What is considered good quality hay?

[Amy27]

On another thread people kept saying rabbits have to have unlimited good quality hay. My rabbits hay unlimited hay but now I wonder if it is good quality. What do you consider good quality? How do you know a hay is good quality? I currently feed the Kaytee brand hay.

Also when I got out my last batch of Timothy I noticed a huge brown thing the size of my palm. When I picked it up it was a bunch of leaves and there is a lot of leaves throughout the hay. Is that normal? Is there a better brand I could be feeding them?

ETA: This is kind of additional questions to FallingStars thread on Hay questions.

Thanks Amy

 

[Maureen Las]

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12059&forum_id=17

Everything is basically explained here. i use Kaytee when
out of my ordered hay. i think that it is good quality..long strands ,fresh, no dust and smells good.
I usually use oxbow ordered hay..timothy is dusty in bulk , oat and orchard grass excellent

I recently odered Kl;eenmama's 2nd cut timothy which was exellent even in bulk

others order from American pet diner, bunny Boutique, oxbow, Farmer dave's , kleenmama's and other multiple places knownto rabbit owners

it is best to use varied types of hay as the textureofhe strands require the rabbit to use different grinding methods and helps keep teeth in great shape.

 

[Amy27]

Thanks angieluv. I am glad to know you feel Kaytee is good quality. Though I have heard so many people talk about oxbow products I may try that. I am heading off to read the links in the thread you gave me.

I am going to go search kleenmama's hay too, toosee what she offers. I have seen several people refer to her hayon this site.

Thanks Amy

 

[ra7751]

Hi Amy,

I have so many rabbits on free choice hay I go thru a lot of it. I buy a lot from the horse community and find a lot of really good hay. I buy from really high end horse people so you know they have good hay considering their horses are sometimes worth tens of thousands of dollars. Buying high quality hay from the eqine community not only supports local farmers but it saves me some money in the long run.

I have researched and used many of the "elite" brands. Here is my personal opinion on the ones I have used.

Pine Hill Farms->Sold under "Bunny Bale". High quality, reasonable price and excellent customer service. This might be a top quality hay you would consider since it is grown in the mountains of Virginia and that should help with shipping costs.

Kaytee->Fair quality on most days, average at it's best.

Sun Seed->Poor to fair.

American Pet Diner->High quality, over priced.

Sweet Meadow Farm->High quality, reasonable price, excellent customer service and it gets the seal of approval from all our rabbits. Grown in New England.

Kleenmama's Hay Loft->Ultra high quality, reasonable price, customer service well beyond expectations...has to be the one of the best I have ever dealt with and our rabbits love their hay. The only down side is shipping costs and transit timein getting it to the East Coast.

Zupreem->Average to above average. Only comes in smaller sizes.

Oxbow->Over rated, over priced, usually very dusty,questionable quality and most of our rabbits, even our best hay eaters, don't particularly care for it.

Also keep in mind that timothy isn't the only hay that should be offered. We offer a buffet of different types and cuts of all types of grass hay. This helps with the GI as our rabbits eat more hay, a mix of hays encourages a more natural foraging type behavior and the different types and textures of hay require differing chewing mechanisms and that helps keep the teeth to a proper length.

Randy

 

[Bo B Bunny]

I use Oxbow generally but I do use our barn hay with timothy in it and Kaytee timothy if I need to get hay and I can't get to the petstore or the petstore is out.

 

[slavetoabunny]

I had used APD for years. It was a very good quality hay, but very expensive. I discovered Kleenmama's and use that now. I have 70 pounds of it in my garage at the moment. The quality is always high and the bunners love it. The customer service is second to none.

I tried Bunny Bale once and got a very bad batch of hay. I emailed their customer service about it and they never even replied. The hay was so bad I threw out a 25 lb. box - I didn't even want to give it to the shelter it was so bad.

I have used Kaytee when I was between orders. You really have to open the bag and look closely at it to make you're getting a good bag.

 

[Jenk]

slavetoabunny wrote:

...I discovered Kleenmama's and use that now. I have 70 pounds of it in my garage at the moment. The quality is always high and the bunners love it. The customer service is second to none.

I tried Bunny Bale once and got a very bad batch of hay. I emailed their customer service about it and they never even replied. The hay was so bad I threw out a 25 lb. box - I didn't even want to give it to the shelter it was so bad.

I'm between a rock and a hard place.

When I tried KM's hay, my one bun barely touched it. (She wound up havinga badstasis issue; we're uncertain if she disliked the hay, stopped eating it and had stasis--or if she was already in the early stages of stasis and, so, would've stopped eating any hay brand. :?) I still fear that my one girl won't eat it well enough. (Also, the shipping time was rather long for me, about 10-11 days', if I recall.)

And here I was ready to try BB....Hearing that their Customer Service dept. didn't even reply is pretty bad. I sent a (polite) complaint to Oxbow about a 50-lb. bale of hay that I'd received, and they replaced it without hassle. (Still, I dislike how vastly the hay quality differs from bale to bale, as well as how dusty Oxbow is.)

 

[Amy27]

Thanks for all the replies. I have learned so much and it has been very helpful.

ra7751 thank you so much. That information was so helpful. One of the problems I am running into is Kleenmamas, Bunny Bale, and Sweet Meadow Farms seem to mostly sell timothy hay. I am looking to get some timothy, wheat, oat, and orchard hay to make a buffet and keep the calcium down due to my buns calcium issues. The other hays I listed have lower percentage of calcium then timothy. I don't plan to take away the timothy just mix it with other hays. Is it normal that these places don't have the other hays listed? Thanks again for all your help.

 

[Amy27]

Jenk I am sorry to hear about your bun. Is she okay now? Thanks for the experiences you gave me with the hay you have tried. I have only tried Kaytee so it is very helpful.

APD has a mixture hay of oat, wheat and barley. Which I thought about getting but I can't find calcium percentage of barley. I emailed a couple places selling it and they didn't help much. I did find the percentage of calcium for barly grain but I really need to know what the percentage is for the hay. I wouldn't think it would be the same.

Sorry for replying in two posts. Cat was walking all over me, the key board and mouse and I sent it to soon.

Thanks

 

[Maureen Las]

I'm glad to hear about different companies also as oxbow is not encouraging people to call them directly anymore although they still take orders.

My 2nd cut kleenmamama's was much softer than I expected..buns loved it but now I'm thinking I'd rather have 3rd cut

i still think that orchard grass and oat hay from oxbow is good and also I would not have qualms about feeding kaytee either although as Randy posts variety is best.
Sunseed is what i bought for my first bun Sheba who never ate hay. it looked like straw and i was so bunny NON-saavy that i didn't know any better. I was living smack in the middle of chicago then and only bought hay from petco, didn't have a computer or access to good rabbit knowledge....

never thought I could differentiate between 1st and 3rd cut hay :biggrin2:

 

[slavetoabunny]

angieluv wrote:

My 2nd cut kleenmamama's was much softer than I expected..buns loved it but now I'm thinking I'd rather have 3rd cut

I have 45 lbs. of 3rd cut out in the garage. Would you like a sample box? PM me your address if you would like some.


The3rd cut look very nice, although I haven't fed it to the bunners yet. I still have an unopened 25 lb. box of 2nd cut to use first.

Kleenmama's also has some very nice bluegrass. I bought 45 lbs. of it for the shelter and the buns loved it.The haywas so long and green and soft!!!

 

[Jenk]

Amy27 wrote:

Jenk I am sorry to hear about your bun. Is she okay now?

Unfortunately, no. It's been a constant cycle since her first serious stasis bout.

Sorry for replying in two posts. Cat was walking all over me, the key board and mouse and I sent it to soon.

Been there.

 

[kherrmann3]

I don't care for Kaytee much. The few times I've bought it, it was very coarse and dusty (I have an allergy to the timothy hay, and the coarseness/pokiness of it really irritated my skin). I usually get Oxbow, but have had some of Kleenmama's hay and that stuff is fantastic! It is very low in dust, which is good for me, and the buns gobble it up!

 

[ec]

The big hits here are Kleenmama's 2nd cut Timothy; Sweet Meadow timothy, orchard grass and oat hays, and the oat/barley/rye mixture from Bunnyluv (here:http://www.bunnyluv.com/timgrashay.html )

Shipping from Bunnyluv to here (PA) is a bit on the steep side, but Nibbles loves their hay so much that I don't want to be caught short! One thing to be aware of: the Bunnyluv oat blend is more of a 1st cut hay, with lots of stems, and is on the coarse side. I use it as part of a "buffet," but don't put it in Nibbles' litterbox. (I've cut myself on a couple of stems and don't want her to get hurt.)

 

[swanlake]

I used to use kaytee because that is all i could find. my buns ate it, just not a whole bunch.

then i ordered from sweet meadow. i had some kaytee left and the difference was incredible. now the buns eat all of their hay in one day, which they never did before. they really enjoy sweet meadow.

 

[slavetoabunny]

The box I'm working on now is from Sweet Meadow. I bought it when Kleenmama's was out of hay. It's a nice hay, but I don't think it is as good as Kleenmama's. As soon as this box is gone I can start serving the Kleenmama's.

I've tried serving some different types of hay, but my bunners just don't like any of them as well as timothy. They're little piggies with that.

 

[ec]

slavetoabunny wrote:

The box I'm working on now is from Sweet Meadow.  I bought it when Kleenmama's was out of hay.  It's a nice hay, but I don't think it is as good as Kleenmama's.  As soon as this box is gone I can start serving the Kleenmama's.

I've tried serving some different types of hay, but my bunners just don't like any of them as well as timothy.  They're little piggies with that.

I know what you mean about Kleenmama's versus Sweet Meadow timothy (I'm guessing that I bought my stash of SM tim. about the same time you did), but my bun went nuts for it. There's something about the taste, apparently.

I've bought SM Natural Harvest oat and orchard grass, and she's crazy about those, too - but likes Kleemama's 2nd cut timothy best.

 

[slavetoabunny]

Snowball enjoying her Sweet Meadow hay:

 

[swanlake]

i have never tried kleenmamas hay.

this is the first time we ever have bought in bulk, as i had to convince my dad since i have no credit card. at first he kinda freaked at the price, but then realized we were actually saving money .

so, thats why i said sweet meadow was good, but that is just in my very limited opinion

oh, not to hyjack this thread, but what cut of timothy hay is best? what is the difference?

 

[slavetoabunny]

swanlake wrote:

i have never tried kleenmamas hay.

this is the first time we ever have bought in bulk, as i had to convince my dad since i have no credit card. at first he kinda freaked at the price, but then realized we were actually saving money .

so, thats why i said sweet meadow was good, but that is just in my very limited opinion

oh, not to hyjack this thread, but what cut of timothy hay is best? what is the difference?

This explains the different hay cuts pretty good:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080227095909AAsaLc9