bale of hay?

[sharlaelizabeth]

I'm wondering if it would be practical to buy my hay in bale form if I only have two rabbits. How quickly would two growing standard rexes go through a bale of hay? (sorry if this is the wrong spot for this post, I'm still figuring out the site. )

 

[bunnybunbunb]

Price wise it is the way to go, as for as fast they would eat it I am not sure. It would probably last all winter? If stored properly this should be no problem. I do not know about away from here but around here people by hay at around this time and buy enough to last until next fall, if possible. That is for horses, however, it is roughly what my papaw does and I get my hay free from his stock. I think he buys twice a year though. I just go every few days and get a bag or two of the best looking hay he has and feed it.

 

[tonyshuman]

Hay will last for several months. For two bunnies, I'd say you could get 30-50lb of hay and use it before it goes bad. I got hay from the House Rabbit Society here, and they got it from a farmer. The bunnies loved it, but for some reason the boyfriend couldn't tolerate it--allergies. We use Oxbow, which doesn't bother him. I can buy 50# boxes at my pet store. It's a million times cheaper to buy straight from the farmer, if you can find one and your allergies will tolerate the hay.

 

[Fynnagin]

I have 2 rabbits and I buy hay by the bale. It is sooooo much cheaper and like others have said stored properly can last quite a while(6-8 months easy)

 

[sharlaelizabeth]

I was planning on keeping it in the shed, with a tarp to protect it from any potential leaks. I do have allergies, but I seem to acclimatize to irritants after a few days. And I suppose I can also use it in our chicken coop & the worm bin.

As a follow up- how easy is it to tell Timothy hay from other types?

 

[tonyshuman]

Oh you're going to have a lot of fun with bunny poop in the worm bin! I did that all summer for my garden and it is an amazing fertilizer, and with a worm bin you can put all of the dirty litter (not just poop) in the bin.

The hay should look grassy. Any horse hay should be good. Alfalfa hay looks more like a normal plant with leaves.

 

[Fynnagin]

Just found this:


As long as the hay has been stored in a dry environment, the only significant loss is Vitamin A,
and most of that loss occurred in the first 6months of storage. The greatest loss of Vitamin A
activity occurs right after harvest. The amounts of energy, protein, calcium, phosphorus and
other nutrients and minerals remain basically the same after 2 years of storage as they were after
the first month or two of storage. With time hay will loose its fresh smell but that does not affect
nutrient value.

 

[ra7751]

Don't limit your rabbit to just timothy hay. Offering a "buffet" of hays encourages a more natural foraging behavior. And the different types of hay require different chewing mechanics which works the teeth better. Any hay that is safe fora horse is safe for a rabbit. We buy all sorts of mixes from local horse people for a fraction of the cost of "name brand" hay. And I get hay from several local people that is better than most of the premium brands.

Randy

 

[Wabbitdad12]

I bought a bale of hay for my herd, they get it unlimited. I have only gone through a quarter of it in 3 months. Its interesting to watch how they pick out the diffrent grasses in it.

 

[JeffS]

I have a mini lop and a flemish giant. They weigh about 13 pounds together. I go through a bale of hay a month, but that's partly because a lot of it ends up being thrown out as litter. Someday if I get around to making a proper grid for their litter box I can use the hay more efficiently.

(if I don't put the hay down, Pancake digs the yesterday's news out of Riley's pee spot)