Hay question...

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LadyOnslaught

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Location
, West Virginia, USA
I am planning on placing an order with Drs. Foster and Smith early next week to go ahead and get some more Bunny Basics T and then get some more Oxbow hay. I bought a bag and it arrived yesterday although I haven't tried it out yet as Riley still had plenty this morning from her old bag.

They had several types of hay so should I order maybe one of each or maybe a few Timothy and then one of the other? I know different types of hay cause the buns to chew differently and therefore grind their teeth down differently.
 
I typically don't use Oxbow's products, but I can give you an idea of what I use and why as far as hay is concerned.

I always try to add variety to my rabbits' diets. They different types of hay, in manycases,offer a diverse selection of nutrients as well as wearing down their teeth differently. My belief is that offering multiple types of grass hay is extremely beneficial to their overall well-being and health. I use timothy as my base hay and purchase it in bulk from one of two companies online. I then have at least two other types of hay on hand at all times. What works best for me and my buns has been orchard grass and oat hay (which I recently began feeding). I've found that offering different types of hay my rabbits actually consume more and that's better for them all around.

And I know I said that I don't use Oxbow, but that's not to say that it's not a good company. For me, there were some issues that were raised after feeding their products for quite some time. Also, the shipping costs were exorbitant for me since I'm in Ohio. Even ordering from other catalogs such as the one you're ordering from was too expensive to suit my needs. Therefore, I use two companies that are based on the east coast - Bunny Bale (for bulk hay) and Sweet Meadow Farm (for pellets and other hays - but I may be switching over to this company exclusively). But, as I said, Oxbow is still very highly recommended - it just didn't work for me and my rabbits.

I'd definitely suggest getting the timothy hay and then getting maybe a bag each of some other types of hay to see which ones your bun likes best. And then go from there...


 
Since you live in WV....you have a couple of great options as far as hay. In my personal opinion, these two hays I am going to mention are far superior to the other brands. Bunny Bale is grown and baled in the mountains of Virginia. I have been to the farm....beautiful place. www.bunnybale.com Not only will you get a high end hay....the shipping charges will be much more reasonable for you.

Another possible option for you is Sweet Meadow Farm located in MA. It is a softer hay that all our critters...even out picky cottontails....will eagerly eat. www.sweetmeadowfarm.com

I have been ordering from both of these farms for quite some time. Never been disappointed in either the quality of the product or the customer service. Bunny Bale even has something that is great for those that only have one or two buns....their premium bales. They really pack a lot of hay into those small bags.

I feed a "buffet" of different typesand cuts ofhays to encourage foraging and to keep those teeth worn down.

Randy
 
I don't use pet rabbit hay as it's TOO expensive. There's a feed store half hour drive away where I buy horse hay (timothy & orchard) by the bale. It's better for my bunnies to have unlimited hay to eat as well as bedding. When I paid through the nose at the pet shop the bunnies were only getting a handful at a time. Only problem with buying by the bale is I got bits of hay all over the house.
 
Thank you for the great advice! This is my first bun so I've been doing a lot of research and trying to figure out the best places to get stuff and it gets overwhelming.
 
Horse hay--->:thumbup

We use a lot of horse hay for bedding. Our cottontails are all bedded on horse hay as soon as they get their fur. They have food all around them. Getting in with the equine community is always a good thing. As mentioned, the upside of the horse hay is price. You can buy several hundred pounds of horse hay for what you pay for a small amount of "premium" hay. But it might not be practical for everyone due to storage space or simply the huge amount in a bale (most square bales weigh about 70# or so). But using horse hay is always an attractive option.

Randy
 

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