of the bale. Not warm to the touch. twine pops when cut. The flakes are not too tight, not too loose. When I pull it apart there IS a poof of white powder I can see in the sunlight. Also, there are a few tiny black specs on some of the stems.
From the article this sounds like mold...but It doesnt seem to have any of the other characteristics, such as smell.
Thanks
L
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Member:
scooter
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 8, 2008 - 6:37 pm:
Hi Leslie, Personally I don't like hay that has the white poof. It is a form of mold and can make your horses cough. Since the hay has only been baled for a week it is quite possible it could get worse as time goes on.
I was riding in a hay field last week and Hank just had to have a bite of a big alfalfa bale, when he took a bite I could see the "white mold"/dust whatever you want to call it come out of the bale. He took 2 big bites and coughed the rest of the ride...so I'd be careful.
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Member:
ajudson1
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 8, 2008 - 6:58 pm:
Leslie,
The hay I bought last summer was like that. A new field, so looked pretty yummy. But by mid winter, I had so much dust my horses were all coughing and it turned to mold as winter went on. Not good with months left to go feeding hay!!
Somewheres on here I posted something about storing alfalfa vs grass and I've decided no more hay that is more than 30% alfalfa, it's just to fussy to bale correctly and store. If you did buy a lot, make sure and store it very loosely to help it finish curing in the barn. Better yet, see if you can return it and find a grass hay. That's what I am going with this year. Good luck.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, Jul 9, 2008 - 7:34 am:
Leslie, what you are likely to be seeing is mold spores, which can form without actual mold appearing in the hay. For more on the significance check out the article.
DrO
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