Hay, the best feed in an emergency

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avdpas77

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Hay is discussed often on this website, and for good reason. It is helpful both as a preventative and remedy for gastronomic problems.It is often helpful as a less expensive source of nutrition to help keep the pellet bill down, and,good alfalfa hay is as close to a complete feed as any (one) other forage or grain.

So, if hay is such a great thing, what is the problems with feeding it. The first thing that comes to mind, is that it doesn’t perform well in cages that have a tray. They hay does not have enough room to fall through easily and can get clogged in the floor wire, and stuck to the pan. It also clogs up the works in cages that have a slanted ramp under them to direct the wastes in a certain direction. Another problem is waste. As long as one is feeding regular baled hay, some to most of it will find its way to the floor. If the hay is inexpensive enough, that may not be much of cost problem, but it requires extra mucking, decrease the value of manure for sale, and if not composted can transfer grass and weed seeds to the garden.

Having covered some of the downsides to hay feeding, let us go over one of the most important pluses. It is the all around best interim/emergency food. I don’t think any one has had trouble with hay unless it was moldy or contained toxic weeds. In my own experience, although I have feed hay containing weeds that would not be considered good for rabbits (hey, it is almost impossible to go through every sliver of hay ) there has never been a problem.

What I am leading to in all of this is two things:

Hay is a reasonable (complete) feed when things go wrong and one is out of pellets or their other feed temporarily. Normally, it would easily be sufficient for a couple of days, and, if it had a high percentage of clover or alfalfa, it could easily be used for several weeks. Unlike grains and (green) forages, one can take a rabbit off of pellets and put them on straight hay with no ill consequences. I am not faulting homemade feeds that provide adequate nutrition, several people here are using them with success, but one can’t take a rabbit off of pellets one day and throw it a peck of spinach or sweet potato vines the next.

There is another tremendous value of hay. If rabbits start exhibiting serious gastronomic problems, it can be caused by numerous things or combinations of things; illness due to microorganisms, bad commercial feed, toxic pants or contaminated store greens, environmental/stress reactions, almost anything (this might include bad hay if you haven’t fed this hay before). The best “natural” cure for most of these problems is to switch the rabbit to pure hay until the cause can be sorted out. Even if is classic symptoms of a disease like mucoid enteritis, the best chance they have is to get some hay in their gut as soon as possible (think of “fiber” like the doc is always telling us about, but on a much more macroscopic scale)

My personal opinion, as a pellet feeder is that a bit if hay daily is the absolute best preventative measure there is in an already sanitary rabbitry. Daily hay or not, it is important that everyone know that a rabbit can live on hay quite respectably for a substantial period of time.
 
I agree. Hay is an important feed, invaluable for maintaining gastric health in rabbits and the best "medicine" whenever a rabbit shows any sign of developing a GI problem.

Frank, your point about it being a feed that can be introduced without the "phasing in" period is an important one. No one need worry about adding hay to their rabbit's diet. In those emergencies when the pellets run out unexpectedly, hay will maintain the rabbits in good health. It stores well too, so it is well worth making room for some in your rabbitry.
 
Nice advice! :)
Seems to be the opposite in my barn though - the hay usually runs out first! Lol.
I would hope, however, that if I ever did run out of pellets first, and couldn't get any for some reason, that my rabbits who prefer their pellets would eat the hay! (I'm sure they would...that and fresh grass, and whatever else I could forage for 'em!)

Emily
 
I bought a bale of bermuda grass hay the other day on my way to KS, and the rabbits loved it when I fed it to them. Every single one I put it in front of ate it. Probably going to become a once/week event that they get a little weed treat.

The next thing I may try is alfalfa hay cubes.
 
Great advise i always try to give my rabbits a bit of hay weekly. But my mamas and kits get hay 3 to 4 times a week tell there weaned i give the newly weaned babys hay for the first few days to help out with any weaning problems that might try to crop up.
 
:) I like giving the rabbits hay, but OUCH! found out, here it is $10-$15 dollars a BALE!

That is ALOT of money. Next year, we'll be buying from actual PEOPLE, not stores.
 
It's that price here, too, Shara! Much more if you want alfalfa. :(

I didn't know that about hay not needing to be phased in... I switched our buns slowly from coastal Bermuda grass to Alicia Bermuda grass when we moved here. Now I know I don't need to worry about that! Thanks, Frank! :)
 
Shara":ibor323q said:
:) I like giving the rabbits hay, but OUCH! found out, here it is $10-$15 dollars a BALE!

That is ALOT of money. Next year, we'll be buying from actual PEOPLE, not stores.

What kind of hay are we talking about? Alfalfa?
 
I guess that would explain a lot, depending upon where you live and what is most commonly grown. Most deer hunters who put down plots will often plant clover if it's not regularly available.

Bermuda grass is pretty common locally, and a bale of it set me back to the tune of $6 the other day. The crew seemed to like it when I fed it to them, but it will take next to forever to feed all of it with 15 rabbits. Good thing I am getting ready to raise a litter or two in the near future.
 
Yeah, I think next year I am going to swing through central OR and pick up some cheaper hay there...Then I can have a load for quite a bit less than is locally available...
 

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