Hay net filling to mask or not ?

[welshcobabe]

Hi

When filling hay nets do you wear a dust mask ?

I am finding that I am coughing quite a bit while doing this job despite been outside.

I have yet to find a mask that doesn't make your glasses steam up while doing the nets I am not a lover of wearing them at the best of times but it has to be better than coughing any suggestions top tips.

 

[exracehorse]

The dust makes me cough too. And my nose black when I blow it. I found the solid cone shape white masks the best ones. That the builders use. Rather than the ones we wore during covid n

 

[Polos Mum]

TBH if your hay has that much dust / spores on it that it makes you cough badly even outside. I would spend your time finding a new hay supplier rather than worry about masks.
If it's nasty on your chest, it will be nastier on theirs as they have to eat it.

You can get some lovely low calorie wrapped hay that has no dust at all.

 

[Sossigpoker]

TBH if your hay has that much dust / spores on it that it makes you cough badly even outside. I would spend your time finding a new hay supplier rather than worry about masks.
If it's nasty on your chest, it will be nastier on theirs as they have to eat it.

You can get some lovely low calorie wrapped hay that has no dust at all.

If you have allergies, it doesn't have to be dusty to make you react , unfortunately.


I use a haynet stand, put the net in the stand and then use a fork to lift the hay into the net. That way it's not quite so close to my face.

 

[Tiddlypom]

I manhandle dry hay as little as possible, and never shake it out. I get 3 or 4 close packed sections from a small bale and stuff them straight in my hay steamer. Once steamed, there is no dust and I then fill any hay nets.

 

[teacups]

I spend time mixing hay and straw every day to fill nets, which creates a fair bit of dust, and wear a really good builder‘s type dustmask. Before I did that I found I was starting to cough.

Horse was coughing too (spends time shaking net as trying to get hay not straw), but since his nets were dampened with water that has stopped.

 

[Lady Jane]

Depends how many nets I'm doing. Just for one horse for one day, usually not but I am quite allergic so often, particularly in the summer I do.

 

[thefarsideofthefield]

I wear a light stretchy cotton neck buff when I'm doing horsey things . It keeps my neck warm , I can pull it up over my nose and mouth when I'm dealing with hay and straw and if it's windy and blowing my hair around , or I get too hot , I pull it up on my head like a hair band .
£1.99 for two from Aldi . Don't know how I ever lived without them !

 

[BSL2]

Unfortunately since having pneaumonia 2 yrs ago, I have to be really careful . So yes face mask for haynets and no more wood pellets for bedding.

 

[Jenko109]

Yes. Even very good quality hay makes me sneeze. Too much exposure makes me feel quite poorly actually.

I struggle to source wrapped hay in my area unfortunately, but as the horses live out, I thankfully do not need to do much with hay other than chuck some out.

 

[welshcobabe]

Thanks for all your advice we have the large round bales, that now have to be kept outside so I have a hay cover made for the job. We have no choice but to have our hay from this supplier the hay is good but like most big bale roles I think there is always a bit of dust. I do soak my hay for a short time and so far he seems fine with that. In an ideal place other than a livery yard that has a thing about electric, water etc (too strange to quote) i would use a steamer but it is as it is so I shall get a more industrial mask and just get on with it.

 

[Kunoichi73]

I find the masks with the vents on the front don't seem to make glasses steam up as much as the ventless ones.

 

[magicmoments]

Just to point out all hay will have dust however good quality it is. That's because rain contains dust, so it will accumulate dust when it's growing. Obviously don't want it to contain mould spores, that's a whole other thing.
Agree wearing a mask is a good idea, as is wetting hay feed to horses

 

[Peglo]

I manhandle dry hay as little as possible, and never shake it out. I get 3 or 4 close packed sections from a small bale and stuff them straight in my hay steamer. Once steamed, there is no dust and I then fill any hay nets.

just been having a look at hay steamers and there’s a big price difference in them. Can I ask which brand you went for? Or which you would recommend.

 

[Birker2020]

Hi

When filling hay nets do you wear a dust mask ?

I am finding that I am coughing quite a bit while doing this job despite been outside.

I have yet to find a mask that doesn't make your glasses steam up while doing the nets I am not a lover of wearing them at the best of times but it has to be better than coughing any suggestions top tips.

My friend died from farmers lung after breathing in dusty hay for years https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farmer's_lung#:~:text=Farmer's lung (not to be,or any other agricultural products.

In reality we should all wear masks yet in reality hardly any of us do. I'm going to make a concerted effort to from now on.

It was hard to see a good friend deteriorate to the point she was carting an oxygen cylinder around on on wheels. She died not long after. Very sad.
From wikipedia

• Acute Stage: Appears four to eight hours after exposure. Symptoms such as headache, irritating cough, and shortness of breath upon physical exertion.[3][4]
• Subacute Stage: Symptoms persist without further exposure, and increase in severity. Symptoms include: shortness of breath upon exertion, chronic coughing, physical weakness, occasional fever and sweating, decrease in appetite, aches and pains.[3][4]
• Chronic Stage: Debilitating effects are now considered long-term. Symptoms include: severe shortness of breath, chronic coughing, physical weakness, occasional fever and sweating at night, decrease in appetite, and general aches and pains.[3][4]

 

[Errin Paddywack]

Farmer's lung is caused by spores in hay, not dust. Mouldy hay is a big danger.

 

[Birker2020]

Farmer's lung is caused by spores in hay, not dust. Mouldy hay is a big danger.

Its dust from mould though isn't it?
TBH I didn't like to say mould in my first reply or I would no doubt have had someone ask why she was inhaling dust or feeding mouldy hay for years. I assume it was in such small quantities, that she didn't know.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

There will be a certain amount of dust in all hay. I used to ride a sledge behind the baler stacking the hay as we went and the dust was horrendous, no mould in it though. Just watch a combine working and you will see clouds of dust. Back before cabs were used on combines a friend who did the combining on his farm used to be black from head to foot by the end of the day. Very, very dry hay will give off particles of the grass when disturbed like shaking it out.
We made some hay late one August when it had been a very wet year and we hadn't been able to get it made. First batch was lovely, second batch we stored in its heaps under cover in a building with a through draft. However when we broke open the heaps they were full off damp white mould. They were taken out into the field to be burnt. They were dangerous.

Just to point out all hay will have dust however good quality it is. That's because rain contains dust, so it will accumulate dust when it's growing

 

[Tiddlypom]

just been having a look at hay steamers and there’s a big price difference in them. Can I ask which brand you went for? Or which you would recommend.

I went for the smallest steamer in probably the priciest range, but it is brilliant and has performed faultlessly for the approx 5 years that I've had it. It was a black friday deal.

https://haygain.co.uk/products/haygain-hg-one-plus

The cheaper makes are cheaper for a reason. People like to diss HayGains for allegedly being a rip off, but I have no regrets at all about buying mine.

 

[Peglo]

I went for the smallest steamer in probably the priciest range, but it is brilliant and has performed faultlessly for the approx 5 years that I've had it. It was a black friday deal.

https://haygain.co.uk/products/haygain-hg-one-plus

The cheaper makes are cheaper for a reason. People like to diss HayGains for allegedly being a rip off, but I have no regrets at all about buying mine.

I was hoping you were going to give me a glowing review of one of the cheaper ones ? thank you for the info. Good to know.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Sorry, Peglo ?

 

[Nudibranch]

I had asthma as a child, several bouts of pneumonia since and have just had an x ray which has found something although the doctor refuses to discuss over the phone so I have a face to face appointment on Monday. Nothing like keeping you hanging...
So anyway yes, hay, straw, mucking out, I wear a dust mask. It has a valve on the front so doesn't steam my glasses up. They're about 6 quid in Screwfix and I replace it when it gets too grubby.

I wish I'd done it years ago. When the light catches the stables at the right angle it's quite horrifying to see the amount of dust that comes up even taking out a single slice of hay.

 

[teacups]

If this works, there are photos below of the mask(s) I use:

Top photo is a valve disposable respirator mask - you can see what it looks like after a week or so’s use.

I do spend about 20 mins mixing up hay and straw by hand on a daily basis, which creates a fair bit of dust. I do not have any lung sensitivity or asthma, nor allergies whatsoever, but after a month or two my chest was definitely affected, and I was coughing. That stopped immediately once I started using masks.

Middle and bottom is the one I moved onto: it’s a soft rubbery plastic so a better fit (so less chance of glasses steaming up) and really easy to breathe through, plus easy to fix on your head. Just one clip at the back. The round bits at the side are the filters which you change after a while. It’s more expensive but really good. The mask fits various different filters so you could use it for other purposes too. I have the small size. Not the cheapest option out there at about £30, plus filters on top.
E.g.:
https://thefacemaskstore.co.uk/3m-7501-half-mask-reusable-respirator-small/
filters as on photo:
https://thefacemaskstore.co.uk/3m-2135-p3-r-particulate-filters-pack-of-two/


HTH

ETA good luck for Monday, Nudibranch. That’s a horrible wait.

 

[Kunoichi73]

The non disposable rubber ones are great. I use to wear one for a lab job that involved cleaning equipment that generated a lot of dust. Make sure you get one that fits your face well. Lots of them are designed for large men!