Timothy Pellets

[Zeroshero]

I used to feed Mountain Sunrise Timothy Pellets to my horse, they are 100% Timothy with no additives so I thought I would try giving them to Zero to take a little financial burden off this boys hay bill (he's eating the 40 oz $14 bag of Oxbow hay in four days). The 50lb bag of pellets is $11.99, he seems to be doing great so far they are not typical horse sized pellets but they are larger than rabbit pellets so I watch him while he eats. They have a Bermuda hay only pellet, and alfalfa. I am considering trying the Bermuda down the road for a bit of variety if he tolerates them okay. Thought I would share the info if there is anyone here in the States that is looking for different feeds.

 

[Blue eyes]

Hay pellets cannot be substituted for real hay. Rabbits need the long strands of the hay to pass through their gut. Pellets, even made of hay, are still pellets. It's the same with the compressed timothy cubes. Those are fine to give a rabbit but cannot be a substitute for the actual long strands of hay necessary for a healthy gut.

Bagged hay is costly. I buy my hay by the bale. Timothy hay where I live is more than I've seen others on RO pay, but even so it is unbelievably cheaper than buying bagged hay. It cost me $24 for a full bale. I am very generous with my hay and use it in the litterbox. A full bale lasts my 2 rabbits close to one year. (Gosh, trying to roughly guess, I'd say that one bale is as much hay as at least 50 of those 48oz bags of hay)

 

[whitelop]

Depending on where you are in the states, I can get a 50# bale for $6. I got one last year, used half of it and then it started to yellow, so I loaded my chicken coop with it and now my barn cat has a nice cushioned bed to sleep on. Best $6 ever spent.

I agree with Blue Eyes on the hay/pellet thing. Rabbits need long strand indigestible fiber. Are you feeding the hay pellets as a supplement to the actual hay?

 

[Watermelons]

Blue Eyes, maybe you and Zeroshero can figure out where to get good timothy by the bale in AZ for poor little Zero. With out weeds in it

The pellets have nothing else added to them? No vitamins or minerals?

 

[JBun]

You could do what I do for Zeus. He gets about 1/8 cup of alfalfa/timothy hay pellets and two handfuls of rye/orchard grass. I give him the hay pellets because he likes them, and for a while he wouldn't eat hay and the pellets were all he would eat, besides a few veggies. So you could do something similar for Zero if you can't find good baled timothy hay. Feed Zero a portion of hay pellets, then also feed him a couple handfuls of hay.

 

[Blue eyes]

Blue Eyes, maybe you and Zeroshero can figure out where to get good timothy by the bale in AZ for poor little Zero. With out weeds in it

The pellets have nothing else added to them? No vitamins or minerals?

Oh, is Zero in AZ too? I didn't see a location by the avatar.

Zero, if you are in AZ, maybe you could let me know what city you are near. If you are uncomfortable posting here, just PM me.

 

[Zeroshero]

Thank you all for your feedback. I do not intend to stop feeding him loose hay, I re-read my post to make sure I didnt say that. The bag he is going through in four days is supposed to last a rabbit his size ten days. We are also running into quality issues with Oxbow hay and Zero just not wanting to eat it. I added pellets as a consistent food source since I can't find good baled hay and don't have the time to hand pick through his food every day. Jenny, I believe you and I had that conversation about Zeus or I read it in a post on a separate thread which made me think of trying the pellets .

Blue eyes I am in the far East Valley, the only baled Timothy I have found is the mini bales they are too tightly packed and have tons of foxtails. I ended up feeding it to the hogs.

 

[Zeroshero]

Watermelons - I am going to try a Redmunds Rock for his minerals. He has never had any concentrated feed since weaning, he doesn't tolerate it.

 

[Blue eyes]

Blue eyes I am in the far East Valley, the only baled Timothy I have found is the mini bales they are too tightly packed and have tons of foxtails. I ended up feeding it to the hogs.

I get my timothy hay bale from The Stock Shop in Glendale. I noticed last time I went there that they also have bales of bermuda and (I think) orchard. Both of those sell for less than the timothy. I haven't had problems at all with the quality of their hay.

I was considering switching to one of those other grass hays next time.

It may be more central Phx, but if you only have to buy it once a year, it's probably worth the drive.

 

[Zeroshero]

Wow it's quite the drive from where you are at! I don't want to make the drive unless I know he will eat it, it's over an hour away from where I live. Thank you for the suggestion.

 

[Zeroshero]

Update on the Pellets: Mr Z is doing amazing on his 100% Timothy pellets and hay. He is eating 1/4 cup daily and he loves getting them. I imagine it is for the variety even though they are just timothy, he thinks they are treats. He has gained some weight and his bloated belly is gone! We still have some occurrence of gas but it is manageable with a small dose of simethicone and his maintenance dose of Cisapride. I never thought I would see the day where we weren't rushing to the clinic at least once a week! We haven't been to the vet for 6 weeks . My plan of saving $ on hay was foiled though he still wastes it like money grows on trees. LOL