please respond... hay!? which are good?

[fantaysah]

ok my buns are eating timothy hay from pet store and i got a bale of timothy/alfalfa from the tractor supply... the pet store is expensive and the buns wont eat the other. I searched for hay locally and see fescue/orchard grass hay really cheap and wanted to now if it is ok to give them this instead of plain timothy hay... need responses soon so i can buy/not buy before it runs out

 

[MiniLopHop]

I use timothy and orchard grass. As long as it smells/looks good and it is a good quality hay then it sounds good to me. Make sure it is horse quality, not for cows/goats.

 

[Paddy Ohara]

I feed orchard grass. That is all mine will eat.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

I use orchard grass--the bunnies love it and it doesn't bother my allergies like Timothy did.

 

[LakeCondo]

As long as it's good quality, all grass [non-alfalfa] hays are not that much different.

 

[wendymac]

I feed grass/timothy hay. Some has more timothy in it and some has more grass (depends on what field it comes out of). Just stay away from alfalfa and they'll be fine.

 

[Little_LongEared_Lover2931]

It sounds fine. But it should be the same quality that you will get horses. It is much better for rabbits

 

[gmas rabbit]

There is a chart for anyone who in interested under Barbi Brown Bunnies, giving the calcium and fiber content of all sorts of hay varities. I actually printed this and left it with my vet.

 

[Thumperina]

Hello,
Everybody speaking against alfalfa. At what rabbit's age should we stop feeding alfalfa?

 

[MiniLopHop]

Only young rabbits should have unlimited alfalfa. From my understanding they should switch over to grass around 6 months old (a bit later for bigger buns).

I give mine unlimited timothy and orchard, but they do get a handful of alfalfa in the evenings with dinner. I made this choice mostly because Houdini is an angora and they need higher protein levels because of the wool. Becky, my minilop, is also definately on the skinny side and it helps her keep her weight up. Their mates get it just because it's impossible to feed pairs differently. So far they are thriving on this arrangement and they aren't getting too fat because they get lots of exercise.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:yeahthat: