steaming hay

georgiegirl

georgiegirl

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My two have been rather round and portly all season so have been on hay which i've been soaking a) to keep the calories down and b) its not the best quality, bit dusty.

I've usually fed haylage over winter but i think im going to try sticking with the hay as my two are going to have a bit of time off come the depths of winter (rest for them and me!)

i realise soaking hay is going to be a massive pain in the bum so thought about steaming it? I cant afford one of those fancy steamers so was wondering about the dustbin/kettle method. does it 'de-dust' hay as good as soaking? how long do you have to steam it for?

your tips please guys!
 
I steam hay with a steamer and it works quite nicely I always open/shake hay out to ensure steam gets thru all hay. I knw a few peeps who do kettles with dustbin or sack and works for them. I usually do it for 20-30 mins but instructions on steamer says 40 mins but you can tell yourself when its ready.:)
 
Thought about doing hay this way for winter this year. Fed up of soaking hay!

I would its less hassle when it gets icey with disposing of the water, or even getting any water at all if pipes are frozen. Ours seemed to prefer it this way aswell
 
Steaming is good for dust/mould control but I don't think it reduces sugars in hay. Soaking in winter is a total bind I know.
 
just get a bin with lid (alternatively put something over it to prevent steam escaping) fill with hay, pour two kettles f boiling water in cover and leave for bout half an hour. when you go back to it it should be damp, soft and takes less than half time of soaking.:).
 
I steamed my pony's hay last year as he had a shocking cough - but I gave up and went back to soaking it as it didn't seem hugely effective. Have to say though he was really bad and I'm sure for many owners this is a good, viable and economic option. Oh I did the wall paper steamer thing.

But as someone else as pointed out I'm not sure it will reduce the calorie levels as you have to soak hay for hours for it to effectively reduce sugar etc levels.
 
Steaming will get rid of the dust spores but it won't reduce the sugars. Only soaking will do that. Another one who sympathises with you, hard work hauling the soaked hay around.
 
I have just purchased a wallpaper steamer and bin! I usually soak my hay but the lad has two 8lb nets and it nearly kills me dragging wet nets to his stable and hanging them up. Tried the steamer today and can only get 6lb in the bin I bought so had to do two lots.(hes on smaller nets as still lot of grass at mo)
Didnt know how long to leave to be effective though ? It did seem a bit fiddly and I kept hovering over it as not sure how it would work !
 
I tried the kettle, dustbin and Alfa-A bag method and it didn't work for me. I also read a few things about it actually making bugs worse than dry hay because the steam isn't at a constant high enough temperature. So I bought a Happy Horse Traveller hay steamer. Which I used the grand total of 3 times before I got fed up with it and it didn't work for my horse anyway - made him cough. But then has COPD/RAO and is very, very sensitive and can't have hay of any sort - soaked, steamed or anyway.

The bin thing may work if it's just a slight dust allergy but - in my opinion - not for any serious allergy issues.
 
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