Timothy Hay?? YAY ofr NAY?

[cookie420]

Hi everyone!

Cookie is 8 months old and we've begun feeding him Timothy hay. Problem is.. he won't eat it! He LOVES alfafa hay, but won't bother eating Timothy at all. I recently just bought more alfafa hay for him to eat.. but I was concerned whether or not Timothy hay has better nutrients compared to alfafa hay? The beneficial difference between the two?

Is it okay to continue to feed him alfafa hay for as long as he pleases?

Thank you for your time..

Love, Cookie's momma & papa:heartbeat:

 

[kirbyultra]

Alfalfa hay is not a grass hay, while timothy hay is. Grass hay is an important component of a pet bunny's diet as it is high in fiber. If your bunny is used to alfalfa (strictly speaking a legume), he may continue to choose it over timothy simply because it's sweeter and tastier to him. You may want to combine the two types of hay together so he slowly gets used to it. At some point if you're going to feed him mostly timothy with maybe just a sprinkling of alfalfa, it's better to try to gradually make a switch and then cut him off the alfalfa so he has to eat the timothy for a while, before allowing him to have it again. If he is allowed to have the alfalfa, he will probably want to eat it first.

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12059&forum_id=17 <-- Hay, read all about it in the library

 

[funnybunnymummy]

Many bunnies don't like the switch from alfalfa to timothy. It's best to give them a mix right from the start. Butjust keep offering it to him. Many bunnies are picky at first, but when they get hungry enough, they'll eat it.

Hope that helps!

Rue

 

[Inle_Rabbitry]

Grass hays are much better for your rabbit because they are not only nutritionally better, but easier to digest.

Alfalfa hay is far too rich in protien, which can eventually cause kidney problems for your rabbit.

Gradually ween your rabbit off of alfalfa by mixing in the grass hay over time.

 

[cookie420]

I will get to mixing some timothy hay into cookie's alpha hay. I would probably do 25% timothy and 75% alpha because our little cookie is the pretty picky bun! :bunnyheart

 

[Tweetiepy]

I think sometimes it depends on what they are used to. I got Peaches from a pet shop, they only had pellets there to eat (I didn't know any better then and that's all I fed him until I discovered this site). I got some hay from Walmart and it was Timothy hay - he at that and now he won't touch Alfalfa hay unless he really has nothing else to eat (then he'd probably eat his toys first). I ended up using (sneaking in) all the stands of the alfalfa hay and now only have the powder stuff at the bottom that I use to line his litter. Maybe it's just a preference?