Timothy hay disappointment

[Sophie's Humble Servant]

Hi,
I had to switch Sophie's brand of Timothy hay to Oxbow because for the last couple of weeks I've been unable to find her other brand. I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed in the oxbow brand. I found that the hay had a different consistency, smell and there was quite a bit of it that was brown in colour, instead of the nice green colour it usually is. She ate it, although with what appeared to be less enthusiasm. Anyway, finally I found her other brand in stock at a store in another city close by. As soon as I gave it to her, she was eating it like crazy, like she missed it lol. The brand is All Living Things and I really like it better than oxbow which kind of surprises me considering that a lot of people like the oxbow products. I'm still a fan of their pellets but I have opted out of their hay.

 

[Watermelons]

Doesn't matter the supplier, it all depends on mother nature It all comes from hay fields some days they get more rain, others less, one farmer may have nicer hay then another they use.

Best thing to do is ignore "brand name" and just look at the hay before you buy. Or better yet, for the same price go right to the farmer or feed store and buy a whole bale

 

[KeltonB]

I've been using Oxbow for a while now, but I just ordered some from Small Pet Select...it has really good reviews, so I'm excited to try it out.

 

[Sophie's Humble Servant]

Oxbow looked good in the bag but when I pulled it apart the brown stuff was hidden in the middle. I agree that Mother Nature decides on the harvest but at the same time if I'm going to buy something in a bag and pay retail prices I do expect some sort of quality control with the product. So maybe what they harvest is brown and sub par but they dont have to put it in a package and sell it. So far All Living Things has always smelled the same and Sophie likes it better. Maybe I've been lucky with it being consistent. I never thought I would be judging HAY of all things lol...goes to show how much I want the best for Sophie.

 

[Zeroshero]

Zero kind of tells me what he wants, I keep a small bag of the really stemmy brown timothy and a bag of the really green soft hay. My bunny goes through four of the large bags a month (he costs as much in hay as my horse does!) I tried buying a 30/lb bale of Timothy that was actually pretty decent but it wasn't hand sorted and him being as sensitive as he is got some loose stool so it's only Oxbow for this boy.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Oxbow tends to have softer hay rather than longer, tougher strands. Some rabbits like it and some don't. It can be expensive as well.

Mine tend to like baled hay and the thicker strands as well. I have gotten some Oxbow hay, and they tend to not like it as much. They do seem to like the Orchard grass and Kraken like the organic meadow hay (it's about the only stuff he will eat). I only buy it as a treat and not as their main hay, mostly due to the price.

 

[Troller]

I'm a feed store buyer myself. Buy a 50lb bale for $15, stick it in my hay bale bag in the closet, and its good for 6 months. Well I guess longer but that's about when my rabbits go through it. Even though I'm currently an apartment dweller I find it all pretty easy. Sometimes the hay is different because of the season but the rabbits like it just fine.

 

[Zeroshero]

Troller, do you store it in a bale bag? Does everyone just have hay everywhere or is my bunny the messiest rabbit? I cannot seem to get the hay under control!

 

[Sophie's Humble Servant]

Does everyone just have hay everywhere or is my bunny the messiest rabbit? I cannot seem to get the hay under control!

This just made me realise something else about Oxbow hay. Sophie would just throw it around in reckless abandonment! I noticed that the hay really stuck together and she would be pulling it all over the place to get at the pieces she wanted. With All Living Things Timothy hay, the strands are thicker and don't get tangled together as much. Her condo has been a lot cleaner these last few days since making the switch.

 

[Moonpix]

Zeroshero, I have the same problem. And we can always tell where Mouse has been because he carries it throughout our apartment! And when he's not busy trailing it, he needs to dig it all out of the bowl before he's even willing to eat it. It's not just your little dudes, I swear! I think the battle of hay might be un-winnable

 

[DUSTBUNNY-CLYDE]

I was feeding the boys alfalfa then just switched to timothy and oat hays. I helped my neighbor bale her field the other day, now I have unlimited meadow hay and the boys absolutely love it!!! You can try getting hay from a local farmer and cut some costs! you'll be surprised how much they like it!!

 

[LaurieSPS]

Hi,
I had to switch Sophie's brand of Timothy hay to Oxbow because for the last couple of weeks I've been unable to find her other brand. I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed in the oxbow brand. I found that the hay had a different consistency, smell and there was quite a bit of it that was brown in colour, instead of the nice green colour it usually is. She ate it, although with what appeared to be less enthusiasm. Anyway, finally I found her other brand in stock at a store in another city close by. As soon as I gave it to her, she was eating it like crazy, like she missed it lol. The brand is All Living Things and I really like it better than oxbow which kind of surprises me considering that a lot of people like the oxbow products. I'm still a fan of their pellets but I have opted out of their hay.

Hi There,

My name is Laurie and I'm the owner http://smallpetselect.com/ . Disclosure: We sell high quality timothy hay and deliver it direct for rabbits and other small animal owners...so we are in this business. Anyway I came crossed this thread about the store bought hays and just had to if you've ever considered ordering your hay direct from an online supplier (whether that be from us or one of the other online only suppliers?). Many people do find this to be quite a bit different experience than the store bought hays.

 

[rabbit_friend]

I know this thread is about 6 months old, but thought I'd add to it since I've fed my bunnies All Living Things timothy. I've been feeding American Pet Diner timothy for a while, which they all adore, but the shipping from the place I get it (not from APD) has been so slow that several times I've run out before getting new, and had to get them some hay fast. The All Living Things at Petsmart looked much fresher and nicer than the others they had (Kaytee and Oxbow included), so I got that and was surprised that they ate it, since they are very picky timothy eaters (they used to only eat oat hay). Anyway, I'm going to be getting it more often just because I think it's good to rotate brands for best nutrition. There are some dusty, smaller pieces in it that I shake off before giving it to them, but I've had that complaint with almost every hay I've tried, and we've been through a LOT of brands and types

 

[Sophie's Humble Servant]

Luckily I haven't had any trouble finding All Living Things Timothy hay lately. They had a label change so I'm wondering if that was why it was out of stock everywhere.
I definitely prefer it to the other brands.
It's very green, has many long, stiff strands(which Sophie loves the best) and the smell is fresh and sweet.

 

[Phonetic Diabetic]

Oxbow is actually the cheapest hay at my local pet store. I have gone through many bags, and was only disappointed in the organic timothy hay by Oxbow. Dry, hard, brown, and literally splintered in my hand when I grabbed some out of the bag. I ended up taking it back and swapping it for the regular Oxbow stuff, but much fresher and greener.

 

[FreezeNkody]

I honestly use kaytee Timothy hay, I've have a couple bad bags, but I called kaytee and they sent me a boat load of coupons a few were $5 off. My rabbit like kaytee Timothy so I'll prob never switch.

 

[Kati's Holland Lops]

I simply order a 50 pound box of it for 30 dollars, if u add it up with the free shipping they give you it is like .20cents cheaper per pound

 

[Mariah]

 

[Mariah]

Zero kind of tells me what he wants, I keep a small bag of the really stemmy brown timothy and a bag of the really green soft hay. My bunny goes through four of the large bags a month (he costs as much in hay as my horse does!) I tried buying a 30/lb bale of Timothy that was actually pretty decent but it wasn't hand sorted and him being as sensitive as he is got some loose stool so it's only Oxbow for this boy.

My bunnies go though two medium bags of the oxbow timothy hay a week! So thats eight bags a month! They eat A LOT of hay too. My horses do eat more, but I have two horses.

I find that its hit & miss with the oxbow hay. Sometimes its a good batch. sometimes not so good, and my bunnies sure do show their disapproval, by pulling all the hay out of the hay rake & peeing & pooping all over it..

I wish I could buy the hay straight from the farm, but Kiwi has a super sensitive stomach, & I cant chance her getting GI problems.