Ok, I'm looking to start stocking up before I get the buns here. What kind of hay should I be looking for? I see grass hay, grass and clover, alfalfa, and just...hay. Does it really matter as long as I'm giving a good rotation? I plan on feeding pellets and free choice hay. I realize I could order from some place like oxbow for $80 or so for 50lbs....but if I can get a 75lb bale for $5 local I'd MUCH rather do that. There's lots listed out there, I'm just not sure what to look for!
Really stupid question....
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trinityoaks
Well-known member
Personally, I prefer alfalfa hay (I believe it's highest in protein). I tried grass hay (coastal bermuda, IIRC), but my buns didn't like to eat it--used it mainly for nesting. Some people like to use timothy, but I've never been able to find it for anything close to a reasonable price.
skysthelimit
Well-known member
If you feed alfalfa, or an alfalfa mix, you can feed less pellets. Grass is fine, I feed orchard grass because alfalfa/timothy/clover mix I used to use is scarce. I picked up some supposed alfalfa mix this time from someone, and it seems like it's full of some prickly stuff. I hate it/ I would rather go back to the orchard grass, and just have to feed more pellets.
Thanks! I used to get timothy from Oxbow when I just had one pet rabbit a long time ago (was what the breeder told me to get) and would order a 50lb box at one time...it lasted him forever. But I can see that 3 breeders and their litters will probably plow through that a lot faster. Alfalfa is about $7 for a 75lb bale around here....I think I can swing that!
trinityoaks
Well-known member
Wow!! Wish I could find alfalfa for even close to that price! It's about $16-18 for a 50-lb bale here (when I can find it). I'm paying about the same for 50lb of alfalfa cubes, and they waste less of the cubes than they do the hay.Tegan":39ir1bit said:
OneAcreFarm
Well-known member
I buy bales of coastal grass hay, since I feed an alfalfa based pellet.
LindseysWoolies
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I get bales of Burmuda since that's what's available here only $5 a bale too.
trinityoaks":3rz71lle said:
Our buns love bermuda hay! We can't get high quality alfalfa here at a reasonable price but a large bale of bermuda costs us $6. We were feeding timothy and we still do to someof the popples but we noticed when we used the bermuda we had for goats in our nestboxes it kept disappearing.....
michabo3000
Well-known member
If your feeding pellets, your rabbits dont need any more alfalfa than that. I would go with the grass. maybe the grass and clover if it doesnt have too much clover in it. If they eat more pellets than hay , they will grow out faster.<br /><br />__________ Fri Jul 13, 2012 3:17 pm __________<br /><br />you cant go wrong with timothy but its spendy some places
trinityoaks
Well-known member
I don't know about the OP (I guess she feeds pellets), but I feed grain, so the only alfalfa my buns get is in the form of hay or cubes.michabo3000":12m99kdb said:
michabo3000
Well-known member
trinity, tegan said the plan was to feed pellets, and asked about kind of hay . All the pellets ive seen are alfalfa based. If you are feeding pellets, alfala is not the best choice for hay.
__________ Fri Jul 13, 2012 3:48 pm __________
tegan, it does make a difference , rabbits can get to much alfalfa.<br /><br />__________ Fri Jul 13, 2012 3:51 pm __________<br /><br />rabbits can get to much clover too
__________ Fri Jul 13, 2012 3:48 pm __________
tegan, it does make a difference , rabbits can get to much alfalfa.<br /><br />__________ Fri Jul 13, 2012 3:51 pm __________<br /><br />rabbits can get to much clover too
If you are raising high production rabbits where you breed very close together alfalfa pellets and legume (alfalfa or clover) hay is a good thing. They'll lose too much weight on free choice grass hay even with lots of pellets. Now if you are breeding once or twice a year and showing in between instead then free choice legume hay is going to give you too much nutrients, protein and calcium especially, causing fat rabbits and bladder stones.
That is far from the truth. I have had high production rabbits being on pellets and only feed grass hay. They keep gaining weight. and the breeders kept in good condition for some years.akane":5q9oqbw1 said:
michabo3000
Well-known member
tegan, a good rabbit pellet supplys complete nutrition. You dont even need hay to grow healthy bunnys. If your just starting out , dont spend a bundle on hay. Hay is to help save money. You can start with just pellets ,,and experiment with the differnt kinds of hay. Your gonna get all kinds of answers here.
Well...I know from having a pet bun, that they enjoy hay...so I'll provide it. I'll probably just keep a good mix going. They will be eating pellets, but the hay is mostly a supplement and for their pleasure. I'll also be breeding back to back so a little extra nutrition wont hurt.
trinityoaks
Well-known member
The roughage helps with their digestion, especially newly-weaned kits.
skysthelimit
Well-known member
Supposedly, feeding hay lowers the overall protein amount rabbits are getting. If I have a 16% feed, with the amount of grass hay I feed, I'm lowering my protein amount to more like 14%, which may be the reason why my Rexes grow so slow. I can't get 18% feed, so feeding an alfalfa mix is a good thing for me.
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It does help keep things moving through the gut. I just get coastal Bermuda grass hay right now, but where I'm moving, I'll have some more options.
Some of my rabbits love eating it, others eat very little, and one seems to just like pulling it out and dropping it through the floor. :roll: Okay, at least I'm not spending a lot on the hay!
Some of my rabbits love eating it, others eat very little, and one seems to just like pulling it out and dropping it through the floor. :roll: Okay, at least I'm not spending a lot on the hay!
concreteblonde
Well-known member
There's no such thing as a stupid question. I figure on getting some good quality hay and also feeding from the garden. Right now, I'm feeding pellets and with all of the GMO's running around these days, I don't doubt they'll mess rabbit food up too. So, I'll get my rabbits used to eating what's available a little at a time.
During the Great Depression, people used to cut weeds from the side of the road and ditches to feed to their rabbits. There are grasses with seedheads on them that are edible. Wild oats, wild rye, etc. Especially in areas that used to be large farmland tracts.
As long as your rabbits are getting a well-rounded diet they will stay healthy and gain weight. So, unless you are showing your rabbits, it isn't too critical. Root crops such as carrots, turnips and beets are good for them too and those crops can be grown and stashed for winter feeding.
Check out some historical documents. They didn't buy rabbit pellets because it didn't exist back then. Just like the laying crumbles that you buy today for chickens didn't exist back then. Ground up grain is quicker for them to digest than whole or cracked grain but they still lay eggs and still grow with home grown grains.
During the Great Depression, people used to cut weeds from the side of the road and ditches to feed to their rabbits. There are grasses with seedheads on them that are edible. Wild oats, wild rye, etc. Especially in areas that used to be large farmland tracts.
As long as your rabbits are getting a well-rounded diet they will stay healthy and gain weight. So, unless you are showing your rabbits, it isn't too critical. Root crops such as carrots, turnips and beets are good for them too and those crops can be grown and stashed for winter feeding.
Check out some historical documents. They didn't buy rabbit pellets because it didn't exist back then. Just like the laying crumbles that you buy today for chickens didn't exist back then. Ground up grain is quicker for them to digest than whole or cracked grain but they still lay eggs and still grow with home grown grains.
