Increased fungal risk in hay this year?

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Vikki

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After talking to Sue the rodentologist she advised me not to use hay at all as guineas have been affected by more fungal problems this year. I use good quality barn stored hay (the horse owners at our yard can be picky so this is best quality hay available not dusty at all and smells yummy) from the same batch which is well stored and have never had a fungal problem from using it. I like having hay they can nest in and washing fleece/vetbed is not an option, I was told chopped straw as bedding and readi/just grass would be best to use for guineas. Everyone has their own opinion and i just want to do what is best for the guineas. the advice comes from Vedra so of course i will be thinking about it seriously and most likely will change over. I was just wondering if anyone knew why chopped straw stored in plastic would be a lesser fungal risk than barn stored good quality hay kept in a dry well ventilated store?
 
as you know me dear use vet bad and fleeces etc as it cuts the amount of composting i have to do!
i'm down to one sack of waste a month rather than a week!
But since doing it i have not had any mite problems etc
 
I have always used bales of hay bought from our local farm shop/horse supplies shop and touch wood have never had any fungal problems, mine are freerange in the shed with open hutches.I use newspaper to line then cover with auboise and hay,with extra hay in the bedrooms as the all like to nest.
I don't think fleece would be a good option for me either as I would worry that especially in this cold weather that it would be too damp.
I will watch this thread for other peoples opinions as now like you I'm unsure what to do :-\
 
I get a bale of hay from a horse shop. It's dusty, but i'm hoping its ok.
They are going to be on fleece soon, so i'll just be hay in the hay racks.
 
It is just the outdoor boys they have insulated hutches and huge ammounts of hay in there and putting fleece/vetbed in there to make snugs for them is going to be a nightmare with washing and I think chopped straw would not provide enough warmth, considering shredded newspaper but if got wet (the hutches are very dry but if the boys pee on it) it is not very warm plus it would cause problems disposing of it as all our guinea waste goes to the local yard and I can't put newspaper on the muck heaps.
 
I think I will continue to take the risk with the Hay tbh, there arent many other good affordable options for me and if a problem should arise I will treat the piggies. I buy my hay in individual bags and its the nicest hay very green and soft and so far I have had no problems at all.
 
i have found a reliable source of hay in town so only buy my hay from there, as twice when i have switched suppliers my boys caught mites.
 
With up to 35 guineas on site treating as we go along if fungal probs occur is not an option. We treat for mites as a matter of course every three months, we can get very soft straw that could bulk up the outdoor boys beds (absolutely no risk of injuries as this stuff is soft and flat use it all the time with the horses it is great stuff) but that is harvested the smae ways as the hay so same storage same risk? Or is it something to so with hay tat makes it more prone to fungal spores?
 
I didnt think you could get mites from hay, I thought they were on the piggie anyway and just came out when under the weather or stressed I thought it was more fungal or lice from hay forgive me if I am having a dumb moment :-\
 
:-\ it was probably fungal then, and my crappy vets misdiagnosed (believe me thats happened more than once, but ive changed vets now)

i did treat with coconeem and it disappeared so it probably was fungal. as it didnt flare up until i changed hay
 
I am a confused bunny today I should think hay could carry with it anything occuring in the area where it was harvested and stored that would include fungus and any other nasties, so mites are possible, will read with interest all opinions of the to hay or not to hay argument ;D
 
ooo let me know what you find! if it wasnt mites then the vet made me treat bob and munchie with spot on for nothing ::) (although i used coconeem as well)
 
some times you can get a fungal with mites wheres mary when you need her lol but I am sure mites dont live in Hay its lice fungal is spores isnt it so they get in the coat etc. I think there are various therories but all piggies have mites regardless and they come out in stressful situations and a fungal infection would be stressful I would say.
 
Piglopaedia says:

"HAY MITES: Tiny mites that live off dandruff, grease and skin debris. Although not a variety of louse, theses mites are commonly known under the name 'static lice', as opposed to 'running lice'. The scientific name is Chirodiscoides cavia. A single hay mite is hardly visible to the naked eye, but, in case of heavier infestations where they are found in abundance, they are easily seen, especially on the rump. The colour is greyish ans thus more visible in dark and white pigs, where they can completely destroy the overall appearance. They tend to sit in the mid section of the hair straw, and, unless looked at for some time, do not appear to move............There is some dispute about where hay mites come from. Some claim they come from the hay (hence the name), while others regard them as specific guinea pig parasites and claim they should be treated as such. As they are not intrusive and live on the hair straws with only little contact with the skin, the vast majority of pigs are unaffected by the presence of hay mites."

Doesn't really answer the question very well does it? It would be nice to have the opinions of some more experienced cavy-clever people if possible please!?!
 
Yeah. Only bloodsuckers like mange mites need ivomec. Can mange mites come from hay?
 
LMAO I have no idea you are getting me all worried now ;D ;D



Guineas often carry Mites with no symptoms, but when they get stressed (moving to a new

home, pregnancy, illness, old age etc) the Mites can start breeding and causing problems.

Thats what chrisse says on GG so I am going with that and hope you cant get them from hay.
 
God, me too. :-\ If Lez's pigs caught mites from hay that needed ivomec, they must have been mange mites, which means that they DO come from hay. ? I think.
 
LMAO aaaHHHHHHHHHHHHHH some one please put us out of our misery and tell us !
 
Lol, I'm just going to keep using hay and check their skin over more often.
 
dazie said:
Guineas often carry Mites with no symptoms, but when they get stressed (moving to a new

home, pregnancy, illness, old age etc) the Mites can start breeding and causing problems.
Thats what chrisse says on GG so I am going with that and hope you cant get them from hay.
Click to expand...

This is what I was told by my best friend and she is a vet ;)
 
Right ...just to add fuel to the fire....georgie had hay mites last summer and was also treated with ivomec, at the time she was alone so couldn't possibly have caught them from anypig else,I had run out of hay and bought a small bag from the pet shop within a week I had noticed a tiny bald patch on her rump ...which grew by the hour (slight exaggeration ;)) the vet said she had more than likely got theses mites from the hay I had bought in the pet shop.
Since that day I have never bought hay from anywhere apart from my farm shop and never had any other problems ...Touch wood **KNOCK KNOCK**
 
Pumpkinpiggie said:
dazie said:
Guineas often carry Mites with no symptoms, but when they get stressed (moving to a new

home, pregnancy, illness, old age etc) the Mites can start breeding and causing problems.
Thats what chrisse says on GG so I am going with that and hope you cant get them from hay.
Click to expand...

This is what I was told by my best friend and she is a vet ;)
Click to expand...

maybe it was that then....or me and lez go to the same vet ::)
 
Maybe some of these vets dont know the difference between Hay mites (sometimes called static lice, can be caught from hay, dont need ivomec) and mange mites (we think CANT be caught from hay, do need ivomec), and therefore prescirbed ivomec, not realising that the mites that can be caught from hay cant be treated with ivomec because they dont suck blood? My goodness, I have never been so confused!
 
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