Whoa, I walk away for a day or two...
Someone (akane? sorry, the response is back on a different page so I can't scroll up and look at it) brought up the point that I had missed that the life stage of the grass in question was cut might be relevant. That is a good point, I hadn't thought of that at the time I posted, was only thinking of the harvesting/handling stage. I know that a major part of the problem when many folks use "lawn clippings" is that they acquired them from by using a standard lawn mower, which mauls and bruises the grass stems horribly, so that fermentation and mold can set in quickly. But it is also true that most people cut their lawns at a much lower height than some of us... My hand-cut grass hay was indeed cut when the pasture was much more overgrown than a standard lawn, with much of it in flower or just about to bloom. So, yes, it could well be that the amount and types of starches and sugars were rather different than what would have been in the same plants if the stubble height was only about 4-6 inches instead of the 12-16 inches it had reached.
Anyway, I am still of the opinion that there is nothing magical about purchased grass hay over local versions, as long as the nesting substrate is free from excessive mold and dust, and the mother rabbit (and possibly kits, though I think they do very well when they sample foodstuffs at a very early age) doesn't go to town eating tons of it. Still, it might be best to find out what works for other rabbit breeders in your immediate area, try that, and then see if you still have problems.
Someone (akane? sorry, the response is back on a different page so I can't scroll up and look at it) brought up the point that I had missed that the life stage of the grass in question was cut might be relevant. That is a good point, I hadn't thought of that at the time I posted, was only thinking of the harvesting/handling stage. I know that a major part of the problem when many folks use "lawn clippings" is that they acquired them from by using a standard lawn mower, which mauls and bruises the grass stems horribly, so that fermentation and mold can set in quickly. But it is also true that most people cut their lawns at a much lower height than some of us... My hand-cut grass hay was indeed cut when the pasture was much more overgrown than a standard lawn, with much of it in flower or just about to bloom. So, yes, it could well be that the amount and types of starches and sugars were rather different than what would have been in the same plants if the stubble height was only about 4-6 inches instead of the 12-16 inches it had reached.
Anyway, I am still of the opinion that there is nothing magical about purchased grass hay over local versions, as long as the nesting substrate is free from excessive mold and dust, and the mother rabbit (and possibly kits, though I think they do very well when they sample foodstuffs at a very early age) doesn't go to town eating tons of it. Still, it might be best to find out what works for other rabbit breeders in your immediate area, try that, and then see if you still have problems.
