Beware alfalfa hay

[RosL]

http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=18335

This is every bit as dangerous for small furries as it is for horses. Please be very careful if you are feeding alfalfa hay whose source you aren't completely confident of. If it was harvested pre-flowering it should be fine, but after flowering it could be extremely dangerous for rabbits and other herbivores. If you buy direct from a farm, you can check...if it's pre-packaged the retailer is unlikely to know

This is important too to those owners who live outside the US and might buy imported prepacked alfalfa hay. There will be no way of knowing at what point in its gorwth cycle it was harvested

 

[Deliciosa]

Mimi is only allowed timothy, so she's safe.

 

[RosL]

Yes, I only use grass hay too, but people with youngsters might use alfalfa to help them grow

 

[MiniLopHop]

I have been giving Houdini alfalfa blocks since he just turned a year and he's an angora. I think it is time he just gets Timothy.

 

[Must_Love_Pets]

I use Alfalfa based pellets and my babies only get different types of timothy hays. I get all feed from my breeder in Manteca where she grows all her own and makes her own feed. We should be good.

I will pass this on, thank you!!

 

[RWAF]

Blister beetles in Alfalfa Hay

The RWAF vet consultant, Richard Saunders, has contacted D Micah Kohles of Oxbow regarding reports of blister beetles in alfalfa hay. He received this reply

Dr. Saunders:



Good day and thanks for the email. As you are aware Oxbow takes the quality of our products very seriously. We have developed a QMS (Quality Management System) that includes specific procedures and steps in our hay quality assurance to evaluate for bugs and other contaminants. All hay is visually inspected and core samples taken upon arrival for a variety of routine testing. Oxbow is unique in that all of our hay is hand sorted and hand packed. This allows for a careful visualize and physical analysis of the hay during which time any foreign material is removed. If we find insects in the hay they are collected and submitted to the University of Nebraska for identification. To date we have never identified any blister beetles in any of our hays.



To answer you other question Oxbow has is grown throughout the central and western United Sates by a network of long term growers. We have worked with this network for decades and that are very well trained on our quality assurance programs and the standards our hay must meet. Please let me know if you have additional questions or concerns. Cheers



Micah





Micah Kohles, DVM, MPA

Director of Technical Services

Oxbow Animal Health

29012 Mill Road

Murdock, NE 68407

www.oxbowanimalhealth.com