Feeding Hay...Your thoughts and feelings.

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grumpy

grumpy

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Over the years, I've changed my mind on this one single item
more than any other phase of rabbit husbandry.

I've fed it....Not fed it. Such a quandary, my mind's in a tizzy!

I truly feel it has more plusses than negatives. But, that may change tomorrow.
It helps, (I think) with keeping the lower intestines moving along in youngsters.

I stopped feeding it this last fall and had problems with youngsters all spring.
A few weeks ago, I began feeding it once more....No problems, no deaths, thus far.
And the youngsters really look good. They look forward to the ration of hay.

The does and bucks like it as well. It makes them eager to come forward and eat out of my hand.

Any thoughts or opinions from our group would be helpful.
BTW: I feed alfalfa hay with a good portion of 'grass' hay mixed in with it.

Grumpy.
 
I have always fed hay to my rabbits for health and mental enrichment reasons.

My rabbits have very few intestinal issues and my losses to weaning enteritis are less than 1%. I have 4 different bloodlines (2 AmChin and 2 Mini/Lion lop) so it cannot just be my stock.

People complain that it can be messy and difficult to store but I think it's worth it.
 
My rabbits all love it and so I love to feed it. Yes, it's messy but so is rabbit manure. I have made those "free" rabbit feeders out of #10 cans and I put rolled barley [or oats] and BOSS in the bottom for moms and kits and I stuff the top with grass hay for them and everyone else.
It's how I tell when it's time to put in the nest box too. My pregnant does start carrying it around instead of eating it :p
 
You cant go wrong feeding it.. When I rabbit goes off feed.. it will eat hay and can thrive on hay for a long time. babies start eating eat at a very young age ..it give them something to look forward to and something to do. It is good for there gut and keeps things going.. Yes it is mess and you have to store it.. but you have to store pellets or grain anyways.. The cons outways the mess and storage.
 
well worth the effort. hay keeps them moving and seems to prevent fur blockages. I recently recieved a angora rabbit from the local animal control that had been dropped in the wild by its previous owner. It seem to have some problems with excess fur it the droppings. Since i have always given hay to my thriantas i started giving some to her and she seems to be doing much better. All my rabbits seem to look forward to it and come to the doors when it is offered. Also seems to make the young ones more friendly. We also raise goats so we have it around all the time. I swear by it.
 
I fed hay from the start, but had to stop recently. For some reason, we can't keep it clean. 5 bales went to waste (ie, pig bedding) in the course of a week.

If that trend keeps up, I won't be feeding it at all. It's too expensive to experiment with storage.

We're using alfalfa cubes right now, and waiting to see how the kits fare with them.
 
I like happy rabbits and hay makes them happy. I get frustrated with the mess and stop feeding as much, then they act bored and hungry, so I give them hay again and they are super excited to get it. My uncles grows 3 different types of hay so I always get a decent price and a good supply, though. Then I try to give the hay that falls through to my goats or let the chickens scratch through it (okay, I put it in the compost and they help themselves to it). It's a pain in the rear, but it seems to serve a purpose, so I guess I'll keep giving it. Lately I've been trying stuffing it in a cardboard tube. That's probably not practical for an operation your size, though, lol.
 
I fed it and it didn't stop my kits from dying, and they would not eat it when they were sick. I went out and gathered fresh grass and they ate that readily, and I managed to save a few kits. I'm wondering if feeding it is what caused the problem in the first place. It's hard for me to get it, $7-10 a bale, it always looks like dried stems, and it just collects dust. Now I don't have a vehicle and no way to get it, so we shall see.
 
I can tell it is good for my rabbits by the way they get all happy when I give it to them. I don't like it because its messy. I tried to feed hay cubes but my smaller jersey woolies and nethies don't seem to like it- maybe there mouths/teeth aren't strong enough to eat the hay cubes- they just naw on the cubes. I've had only 3 litters so fairly new to rabbits- but I see the babies nibble the hay in the nest at 10 days- and none has had any GI issues.
 
You who wont feed hay: does your rabbits have unlimited acess to other foods?

Their digestive system is -in differense to ours- designed to always be working. While eating their own soft feces makes them a bit less sensetive than lets say horses, they're still supposed to have something in their guts and mouths all the time. It also keeps them busy.

I of course feed free choice hay. Id be breaking laws if I didnt but I guess that surprice noone and wont make a point either.

Id definetly vote for feeding hay. For many reasons (most already mentioned) and I see no reason not to feed it.
 
I generally only offer hay in nestboxes. I have stacked cages with pans and the mess simply isn't worth it to me. Some rabbits like it, most seem to just enjoy playing with it.

I've tried the alfalfa cubes. Invariably I find them in their water bowls in a big soggy mess. No to those too.

I feed a good quality, prepared feed. It has been my experience that good quality, manufactured feeds are complete for everything an animal needs. Yes, there is plenty of garbage out there.

My rabbits are healthy, happy and winning at the shows. I don't believe the lack of hay being offered is hurting them.
 
I generally only offer hay in nestboxes. I have stacked cages with pans and the mess simply isn't worth it to me. Some rabbits like it, most seem to just enjoy playing with it.

I've tried the alfalfa cubes. Invariably I find them in their water bowls in a big soggy mess. No to those too.

I feed a good quality, prepared feed. It has been my experience that good quality, manufactured feeds are complete for everything an animal needs. Yes, there is plenty of garbage out there.

My rabbits are healthy, happy and winning at the shows. I don't believe the lack of hay being offered is hurting them.
 
I can't imagine not feeding hay, quite honestly. There are two of mine that won't touch it and hold out for willow/pear/apple branches, but the rest enjoy it tremendously. As a bunny noob I don't have anything to back up my reasoning other than rabbits eat dried grasses etc in the wild as part of their normal diet, seems to me their domesticated counterparts would choose it as well if given opportunity. They tend to know instinctively what's good for them and what isn't!
 
A pellet is made of hay, it should have high protein and high fiber, then extra hay shouldn't be needed.
Loose hay is very hit or miss with a lot of rabbits and end up most being wasted. There's different hay horse cubes out there, mini horse cubes as well. My rabbits hated them and oats at first, but eventually learned to love them.
Never had any issues with hairballs, other than the two new rabbits I got during their molt, had to oil them and feed just fresh greens, they are fine now. Before the cocci started tormenting my rabbits, not having hay didn't change anything. They get the cubes now mainly to keep them busy and not going nuts over pellets. Some rabbits eat 6-8 1in cubes of hay a day, others eat less or just play with them and only eat a little of it.
Many commercial breeders don't feed hay, they just use a high fiber pellet and have no issues.
If the rabbits live on pasture, hay is not needed.
Really depends on individual set ups, feed and rabbits.
 
I feed my rabbits like I do my horses. They are both browsers and don't have a digestive system designed to deal with large meals.
 
I free-feed hay. The buns vary in their eating of it, but they all munch on it more or less. If a cage runs out of hay, they're usually very happy for a refill, and attack it immediately. :)
 
Some of my rabbits get unlimited hay, some occasional hay and other essentially no hay. All seem to be doing equally well. Some of my rabbits will entertain themselves with the hay and push it out the cage or into the pan. All our rabbits are housed indoors and hay is a big mess.
 
Add another vote in favor of offering hay. Yes, it can be a mess. Yes, you have to have room for storage. Yes, it can be expensive. Still, the rabbits seem healthier and happier with hay and so I choose to believe that feeding hay is a good thing and worth whatever hassle comes with it.
 
It works for keeping rabbits digestive tracts intact and regular. It is always messy.

It's like buying a car. There are good points and bad points. Same with a house and likely anything else one could name.

Overall I'd say that hay is relatively inexpensive and beneficially good for the rabbits. Just get the best that is locally available and feed it regularly. I tried the route of having timothy hay shipped to me and found that it hasn't produced the results that I hoped it would, and certainly not for the money I've spent on it. You live and you learn.
 

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