Hay

[PMcNemar]

Hay confuses me! Alfalfa hay, timothy hay, orchard hay...

I have a small bag of timothy hay, but I know it won't last very long once my new bunny comes home. :lilbunny: I called the local feed store, they have hay, but it's a mix. They said it has some timothy in it, but it's not pure timothy. Will it still be alright for my rabbit? I think they usually sell it for feeding horses, cows, etc. They said it's a mix of timothy, orchard, and blue grass.

If it won't work, that's okay. I'll just have to get pure timothy hay from the pet store, but it will be more expensive, so I'm trying to find slightly cheaper alternatives.

:bunnyhop: inkbunny:

 

[SatinsRule]

The thing I have run into with alfalfa hay is that it tends to mold rather quickly. The same is true of just about any type of hay if it's not allowed to dry fully before it's baled, but I've noticed it's especially true of alfalfa, not only with rabbits but also on the horse farm I worked on when I was in high school. It just went bad faster than we could feed it, and much of it became waste. If you're not going to be raising a large herd, you'll likely wind up wasting far more of it than you feed. Also, if you over-feed it, you can run upon some severe cases of scours (runs) in your rabbits. The only thing I can think of to explain why is that it's a very rich hay.

The bags of timothy hay can be bought in larger bags and usually is more readily available than any other feed hay. The last time I was in a local feed store, they had large bags of it, so it may behove you to ask the feed dealer you're dealing with if they can get larger bags. It's probably the most commonly-fed hay among rabbit breeders.

A way of getting around buying hay would be to feed rolled or crimped oats on occasion (I prefer rolled oats and get it pretty steadily at the local Tractor Supply, but sometimes it just isn't available elsewhere). It has many of the same roughage qualities as hay does for rabbits, and most rabbits just love getting an occasional rationing of oats in their feeders. I know mine do.

 

[BoxerMom]

I don't know the differences between all of them, but I feed my rabbits alfalfa. It costs me $4 a bale and I haven't had any issues with molding so far.

 

[Beach Bunny]

That mix should be fine.I feed alfalfa in the winter but the rest of the year i feed orchard grass because my prissy bun is allergic to timothy!Orchard grass smells nicer and my BF has allergies and it doesn't seem to be an issue with the orchard grass.

 

[PMcNemar]

For now I just went ahead and bought a small bag of timothy hay from the pet store. Next time I'll get the bail and store it in the spare room in large trash bags. That should work, shouldn't it? As long as it stays dry it should keep a good while. I just got the small bag because with just one little bunny I figured between the bag I already had and the bag I just got it should last him a little while. So happy to finally have my first bunny home!

 

[MaggieJ]

Generally speaking, hay suitable for horses is also suitable for rabbits. Timothy hay is good, but the mix with orchard hay and Blue grass should be fine too. Some people who buy a bale at a time find they can divide it into two large plastic totes (like Rubbermaid, but generic is likely cheaper). Much tidier than garbage bags and with the lid off the hay can breathe.

Alfalfa hay is great if you are feeding naturally, but it is not so good just as a supplement to pellets. It has a lot of protein, a lot of calcium... too rich! Grass hay is better in this case.

I've never had a problem with mould in alfalfa hay here. I suspect that climate plays a role... SatinsRule is in Arkansas which has to be hotter and more humid than either West Virginia or Southern Ontario.

 

[SatinsRule]

I've never had a problem with mould in alfalfa hay here. I suspect that climate plays a role... SatinsRule is in Arkansas which has to be hotter and more humid than either West Virginia or Southern Ontario.

Yep. Heat and humidity is the rule down here for 6-8 months out of the year in most years.

If any hay is baled before it's had ample time to properly dry, there are going to be mold problems, but it is especially true with alfalfa. I do know that the horse breeder I worked for stopped using it for that reason--it was difficult around here at the time to find good alfalfa hay that was dried properly before it was baled up and stored.

 

[ladysown]

You need to keep the hay in an open container (a garbage bag will work well as long as the top is open). I find most any hay works for rabbits as long as it's in good shape, not too old and is not moldy.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

Buying an actual bale of hay is lot more cost effective than buying those little bags at pet stores or even in the pet food aisles at a farm store! A good bale of hay will be solid, stick you hand as deep as you can into the center-- if it feels warm, it is not a good bale-- and if you drop the bale on end-- and it 'bounces'--- all the better!!! The hay should smell 'sweet' not sour.

 

[Artios]

Sounds like they're selling something locally called 'wv hay'. I feed it to my rabbits with no issues after a long chat with my vet to confirm it's safety.

 

[akane]

We put up several 100 bales of alfalfa a year and never had a moldy one. I haven't found it to be any more likely to mold than other hays. Perhaps in that area they just try to bale the alfalfa sooner than the other hays as it browns quickly and easily in sun.

Hay is actually pretty simple. All hay can be divided in to 3 groups. Grass, legume, and grain. Grass and grain hay is very similar so long as the grain is cut early before or just as the grain heads appear. After that grain plants lose nutrition and become straw instead. This hay is consistently low in protein and mostly balanced. There are probably more than a dozen types of grass or grain hay but the type is unimportant for the most part. Hay within the same group is so similar that different cuttings and differences in the soil quality and growing conditions have as much impact as the actual type. Occasionally animals will prefer some grass hays to others. Brome is known to be tougher, higher fiber, and brown easier so sometimes isn't as desireable to the animals while bluegrass and timothy is usually greener, sweeter, and nearly always well received. Again though it doesn't really matter. If the hay is of good quality they should still eat with minimal differences in nutrition. Legume hay is clover and alfalfa and is consistently high in protein and other nutrients. It varies a lot depending on cut and the land it's grown on and can have from 15-30% protein so getting legume hay that has been tested is a good idea if you are feeding a lot of it.

If you are feeding pellets then you usually want grass or early cut grain hay as the main hay. A little legume hay would be fine for growing rabbits and breeding does but is not a requirement and should not be fed to bucks and nonbreeding animals. If you are feeding a diet lower in protein such as grains and fresh forages then you want more legume hay to make up for the lack of protein. Sometimes you can find timothy based instead of alfalfa based pellets which are lower in protein and might require legume hay for growing and breeding animals. Usually these will only be found in pet stores in small bags or online because everyone breeding rabbits (or guinea pigs and similar animals) and buying large bags from the feed store want the high protein stuff so you rarely see pellets under 16%.

In high humidity areas store hay in cardboard boxes or bale covers which breathe rather than plastic. Appliance boxes work great. It won't mold that way.