New hay?

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briennap

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So my bun usually goes crazy for hay...as most buns do, and she ran out last week so of course I went to buy her more and it's definetly Timothy hay as it obviously tells you on the bag but my bun doesn't seem to like it...she doesn't seem sick at all still eating her pellets and greens and drinking water and acting totally fine.. Just isn't touching her hay really at all compared to how much she usually does. If I did by chance get a different brand or something will she come around to it? I know hay is a big deal to their diet so I'm a little worried as to why she isn't eating it as much and I don't really know what to do considering her last bag was Timothy hay and so is this one..so I can't tell the difference but she does and so I'm just wondering what to do since this is the kind she always eats but isn't now?
 
Yeah, try a different bag. If you got a different brand this time, then buy the same brand of the hay that she liked before. I know, it looks all the same to us, but our picky buns sure know the difference.
 
Hay comes in different "cuts" - first cutting of the year, second cutting of the year and (sometimes) third cutting of the year. Each cutting of the exact same hay from the exact same field will differ from the others somewhat in nutritional content, softness, etc. (though I don't remember off-hand what the differences are) - some bunnies are partial to a particular cutting.
 
Did you buy your hay at a pet store? Before I found a wonderful local farm that grows hay specifically for bunny owners and even offers local deliveries for a small fee, I used to buy Oxbow Timothy hay from the store. The first couple of bags I bought were just fine and Mocha would dig into them, but one time I wasn't able to go and asked my sister to buy a bag for me. Well, she bought one alright, and to her credit it was the exact same brand, exact same type of hay, same packaging, everything. Problem was the hay itself looked reaaaally aged and unappetizing! The hay wasn't even remotely green but more brown/tan, so needless to say Mocha wasn't keen to eat it at all. You should have SEEN the difference when I first bought a sample 2lb bag of the fresh farm stuff for him to try!

So basically, I think aside from variations in cutting and brands, there's also the length of time that bag of hay had been sitting on the pet store's shelves to take into consideration. :)
 
Did you buy your hay at a pet store? Before I found a wonderful local farm that grows hay specifically for bunny owners and even offers local deliveries for a small fee, I used to buy Oxbow Timothy hay from the store. The first couple of bags I bought were just fine and Mocha would dig into them, but one time I wasn't able to go and asked my sister to buy a bag for me. Well, she bought one alright, and to her credit it was the exact same brand, exact same type of hay, same packaging, everything. Problem was the hay itself looked reaaaally aged and unappetizing! The hay wasn't even remotely green but more brown/tan, so needless to say Mocha wasn't keen to eat it at all. You should have SEEN the difference when I first bought a sample 2lb bag of the fresh farm stuff for him to try!

So basically, I think aside from variations in cutting and brands, there's also the length of time that bag of hay had been sitting on the pet store's shelves to take into consideration. :)


Oh wow haha I would've taken that bay back pet stores should be more aware of their products, and yes I did buy it at a pet store, the one I always go to and it's still kind and may not be the same brand so I'm thinking that could be the problem.
She actually seems like she's been coming around to it a little more tho (I work long days and haven't had a day off since I bought it so I haven't been able to buy her a new bag) and by the time Monday comes when I do have the day off if she's eating it more regularly i might keep it. But we'll see how she feels lol, but she does warm up to it more it seems everyday,
 
Rabbits are definitely finicky. I can only say my best luck has been with Kleenmama's Hayloft. It's not the cheapest way to go, but you will have some wonderful hay your bunnies will devour. I got mine hooked on the 3rd cut Timothy from that place, but they also like the Bluegrass. Take a look at the website: http://www.kmshayloft.com/hay/
 
I got my bunnies new hay when they ran out. I knew it was different because they started out with farm fresh, no brand hay from my family's ranch in Colorado. I hit a mini bale from a feed store here and they balked at it at first. Now they love it.
 

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