Feeding Hay...Your thoughts and feelings.

[2 bun-owner]

I free feed hay as well. I find it better for the digestive
System and keeps things flowing. I have ran out (or my buns
Have been out) and I have notised binding in the digestive
Track. There poops are different. I do also feed alfalfa (a pinch)
To my buck and little more to my doe. I find that the
Alfalfa is a "treat" to them and my buck is the pickiest
Darn bugger so if I don't give him a pinch of alfalfa mixed
Wih the hay he won't eat it and then we have problems.

 

[grumpy]

I bought 'brome' earlier this season.
The rabbits didn't 'flip' over it. LOL.

A week or so ago I got 10 bales of alfalfa right out of the field.
I paid six-bucks a bale for it.
It's a good mix of alfalfa and some other kind of grass hay.
The rabbits go bonkers over it. I try to feed it every other day.
I don't have a great deal of waste with the new hay feeders I made.

They just 'seem' better.. more lively come hay-time.

grumpy.

 

[Toady]

Grumpy, I know that feeling!

We've got a shortage of oaten hay down here so I bought a bale of freshly cut prairie grass hay to make the oaten last longer, have been putting some in with my 4 but they're not 'flipping' over it, my 2 "fuzzies" seem to enjoy it but the other two don't. Guess they'll learn to eat it when the oaten runs out!! But I only have "pets" and not a larger scale rabbitry.

 

[SatinsRule]

Hey (or should I say "Hay") Toady,

How is life in New South Wales? It's great to have you on the forums.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

I bought 'brome' earlier this season.
The rabbits didn't 'flip' over it. LOL.

A week or so ago I got 10 bales of alfalfa right out of the field.
I paid six-bucks a bale for it.
It's a good mix of alfalfa and some other kind of grass hay.
The rabbits go bonkers over it. I try to feed it every other day.
I don't have a great deal of waste with the new hay feeders I made.

They just 'seem' better.. more lively come hay-time.

grumpy.

every other day is great.... It also saves on your pellets too.. I have to ask grumpy.. What is your new hay feeders that you made?

 

[Peach]

I don't really feed hay.... I have it for nest boxes and rabbits that seem to be producing a lot of hair linked poops but that's about it. It's very messy and doesn't go back into my garden well. I can't say if my cases of coccidia and mites came from hay in the first place, although I got that all squared away with, because I brought in a new rabbit more or less at the same time. I haven't had any reoccurrence yet and still feeding from the same bale.

Timothy isn't available over here, but Bermuda and fescue are....I go with bermuda because it's softer and better for nest building.

I have some hay mangers up on some of the cages,so rabbits on either side can stay entertained and enjoy hay. I also give hay to rabbits in a heavy molt since I know they are ingesting more hair than a rabbit that isn't molting.

A lot of my rabbits rather just scratch at whatever hay I give them and have it just fall to the pan below.

*knock on wood* I haven't had an issue with the youngsters. I'll inspect them daily, especially when they are transitioning to pellets, so I can clean off their butts accordingly. My rabbitry isn't huge, so it's something I can manage. I'll add oats if a major upset and it generally clears it up.

I know a lot of breeders that don't feed it and have no problems. I think it's matters a lot with what breeds you are working with in the first place. I play a lot with my Mini Lops that they don't just sit in there cages all day unless I'm studying for a test or at work. Otherwise, they have toys for enrichment.

 

[Toady]

Hey (or should I say "Hay") Toady,

How is life in New South Wales? It's great to have you on the forums.

Weather's already quite warm here and there's fires dotted all over the state. Nice to be here and chat with people from all over the world. Hoping for rain soon because it's dry as a crisp.

 

[akane]

We've gone to hay cubes. Wasted hay was making the colonies too hard to clean and our american sables were constantly molting eating the rich clover hay we got. We missed this entire year's show season. After feeding only pellets for 2 months and then adding in the hay cubes they are finally getting back to good coats.

 

[grumpy]

I bought 'brome' earlier this season.
The rabbits didn't 'flip' over it. LOL.

A week or so ago I got 10 bales of alfalfa right out of the field.
I paid six-bucks a bale for it.
It's a good mix of alfalfa and some other kind of grass hay.
The rabbits go bonkers over it. I try to feed it every other day.
I don't have a great deal of waste with the new hay feeders I made.

They just 'seem' better.. more lively come hay-time.

grumpy.

every other day is great.... It also saves on your pellets too.. I have to ask grumpy.. What is your new hay feeders that you made?

I'll post some pics Mary Ann. They ain't much to look at.
But they work pretty darned good.

Later today.

grumpy.

 

[skysthelimit]

I am alway hesitant to buy hay cubes, never had anyone eat them.

Petsmart used to sell them by the pound. I'm going to check if they still do, because I don't want to buy a big bag and have it go to waste. It would solve my hay problem until I get my own vehicle, and the hay shortage issue. Often hay can't be found this close, and last year it was hard to find and expensive everywhere.<br /><br />__________ Sat Sep 14, 2013 7:47 am __________<br /><br />How long does hay last anyway?

What was in the barn seemed a bit moldy, I think I had the bale for nearly two months, I was starting to think feeding it actually caused my problems.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

How long does hay last anyway?

Properly baled and stored, it can last for years. The nutrient levels do drop over time though. You can easily store it for at least a year if it is kept dry.

What was in the barn seemed a bit moldy, I think I had the bale for nearly two months, I was starting to think feeding it actually caused my problems.

That might be the cause. If you have high humidity there the hay is more likely to get moldy. I'm not sure what you can do about that.

 

[SatinsRule]

Hey (or should I say "Hay") Toady,

How is life in New South Wales? It's great to have you on the forums.

Weather's already quite warm here and there's fires dotted all over the state. Nice to be here and chat with people from all over the world. Hoping for rain soon because it's dry as a crisp.

Yeah, what you mates call a "crisp", we refer to as a potato chip. Never had any vegemite, though.

 

[Toady]

Yeah, what you mates call a "crisp", we refer to as a potato chip. Never had any vegemite, though.

They're called chips here too, I have no idea where the term "dry as a crisp" came from as we'v never called them 'potato crisps'.

Hay wise - I'm amazed with what some people try to pass off as hay, dried out straw and stuff I wouldn't even put on my garden!

 

[skysthelimit]

Hay wise - I'm amazed with what some people try to pass off as hay, dried out straw and stuff I wouldn't even put on my garden!

That's pretty much what I see here, for $10 a bale it's hard to distinguish from straw, or full of thorns that cut my hands, unless your out in horse country or want to pay TSC $17 for a compressed bale, that's about it.

 

[SatinsRule]

Yeah, what you mates call a "crisp", we refer to as a potato chip. Never had any vegemite, though.

They're called chips here too, I have no idea where the term "dry as a crisp" came from as we'v never called them 'potato crisps'.

Hay wise - I'm amazed with what some people try to pass off as hay, dried out straw and stuff I wouldn't even put on my garden!

Okay. I just assumed as close as your country is to British culture that it's what you were referring to when you used the term "crisp". I spent just over 2 years in the UK, and will say that you haven't lived until you've indulged yourself in a bag of their Roast Beef and Hot Mustard potato crisps.

A couple of summers ago, farmers from TX, OK, NM and just about anywhere else in the southwestern part of this country were buying up anything that resembled hay for their cattle. They would literally agree to purchase it in massive quantities before they even knew what was in it.

 

[Devon's Mom Lauren]

We do not feed hay at all. We feed a 17% pellet made up of alfalfa/timothy. No need to mess up the cages and pans with hay. In the winter alfalfa cubes are given out to chew on, in the summer I cut willow or mulberry plus add dandelions/greens. As pellets have all the fibre needed I don't understand why dried out grass would make any difference. Fibre comes as soluble AND insoluble and they need BOTH types. Hay can and will cause problems with dust and mold. Straw can as well plus the hollow stems can harbour mites. We gave up on hay after enduring bird pooped on bales, stuff that was all stems and hard as rock, plus dust and mold. Rabbits don't need that.If you are concerned with fibre just give a slice of apple every so often plus sticks to chew. We have zero enteritis. We have lost zero kits at any age this year and for the last several since we switched to Floradale pellets and dropped the hay.

 

[akane]

The best hay I can get is used to feed organic beef. It's actually cattle hay but the guy dotes on his field and cuts it at the perfect time. I was paying $10 a bale when we bale 40 acres of our own horse hay because I don't think it's good enough for my rabbits.