Is wheaten hay OK for bunny?

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fluffy_lop

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Recently I had to buy hay and the farm centre only had lucerne or wheaten. I've had oaten hay before and bun loved it. I bought wheaten, because I understand lucerne hay is not great for bunnies' health, but he doesn't seem to like it. I have seen him eat some, but he just doesn't seem as keen - he doesn't leap into his hay box when I bring fresh hay for breakfast and dinner. It's hard to tell exactly how much of it he eats.
Two questions:
Is this a good choice of hay or should I go back for the lucerne?
Will he come round to eating it? (He's quite choosey.) I don't want him to get sick from not eating enough fibre.
Thanks for your help!

PS It is good quality hay, not mouldy or musty and has good colour.
 
Lucerne is another name for Alfalfa and if your rabbit is an adult they dont need alfalfa hay. So no i would not feed lucerne.
Wheaten is fine, just make sure there arent too many seed heads. But rabbits can be picky! Make sure he isnt getting too many pellets so he has to eat his hay.
 
Yes, we are talking about alfalfa hay. The bunny is an adult, so I didn't think it would be a good idea to buy it. Glad to know I made the right choice. Hopefully he'll get used to the wheat, if not, might have to fork out for another bale....
He gets two small serves of pellets per day.
 
If the wheat hay is fully matured to straw, you'll either need to increase pellet portions or get new hay. Straw is almost all indigestible fiber and devoid of protein and nutrients, so could lead to weight loss and other health issues if it isn't balanced with nutrient and protein rich foods.
 
If the wheat hay is fully matured to straw, you'll either need to increase pellet portions or get new hay. Straw is almost all indigestible fiber and devoid of protein and nutrients, so could lead to weight loss and other health issues if it isn't balanced with nutrient and protein rich foods.
It's fodder for horses, so presumably not straw. What do you think?
I would have no hesitation feeding it to my horse (if I had one) but I know more about horses than bunnies. Still on a bunny learning curve
 

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That looks fine. It still has leaf, so not fully matured to straw. I would just monitor how much he's eating, to make sure he starts eating it well.
 

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