To Hay or Not to Hay!

[Bassetluv]

I have just found out that Snowy's eyeswere do to hay fever. This caused a lot of stress to both him and meand he had me really worried for a time.

I was just wondering if anybody else has a rabbit with hay fever andwhat they do because Snowy loves his hay so much. Its the totalelimination of the hay that has made his eyes clear up.

I was just thinking...have you ever tried Timothy cubes? I wonder ifthey would cause the same reaction for Snowy as fresh hay. The company"Kaytee" makes cubes available in both alfalfa and timothy.

 

[DaisyNBuster]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I will havetosee aboutthe Timothy cubes. I have never seenthose before but I know our larger store (Pets at Home) does Timothyhay.

I read that it should be about 18% fibre so that is why I thought I'dbest check it out because when I used to feed the rabbits on mix eventhat was 13% :?. 9% is very low, I just hope it isn't that low that itcould possible make him ill after a period of time without hay.

Jan - that Science Selective I will have to keep a look out for. I knowfor a fact our local doesn't sell it, but we are moving 5 minutes downthe road from Pets at Home soI will look there.

If all else fails I will have to see if it could be possiblefor my pet shop toorder me the cubes and the pellets.

Vickie

 

[naturestee]

Just watch his poo and make sure it's notsoft. When Mocha was on a pellet with max 18% fiber, shewould get slightly soft poo on days where she didn't eat muchhay. Many rabbits will be just fine on 18% maxfiber. It just depends on the individual.

If he is starting to get soft poo, give him the hay anyway.Shaking it out can get rid of some of the dust and make the allergieseasier on him. Better to have him sneezing until you canchange his food than to have soft poo and it's risks.

 

[Bassetluv]

Vickie, I was just reading an article about hay and rabbits, and it said this:


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Alfalfahay is not preferred due to its higher calorie and calcium content.However, in situations where grass hay is not available, alfalfa may beused temporarily. It is better than no hay at all. We prefer the loosehay as opposed to hay cubes, but for those with allergies to loose hay,the cubes can be an alternative and are better than no hay.

So the cubes just might be okay for your bun and not cause an allergicreaction. (I do recall something I'd read years ago too, about horseowners who will wet down hay for their horses who are prone toallergies, but any wet or damp hay left over after feeding would haveto be removed immediately due to the threat of mold. I don't know ifrabbit owners have used this method.) If you can, give the cubes a tryand see how they go...if it works it is a great solution to an annoyingproblem.

Here's the link to the site where I got the quote:

http://www.mahouserabbit.org/dietguide.asp
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[JimD]

:bump

 

[hunnybunny63]

i never knew there was so much to talk about hay!!!

i feed my two 3 yrs old bunnies a bowl of pellets a day withahandful of timothy hay each a day. i woudl be veryinterested to find out how a virtully pellet free diet goes as pelletsarnt a natural feed for a rabbit.

o love how everyone talks about their herds of rabbits that exactlywaht i will have when im older a herd of rabbits in my backgarden!!!:bunnydance: