Nets like the Hay Chix nets aren’t at all like the old nylon hay nets that used to fray/shed. The material is quite soft and the ones I’ve had for 5+ years haven’t frayed at all. I toss mine in the washer (no center agitator) to clean.
My thoughts on a cotton slow feed net is that the cotton would stretch out and not be quite as slow feed as intended. :winkgrin:
Also since cotton absorbs moisture a cotton slow feed net could wind up a wet heavy mess, and if you’re in a cold area it could wind up a frozen heavy mess.
We have Nag Bags and really like them. I think they are a cotton blend (the website says polypro/nylon blend). They are soft but hold up really well and last a long time compared to other hay nets that we have owned.
I have very soft, lovely nets from slowfeeder.com (nylon blend) but since I added a few of the more “plasticy” nets to my collection, I have found that the “plasticy” ones are way easier to deal with in freezing conditions. The soft rope nylon blend gets went and freezes solid. I have to bring them in the house after every meal for the nets to thaw out and dry. The plastic ones are just so much better in my climate.
I can only imagine that a cotton hay net would be horrible. How heavy that would be soaking wet!
I have used several kind of nets, and I think the nylon blend nets from Nag Bags are the highest quality, but they do soak up a little bit of water (and then freeze).
The really plasticy ones don’t hold up long in my experience.
Another fan of the Nag Bags for something soft and durable. I agree that they get a bit stiff in really cold weather. I’ve found the 1.5" holes work really well in any weather but the 1" holes can be a bit too challenging for some horses, especially if there’s any chance of freezing.
I replaced my aged Nibble Nets with the Nag Bags. I’ll say the Nibble Nets last a LONG time! But the Nag Bags keep my horses eating longer and I can stick them in the steamer. The drawstring is also nice and I added one of the big clips that they sell to each bag to make hanging easy. I also like the fact that there are no knots in the netting so there’s less change of irritation to my horse’s gums. I’ve only had the new nets for about 3-4 months but my horses have been ROUGH on them and there’s not one sign of wear on them.
@PlanB Not certain about this as ours are under cover off the side of the barn, but I think they would hold water and freeze. It has not been an issue in temps as low as -20C
Another vote her for Haychix. If you’re a DIYer then get the haychix bulk netting in a large size and the thickest strength. I fashioned my own feeders using the bulk netting and I and super happy with the quality of the net. Not plasticky feeling at all.
Shire’s nets can be had for 10 bucks a pop. The similarly sized one of these is $70. Are they 7x+ better?
My first couple rounds of Shires lasted forever, but the recent ones aren’t holding up quite as well. But I’m still dubious that a $70 net is really going to break even or wind up cheaper in the long run. That’s just SO much more $$.
Hi Simke, This is probably a stupid question but did you convert the currency from CAD to USD? I’m only asking because I didn’t notice that it was not USD when I first looked at the nets.
I recently bought the Nag Bags, based on reviews here on COTH. They were more expensive than HayChix but I went with them because there are no knots in these bags. I was switching from Nibble Nets and was concerned that the knots might irritate my horses’ gums.
My horses have stomped, pulled, chewed, and rubbed all over these and that’s after the nets get thrown in the hay steamer every day. So far, not even a small sign of wear although, to be fair, I’ve only used them for a few months. I was so sure that my horses would kill these that I bought two repair kits so that I could repair holes before the entire net was ruined. Judging by Saultgirl’s experience, I may not have much use for those kits.
I was SO very careful with these nets when I first started using them. I almost turned myself inside out the first time one of them got hung up on the bolts under the manifold in the steamer. Now, I just tug and wrestle with it until it dislodges if one gets stuck. One of the horses managed to unclip a bag from the tub it was hanging in and he dragged that sucker all over the paddock. After I hosed off all of the mud (so much rain this year, will it ever end???) good as new. Same naughty horse untied one of the bags after he unclipped it from a ring bolt, sigh, and again, dragged it all over his stall and made a general mess of it. Simple hose down and not even the drawstring that he had spent half the night houdini-ing was damaged in the slightest. I like that the drawstring is not a loop too because otherwise that arse would have broken himself all to pieces for sure.
No, I didn’t–good catch. They’re still $60 USD, though.
@saultgirlthese are the nets I’m talking about. The 50" ones. They’re often available for 9.99 at various places around the internet. Recently picked up 8 at Horseloverz. Given that I’ve never experienced a problem with the knots, I’m not sure it matters if something else is “easier”…how is the defined, anyway? The veterinary dentist also reports no indication that the net is impacting the mouth or lips in any way.
I’ve heard that some horses can end up with ulcerated gums from the knots on hay nets. One of mine showed signs of teeth wear from the Nibble Net. Not terrible but the Vet noted that his front teeth look like cribbers teeth while my cribber has no signs of wear on her front teeth. None of the other horses ever had any issue with the Nibble Nets.
I have one horse with a sensitive mouth so decided to go the no knot route. I think it just depends on your situation and the horse(s) you’re working with.
I almost bought the Shires nets because of the cost. But, I would bet that my beasts would do some damage to those. If my Nag Bags last 3 years, it’ll come out even in the long run, I think.
I bought the size called, “Hanging bag,” which is supposed to hold 3-4 flakes of hay. I think you could actually shove a lot more than that in there but I wanted to put these out in multiple places so I bought several of that size. I have a couple with 1" holes that only my big guy has the patience for and then the 1.5" holes that work for everyone in my little herd of 3.
