Hay for older buns?

[Thumber&Bumper]

I have heard Alfalfa hay for the younger kits as it has more fat, and timothy for the adults.
I have a problem, I cant find any timothy. Alfalfa i have no problem finding, but not timothy!! :grumpy:
Can I feed them normal hay like the kind we feed our cattle until we find some?
or since its winter (they are outside buns) should I feed them alfalfa?

 

[Katielovesleo3]

I'm not a genius on this subject but I believe the high protein would be good for outside rabbits. So alfalfa would be ok, and grass hay is also good. I'm having trouble finding some in my area too lol.

 

[JBun]

It depends on what kind of cow hay you have and what it's like. If it has been wet at all then DO NOT feed it to your rabbits as the mold in it could kill them. You need a good quality horse hay that has never been wet and has very little to no weeds in it. You don't have to feed timothy hay. Any good grass hay will work fine. I'm unsure if feeding alfalfa in the winter, is a problem or not. If you have really cold weather it could possibly be ok, but I'm unsure. If they are in outdoor hutches, people usually will pack a bunch of hay in the rabbits hutches to help insulate the rabbit, and give them a constant food source to munch on, to help them keep warm.

 

[ldoerr]

Any grass hay is fine to feed. I feed timothy because I can get it easily. Oat (take out the oats), costal, orchard etc are all good grass hays. I have a rabbit that will only eat oat hay and another that prefers the oat to the timothy. I do not know anything about alfalfa since I have never fed it to any rabbit (and I was a breeder for 4 years).

 

[LakeCondo]

I see from Lucile Moore's Rabbit Nutrition ,,, that outdoor rabbits are included in the group whose pellets should contain more protein [17-20%] than other rabbits. For this reason I'd go ahead & feed outdoor rabbits alfalfa hay, & maybe alfalfa pellets as well, at least some mixed in during temperature extremes.

 

[majorv]

If you do feed alfalfa hay, just watch their weight. It's richer and can cause weight gain. Our rabbits are outside and the only alfalfa they get is what's in the pellets. I feed alfalfa hay to young ones and rabbits who need to gain weight. Otherwise, I feed horse quality coastal hay and sometimes orchard grass year round.

 

[tamsin]

Don't feed rabbits 17-20% protein just for being outside! That's way OTT and likely to cause problems. Even outdoors, adult rabbits need a protein level of 12-14%, you can feed a little extra in winter when it's very cold, but by feeding extra pellets not increasing the proportion of protein.

Normal grass hay is fine for rabbits, just as good as timothy. If you buy good quality hay for your livestock, I don't know what cattle eat but something you'd be happy feeding horses, then it's fine for rabbits to eat. You don't need to buy specifically for them.

 

[missyscove]

Timothy is a grass hay and has a very similar nutritional profile to the other grass hays (coastal, meadow, orchard, etc.)
Can you post a picture of the hay you're feeding your cattle, especially if there are any seed heads which would help to identify it? It's probably okay, or you could mix it in with the alfalfa. I'm not sure where you are, but yes if it's somewhere where it does get very cold in the winter, the extra energy from the alfalfa could be good for them.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Another thing to keep in mind with alfalfa is the higher calcium--if you have a sludge problem then alfalfa would not be good.