Timothy Hay

[AnnaS]

I used to give my bunny a different kind of hay,on the package it said it was bedding straw hay. He really liked eatingthe old hay.
Couple of days ago I bought him Timothy hay and he does not seem to eat it. Should I continue giving him the old hay?

 

[roberts_rabbits_2008]

Sorry i can't help you i just heard of givingthem the Timothy so thats what i bought but i'm still using up the lastof my alfalfa? Carolyn or Pamnock should have the answer toyour question. Robert

 

[Carolyn]

Hi AnnaS,

You might give him a day or two with the Timothy Hay. Thereason why I like Timothy the most is because it doesn't have the highcalorie, calcium content that Alfalfa Hay does, although for a youngrabbit or a pregnant doe, alfalfa is okay. You could do alittle of both the old hay and the timothy to break him into the tasteif you wish.

Do you know what brand the hay you were using was? It might help to identify it.
I'm posting a site for you to check out tolearn about the different types of hay.

Types of Hay:http://www.rabbit.org/chapters/san-diego/diet/hay_grass.html

-Carolyn

 

[Rowan]

My rabbits seem to have a preference for thecheaper hay I use in their litter trays than the more expensivegreenhay I also give them for eating. They do eat boththough. I think its got something to do with the extra 'chewiness' ofthe other hay. Straw has about 3% protein compared with 8% protein fortimothy hay (and 16% protein for alfalfa), but straw has 35% fibrecompared with 30% for timothy hay (and 28% for alfalfa). If he'sgetting good quality pellets which have the right protein in them thenthe fibre's doing him good even if the protein percent is lower. Theimportant thing is to make sure he's eating hay of some sort(especially since he's used to it) or he's at risk of serious digestiveproblems. Maybe mix the two together and see if that helps? OtherwiseI'd buy the stuff he likes but make sure timothy hay is in there forhim as well, he'll probably decide he'll go for it in theend.

 

[AnnaS]

On the package it said it was bedding straw, so it was just dried straws. The old grass did not have any smell.
So I am sure it was not hay, just dried grass.

 

[DaisyNBuster]

So Timothy hay actually has higher nutritionalvalue to ordinary plain old meadow hay? I didn't realise this :?. Ijust thought that it was a more expensive type of the meadow hay. I usehay as bedding as well as feedand with 3 buns its gonna beexpensive. Siobhan uses Timothy hay so I'd better be buying that orBuster wont be happy having plain hay again after living the life ofluxury at her house.

Vickie

 

[AnnaS]

I had to give him his old hay back, since he was not eating Timothy hay. I was afraid he'll have stomach problems.
I'll try to introduce timothy hay to him after some time.

 

[Buck Jones]

There are some rabbit fanciers that, dependingupon the type of feed they dispense, claim their rabbits do not needhay of any kind if there is enough roughage in the pellets.With that in mine, I suspect you could do little harm feeding your bunthe straw/hay it will eat, in addition to its regular pellets.

Buck

 

[AnnaS]

Buck Jones: thanks

He just likes old grass so much more, he plays with it, throws it around, lies on it, eats it.
I think he did not like Timothy hay because it has a smell. His old grass does not have any smell.