Transition from alfalfa to timothy

I have two 6 month old lion head and I've had them on alfalfa hay and now want to start transitioning them to timothy. I added a small amount of timothy to their alfalfa and they don't want to eat the timothy. I am mixing it together so they are forced to eat some of the timothy, but since they are getting less alfalfa they are eating less hay overall. Any suggestions on how to transition them?

Have you also cut back on their pellet amount? They should be getting just a measured amount of pellets. And those pellets should also be timothy-based. If they eat too many pellets, they will eat less hay.

I'd go half and half with timothy and alfalfa and mix it all together. They should start to transition that way.

We use orchard grass rather than timothy. I gave almost no alfalfa and after a week, zero--no other choice, they dove into the orchard grass. I also put in timothy cubes and they just love them. Some of our rescues had never had grass, so the pellet was limited and mixed in with the grass.

^^ Good point, Larry. Any grass hay will do. It doesn't have to be timothy. Orchard, bermuda, meadow, and brome are all grass hays like timothy. Trying other hay types may help.

I have cut back on the pellets, they are timothy and i give them about 1/2 cup for the two of them. I also do give them the timothy cubes on occasion. Is there a preference between Timothy and Orchard? It seems I've ready so much about Timothy, do you think they will like Orchard better? I am currently mixing they two types together but I think as long as they are getting some alfalfa they won't each as much of the other. I'll continue to increase the timothy and decrease the alfalfa over the next few weeks. I just want to make sure they are eating enough hay.

JoD said:

It seems I've ready so much about Timothy, do you think they will like Orchard better?

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Timothy is just the standard go-to. It's also the base used for adult rabbit pellets. Readily available, usually. But it truly doesn't matter what type of grass hay.

Alfalfa is a legume, not a grass hay. That is why it is so rich and not suitable for adult rabbits. (Clover is a legume also.)

Each rabbit has its own likes and dislikes. Orchard is just another choice. Mine tend to like Bermuda with it's thin strands. It may depend on what is readily available where you live.

Feed stores will often let you pick up some of the discards of various types of their hays if you let them know that you want to see which your rabbit prefers.

Thank you, good info.

I'm allergic to Timothy Hay, so with the Orchard Grass I don't have to wear a dust mask and it seems like our boys and girls like the Orchard Grass better and it's less dusty.