Questions for those of you who feed orchard grass...

[Jenk]

I have a few questions for those of you who feed orchard grass to your rabbits:

1) How often and (approximately) how much of it do you feed? (I ask how much of it you feed in case it's not the main hay type you feed.)

2) Are your rabbit's fecals smaller and/or darker when you feed orchard grass?

3) Has your rabbit suffered gut slowdown, or even stasis, while fed orchard grass--especially when shedding?


Thank you,

Jenk

 

[OneTwoThree]

1, unlimited and I go through about 40oz every 10 days ish with 2 bunnies.
I haven't noticed a difference in feces or gut issues, *however* neither of my girls are big shedders.

Their main hay is orchard as we're terribly allergic to timothy in my home.

 

[Jenk]

OneTwoThree wrote:

1, unlimited and I go through about 40oz every 10 days ish with 2 bunnies.
I haven't noticed a difference in feces or gut issues, *however* neither of my girls are big shedders.

Their main hay is orchard as we're terribly allergic to timothy in my home.

Unfortunately, both of my bunners shed quite heavily when their shedding period is in full swing. Ideally, they'll eat 1st-cut hay during that time.

Right now, my Mini Rex, Emma, is barely eating the 1st-cut Oxbow timothy hay we have, which is causing her to pass small, fewer fecals. I'm feeling desperate and may start feeding her orchard grass to get her to eat more. The problem, though, is that I don't want her getting to the point that she rejects all timothy hay in favor of orchard grass. And it's always seemed that Emma's fecals turned smaller and darker when she's been fed orchard grass--or even softer-cut timothy hay. (She's very stasis-prone, so her ingestion of softer-cut hay is a bit worrisome, especially when she's shedding.)


Jenk

 

[windryder201]

I feed both orchard and timothy, sometimes mixed, sometimes exclusively (both Oxbow). Both are always fed free choice (although I only "serve" 2x/day) I started to feed orchard for the reason you are considering it. The new bunny I picked up was not eating much timothy and really needed to gain weight.

In my case, Peach did not begin to refuse timothy outright. In fact, she now eats timothy better than she did before.

I have not noticed any change in feces or gut motility.

Of course, every animal is different, but nutritionally speaking, orchard and timothy are pretty much the same. If you have noticed a difference, I am NOT NOT NOT discounting your observations. You know your bunny FAR better than I do. However, there is probably not going to be a drastic difference biologically between orchard and timothy of the same quality for your average rabbit.

 

[LaylaLop]

I feed both orchard and timothy, along with alfalfa since she's under 6 months. I sometimes give just orchard and alfalfa, or just timothy and alfalfa, or just timothy if I've run out. I figure being a grazer, a slight change between the amounts of 3 types of hays won't affect her too much since in the wild, rabbits eat many different plant types on a given day in differing amounts based on what is available to them.

I haven't noticed changes in gut motility or color of the feces from the hays, but that may be because she's on 3 kinds of hay vs mainly one.

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

I feed a mix of orchard/timothy.

I give hay 1x a day, at nighttime. A good sized handful - more for the bigger rabbits, less for the smaller ones.

I had a rabbit get GI in...November? October? He was molting, but not a lot of loose fur, just the molt lines. He was the only one to get GI this year, and only 2nd time I've ever had a rabbit get it - still very scary stuff.

If she's stasis prone, you might look at feeding her fresh pineapple slices every other day or on a weekly basis? Since it clears the gut of any blockages, it should also help in preventing stasis. That, and fresh pineapple juice.

I've got picky eaters in my barn when it comes to veg/fruits, but no one passes up pineapple.

Emily

 

[Dutchbrothers]

Mine refuse to eat orchard hay so I am going to try timothy. Do most bunnies like timothy hay?

 

[domho7]

Hi I noticed my pet eats little hay but wallop her pellets. She dont drink much also. Noticed her stools are ok. Maybe I should change hay.

 

[Jenk]

BlueCamasRabbitry wrote:

I feed a mix of orchard/timothy.

I had a rabbit get GI in...November? October? He was molting, but not a lot of loose fur, just the molt lines. He was the only one to get GI this year, and only 2nd time I've ever had a rabbit get it - still very scary stuff.

Out of curiosity, did your rabbit pull through the stasis episode naturally (i.e., without the use of veterinary intervention and prescribed medication)? In other words, did he recover more from eating fiber, consuming more water, and eating pineapple?

If she's stasis prone, you might look at feeding her fresh pineapple slices every other day or on a weekly basis? Since it clears the gut of any blockages, it should also help in preventing stasis. That, and fresh pineapple juice. I've got picky eaters in my barn when it comes to veg/fruits, but no one passes up pineapple.

One year, I gave her unsweetened dried papaya nightly, which helped her avoid an official stasis bout. But I know that dried fruit tends to be high in sugar, so I'm nervous to continue that route. I'm also nervous about feeding her pineapple--most of which would go to waste, since she'd get such a tiny amount. (She's about 4-4.5 lbs.)

Currently, I'm giving her Bromelain, the enzyme in pineapple. I buy it in powder form, add water, and syringe it to her. She likes the flavor of it, so it's not a chore to give it to her. Bonus.

J.D.

 

[Paddy Ohara]

I started to feed Orchard Grass because that is all my girl will eat. I tried every flavor I could find just trying to get her to eat hay. She still is not the biggest fan of hay but she will graze on it. I keep her bowl filled with it but she doesn't always eat all of it. She has lots of poops and they are not small but what is with a Flemish. I also prefer the Orchard Grass because it doesn't bother my allergies like all the other types of hay. I feed Oxbow brand hay and pellets.

 

[Jenk]

Paddy Ohara wrote:

I started to feed Orchard Grass because that is all my girl will eat. I tried every flavor I could find just trying to get her to eat hay. She still is not the biggest fan of hay but she will graze on it. I keep her bowl filled with it but she doesn't always eat all of it. She has lots of poops and they are not small but what is with a Flemish. I also prefer the Orchard Grass because it doesn't bother my allergies like all the other types of hay. I feed Oxbow brand hay and pellets.

Clearly, orchard grass makes the most sense all around in your situation: your bun won't eat timothy hay, and you're allergic to it.

I think you're lucky that your girl does well on orchard grass. If I feed too much of a more flimsy hay cut--i.e., 2nd- or 3rd-cut--my Mini Rex's gut strains to pass fecals at a normal rate. It's just not enough fibrous enough for her. And my Cali boy develops very loud gut sounds and seems to have gut discomfort if I feed him more than a treat-sized amount of orchard grass. He just seems to do best on timothy hay, though even different cuts of it affect him differently.


Jenk

 

[NickZac]

I've noticed different fecal consistency in that it was also 'darker'. I think this is mainly due to the pigments in the grass itself but I can't say 100%. Otherwise, I did not notice any differences. However, I only feed about 30%+/- orchid grass time to time for a little variety as I imagine my rabbit occasionally likes something that is a little different. She readily accepts orchid and timothy hay. I've read that orchid grass is a pretty good substitution for owners (and occasionally rabbits themselves!) that are very allergic to timothy hay.

 

[majorv]

As an alternative to pineapple you can givepapaya tablets to rabbits that are molting. Our rabbitslove them. We don't give more than one perday and only while they're shedding.

 

[Jenk]

NickZac wrote:

I've noticed different fecal consistency in that it was also 'darker'. I think this is mainly due to the pigments in the grass itself but I can't say 100%. Otherwise, I did not notice any differences.

I think darker, less fibrous-looking fecals are the result of orchard grass being less fibrous than timothy hay--or at least less fibrous than 1st-cut timothy hay.

Emma's fecals are always smaller/darker if she eats orchard grass or even softer-cut timothy hay. Ironically, my male Cali's fecals don't change as noticeably, except for when he gets 1st-cut timothy hay, which turns them a light golden color. Heh.


Jenk

 

[Jenk]

majorv wrote:

As an alternative to pineapple you can givepapaya tablets to rabbits that are molting. Our rabbitslove them. We don't give more than one perday and only while they're shedding.

The drawback to papaya tablets is twofold: 1) some buns dislike them, and 2) they can cause coughing/choking.

Emma refuses to eat Oxbow's newly-formulated (white) papaya tablets. (She loved the original formula.) But she likes the taste of Bromelain powder mixed with water, so syringing that to her is a stress-free process for the both of us.

Pinkerton once had a choking fit after eating the new Oxbow tablets; I stopped feeding them to him after that. He doesn't love Bromelain as much as Emma, but I still syringe it to him when his fecals decrease in size/quantity and/or contain visible fur.


Jenkl