Hay

[luvthempigs]

I am so happy! I have been having a hard time finding a decent supply of hay.I have to buy inlarge quantitiesso it's not very economical to purchase hay in bags from a petstore.

We had a bad year last year for hay due to weather so my supply was pretty much cut off :X

I found a place about a half an hour away. Western Reserve Farm Co Op who happens to sell hay by the bale (which I didn'tknow) So my sister and I took a ride there today and I picked up three bales. I had to pay $6.00 a bale which is double what I was paying from the other source but it's still LOT's cheaper than buying from the petstore :biggrin2:

:bunnydance:inkbouce::bunnydance: Isn't funny how the little things in life can make one happy!

 

[Hope]

Lucky! I've been looking around Orlando to find someone that sells bales, but alas there doesn't seem to be anything. Orlando can be great, but not when it comes to anything agricultural. I'm stuck ordering it online which is causing me a fortune.

 

[luvthempigs]

I feel your pain, I used to order my hay from Oxbow (the 50lb box) and it cost me right around fifty dollars with shipping and handling charges :shock:That's like highway robbery! The hay was always nice and green, clean, and smelled fresh but I just can't afford it anymore.

I just fed some of the new hay I got today and it seems pretty good. It smells nice, it doesn't have a bunch of weeds and crap it in it and it's nice and soft.

The pigs and buns approve

I had to call around to several feed stores and this one was a last resort. Infact, I wasn't even going to call them until I was talking to an old friend who has horses and she told me this place had a hay truck outside and that they sold it by the bale.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

If I had to buy hay form a pet or feed store, I would have had to have gotten a real job a long time ago. I just can't afford $2/lbs on no budget. $4/bale is much easier on my wallet. Those prices are just sad in Alberta.

 

[SOOOSKA]

No highway robbery is paying over $20.00 fo 96 ounces of hay. We have the 6 bunnies so we go through alot of hay.

Susan

 

[Haley]

Susan you guys have to find some farmer who sells hay! Thats crazy paying that much!

I found a place about an hour from me with really great hay. Its amazing and only $4 a bale! The only problem is with gas that ends up being 30.00 a bale. lol

 

[AprilBird4]

OK.......I've been wondering about Hay.

I'm planning on just 2 small buns. Lionheads are the plan.

I just figured I would be getting hay from the pet store. I'm thinking I don't want to get too much at a time as it goes bad? Is that right? I will need Timothy, right?

So what's the advise on how much, where and the cost for just a couple of small bunnies? I live basically in KC, MO, so I have access to lots of stores and on-line. I'm sure there has to be place around that would also sell hay like you are talking about. What do you all think is the 'best' for quality and value?

 

[Haley]

Hey April! Sorry no one answered your question.

If youre thinking about adoptinga pair you should check out www.petfinder.com theres so many wonderful bunnies who need homes. From what Ive heard the MO HRS is pretty awesome too so Im sure they would have a pair for you to love.

As for hay, you can buy the Kaytee or Oxbow bags of timothy hayyou see in petstores but its usually pretty expensive for such a small amount and pretty dusty. Another option is to call around to anyone in the yellow pages listed under farm/feed stores or horse stalls and see if they sell timothy hay by the bale. The standard is about 5.00 for a 50# bale. This will be a lot for two bunnies so you could ask if you can take half a bale. Or if you have a garage or closet to store it it should be ok. Hay stays fresh as long as it can "breathe"for quite a while. You'll want to look for hay thats nice and green and soft and smells fresh. Look for a place that stores it indoors as it molds if its exposed to water- and mold is toxic to our bunnies. It took me going out to about 10 different farms before I found someone with really great hay that the bunnies love.

Another easy (but more expensive) option is www.kmshayloft.com They have some of the best hay Ive ever seen. Their 3rd cut Timothy and their Bluegrass hay are amazing. Just to give you an idea, I order about 40 lbs at a time and that lasts me 3-4 months with 6 bunnies. Theres also a guy on ebay, farmer dave, who sells great hay as well. Both of these are pretty pricey with shipping (it works out to be about a dollar per pound of hay) but its still a lot cheaper by pound than buying the store bought stuff.

Hope that helps!

Haley

 

[luvthempigs]

The 25lb box of timothy or orchard grass hay from Oxbow would be a decent amount of hay at a reasonable price for two small bunnies. I used to buy it and it was always very nice. Soft, green, no junky weeds, not dusty.

It's certainly not a cheap as hay by the bale but then you also don't have to worry about storage.

I was lucky to have two different stores that sell Oxbow products but if you don't than you can order online directly from them http://www.oxbowhay.com/link.sp?page=products

 

[werecatrising]

I guess I am lucky to live in an area where farming is big. I have 3 feed stores in my area. One is a mile away from work!

 

[luvthempigs]

Not all feed stores sell hay by the bale here.

 

[Bassetluv]

SOOOSKA wrote:

No highway robbery is paying over $20.00 fo 96 ounces of hay. We have the 6 bunnies so we go through alot of hay.

Susan

Yep, that's around what I pay too. I did go through a local farm store a while ago to purchase baled hay, but it was pretty poor quality (and I believe it was also the source of an outbreak of fur mites the bunnies wound up catching - and passing on to me as well :grumpy. So I finally gave up and began buying the big bags of hay from PetSmart. It's very expensive, esp. when you have two weird rabbits who have decided that hay is for the following:

1) Creating art deco in the cage...the more strands of hay in hidden/hard-to-clean places, the funner it is.

2) Peeing in/pooping in. Anna delights in sitting in the plastic hay bin in their cage and manufacturing poo piles (topped with pee to glue them all together) in the midst of the once-clean hay.

3) Throwing/tossing/woooohoooing(!) allllll over the place. Similar to reason 1), but with more flair and imagination.

4) Eating only if it is still in the original packaging. The dynamic duo's hay bin can be stuffed to the brim with clean hay for them to eat, but hey...if the hay bag is sitting over on the other side of the room, placed directly out of reach to discourage them from 'snooping', they will still invent a way to get at said bag, chew holes throughout the bottom of it (and a few at the side and/or top) and munch contentedly on that. Then once they return to the confines of their cage, the hay that is in their bin and still awaiting being devoured is then tossed decoratively throughout (see Reason 1)).

And finally

5) Hay is only meant to be eaten if it does not have a high dollar value. Any hay presented to their Royal Harenessess Annabanana and Yofikinofi must, upon inspection, be of the lowest grade available to be deemed worthy. Any high-priced, PetSmart-obtained good-quality hay must be immediately refused (but only if their hoooman is watching...once out of sight, this hay is automatically put at the top of their 'to-do' list).

These are the rules according to My Rabbits; all others may be open to negotiation.