ANIMAL HEALTH
Here at Norfolk Pastures a huge amount of time and effort goes into ensuring that the taste, texture and overall quality of the hay and straw that we grow are of a high standard. Dust and fungal spores which can present a risk to small animals are removed by our bespoke machinery. Any foreign objects from the meadows to ensure that small animals only receive the best quality hay and straw.
We are very conscious of the risk of Myxomatosis and take great measures to prevent this spreading by storing our hay for over 3 months to break the lifecycle of the host flea.
We always try to educate small animal owners about the growing process and our methods for quality control. We do this at events, on our website and via social media. Many of our customers have come forward with positive and valuable feedback about the quality of our products and some have become very knowledgeable about their small animal’s likes and dislikes. By reacting to our customers’ feedback it helps us to constantly improve our products. Our quality control adds value and so makes Norfolk Pastures a great choice for those that want to purchase a premium quality product.
Customers using products from the Norfolk Pastures range will have peace of mind that they are dust extracted and have had the fungal spores and any ‘nasty bits’ that could be damaging to their small animal’s health removed.
COMMON HEALTH PROBLEMS CAUSED BY POOR QUALITY HAY AND STRAW
- Skin problems such as loss of fur, reddening of the skin and itchiness may indicate mange or fungal infection caused by dirty straw in the enclosure.
- Sore, runny eyes are symptoms of an eye infection which could be conjunctivitis. This can be caused by the animal damaging its eyes on sharp wheat straw, or by dust, dirt or other flying matter in its enclosure.
- Using only sawdust or wood shavings as bedding can cause sinusitis. Common symptoms of this include runny nose, fever and sneezing.
6 THINGS TO KEEP SMALL ANIMALS HEALTHY AND HAPPY!
- Clean habitats regularly, using pet-friendly disinfectant
- Provide your rabbit with safe boredom-breaking toys, such as our Five-a-Day Herbs & Hay box. This will encourage your rabbit to bite and chew the box to get to the nutritious herbs as well as having a supply of hay
- Premium wood shaving should be layered as flooring to absorb toiletries and moisture
- Vets recommend fibre-rich hay be made constantly available, this is essential for a healthy digestive system
- Straw should be changed 2 or 3 times weekly except during breeding or birthing
- Always provide fresh water and a suitable diet or nutritious food
NOT JUST HEALTHY BUT SAFE TOO
There are so many horror stories about what people have discovered in bales of hay and straw. Dangerous items can be found on meadows and if these find their way into a small animal’s hay or straw then the result can be fatal. With this in mind we walk all our fields before harvesting our crop and use a metal detection system before our hay and straw is packaged.
TACKLING BUNNY BOREDOM
We use a mixture of the older grass varieties. By using our own special unique blend of grasses, it gives a variety of tastes which can tackle the common problem of ‘Bunny Boredom’. The texture of our hay will increase chewing time and occupy the rabbit over a much longer period of time reducing the risk of them getting bored and exhibiting destructive behaviour.
There are also other ways in which you can keep your rabbit entertained and happy and that’s to give some thought to the way that their enclosure is laid out. You can increase the size of the enclosure and add some with tunnels and/or different levels and platforms that the rabbit can hop on and off from. Some people even opt to convert their shed or child’s old playhouse into an enclosure for their rabbits. Rabbits need plenty of room to move around to exercise so that they can leap and hop around. Bunny Boredom is a common problem if they do not have enough space. If they have plenty of room to move around and are given a good variety of hay that takes plenty of time to chew, it will also help them feel more content and healthy.