hay cost question

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For anyone that is having problems finding hay in their area...I called all over the place trying to find plain old Timothy Hay! No one had it! Timothy and Alfalfa mixes yes...but no plain Timothy. Finally I got p*ssed and decided to call some horse stables. They were getting their hay from somewhere!! I found a lady that grows her own andis willing to sell me bales for $3! I was spending almost $100 at the petstore a month, not to mention I had to drive out of town to get it!!!:shock:

My suggestion is if you can't find it at feed stores and places like that...phone places that board horses, stables, equestrian centers etc...You don't have to buy it from them if you don't think it is good quality! But it doesn't hurt to look! Ours is a mix of different types of grassy hay and the bunns go wild for it!!! And for $3 you can't beat a deal like that!!:D


I forgot to mention too...we bought our bale about a month ago and we are still only about halfway thru it! It last so much longer and smells so much fresher! I have no idea why I didn't think of it sooner!
 
Runestonez wrote:
My suggestion is if you can't find it at feed stores and places like that...phone places that board horses, stables, equestrian centers etc...You don't have to buy it from them if you don't think it is good quality! But it doesn't hurt to look! Ours is a mix of different types of grassy hay and the bunns go wild for it!!! And for $3 you can't beat a deal like that!!:D
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That's what I normally suggest as well for people who can't find Timothy hay. Horse quality hay is normally good for rabbits as well. But when picking out a bale, never take the stuff on the ground if that's how they store it. It's too likely to be wet or damp or have mice in it.
 
Thanks for the tips guys. Im going to try and get some fresh hay. I just saw an ad in the classifieds and they guys wanted $30.00 a bale!

Theres a lot of country and farms around here so Im going to call around. Wish me luck!

Haley
 
MBB, most horse quality hay in my area has tons of alfalfa in it.:? Although I think my area is different than yours because I've contacted two different farmers and both were more than happy to sell me one small bale at a time. Horse stables were also helpful but only had alfalfa or alfalfa/grass mixes.

None of the feed stores here sell hay either, but one did give me the phone number of one of their customers who sells hay. I lucked out because he actually has a few other clients with rabbits! I got a 40 lb bale of mixed grass hay (with a tiny smidge of alfalfa) for about $4 and a 40 lb bale of "timothy" (which I think is actually reed canary grass but it's still good) for $5.

Manda, did you try both of the hay-finding websites I have in the Bunny 101 hay thread? You may need to check back regularly because there would be new postings for each harvest. I saw farmers cutting the second crop of hay today while I drove home.
http://www.hayexchange.com/
http://www.fsa.usda.gov/haynet/

If you're still having trouble finding hay locally, I really urge you to buy in bulk directly from Oxbow. If you do the math (and counting shipping costs), a 20 lb or 50 lb box of Oxbow hay costs much less per pound of hay than buying those little bags. It works out to be about $1 per pound. It's also less dusty.
 
I used to buy Bunny Bale. It was $50 for 50 pounds with shipping. But I lucked up this year. I have a newly aquired friend through my dog rescue who grows her own hay and gives me bales for freeeee! It isn't timothy, it is orchard grass. With 5 guinea pigs and 3 rabbits, i really need cheap hay.
 
naturestee wrote:
MBB, most horse quality hay in my area has tons of alfalfa in it.:? Although I think my area is different than yours because I've contacted two different farmers and both were more than happy to sell me one small bale at a time. Horse stables were also helpful but only had alfalfa or alfalfa/grass mixes.
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I know, it depends in the area. I'm lucky to live in Alberta where there is Timothy a plenty although I have had my issues with finding it. Mine may have grass hay mixed in but I have yet to find alfalfa in it which is all the better for me. I know in the states that it tends to be easier to find brome or other grass hays than it is to find Timothy.

Only the 'old' farmers in the area seem to be willing to sell to me, the younger farmers who are all about money and production don't want to give me the time of day. It's the older generation who still has the old value system that is willing to sell to me. And being such a small world, it turns out this is actually a family members girlfriends brother who owns and sells it to us, go figure, eh?

Anyways, I go through about one bale per rabbit per year although this year there must have been less waste of hay because I have a full bale and some left over (I bought an extra balethis year) and last year I had to limit the hay until I could buy more. So $4.50 is well worth the money and the bunnies love to eat as much as they can.
 
I actually just posted those above.;) Haven't checked for a while though. Ooohhh, Random Lake! That's a third farmer to add to my list!

I actually have over 100 lbs of hay in my garage at the moment though, so I'm set for a long while! Although I know someone who had oat hay last August and I might get a bale of that as a treat when it's ready...
 
Sorry to take this off topic but why is alfalfa bad for rabbits?

For buying hay we found a guy with a sign on the side of the road and went to see his hay. We've been buying from him for the last few months a couple of bales at a time for 2.50 a bale. This is for our miniature donkey but I figured would work for the buns too.

Thanks!
 
Alfalfa is high in protein and calcium. It's ok for younger rabbits but too much protein can cause soft poos and other problems and calcium can lead to bladder sludge. As Spring said, it's also very rich and fattening. Timothy and grass hays on the other hand are low in protein and calcium and high in fiber which is important for the GI tract.

Naturestee, oops, maybe I should read the WHOLE post before posting, LOL. I'm bad for that.:embarrassed:
 
yay for me!

i found FREE 120lbs of timothy/orchard grass!!! the woman had to give her horses up due to medical problems, and had that hay left. i havent seen they hay yet, but she tells me its good hay with no mold and never been wet.

ps. my three tsc near me have no hay!


 
I didn't take the time to read everyone's replies, so I don't know if I'm just butting in to a conversation anyone's having, so excuse me if I am...

We bought a bale of hay for about $20 about 2.5 months ago, and it's still goin' strong! We used to buy a 1lb bag for $6 about every other day (literally), and it just got rediculous! We've saved SO MUCH MONEY!! :)

Not to mention...the buns LOVE it! I think the reason it's lasting so long is because they were used to the drier, store-bought hay, so they're not being picky, though it's just NOW starting to get a bit on the dry side (though still isn't as dry as the store-bought stuff I used to get them!). I think they LOVE how many tops are in it, and how many leafy parts they get with it, too! :)
 
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