What is Pasture Hay? Is it good for rabbits?

[l.lai]

Hi there,

In Australia we dont get Timothy hay grown, we can buy Oxbow Timothy hay but its massively over priced.

We do get:

Lucerne hay
Oaten hay
Meadow hay
Straw
Grass hay

Now this will sound bad, but i didnt have time to duck into my pet shop so i picked up some hay available for rabbits at the supermarket while getting the groceries, they only had pasture hay (which i am surprised they had hay at all in the supermarket!).

Anyone know anything about this type of hay? It'll only be short term (1 week) until i get some normal hay (meadow or oaten).

Quote from the website about pasture hay:

" class="f2b"Peters Pasture Hay (Pet Bedding & Food)

Hay is very important for maintaining your pets health. It provides essential roughage that aids digestion and reduces the risk of hairballs and other internal blockages. It also helps to satisfy the chewing urge. Feed Peters Pasture Hay daily in generous amounts. It is also ideal bedding and your pet will enjoy burrowing into a generous nest of hay for warmth and comfort. Replace regularly"

 

[cheryl]

I have seen that hay in woolworths supermarket,i brought it once to have a look and i never bought it again,it contains clover..it's kinda stringy and doesn't look like hay to me...my bunnies wouldn't touch it at all..they just sniffed it and hopped away.

Your bunny might be differen't though..i think it might be ok for a very short time,but i wouldn't feed all the time..it's more of a bedding hay.

 

[Niomi]

If it is good for horses, it is good for rabbits. Timothy hay is the best, but grass hay is pretty good too. Clover is alright for rabbits as long as they don't eat too much, because it is more fattening then grass hay. Nutritionally, clover is much the same as alfalfa. If the pasture hay is in good condition, I would use it.

 

[Maureen Las]

is this what you bought ?



http://www.worldforpets.com.au/products/product_detail.asp?ID=3202


If this is it it states that it is grasshay which is good. you also need to notice whether the hay is green ,long stem and smells fresh.
grass hay is fine ... timothy hay , orchard or meadow grass hay, oat hay or brome a are also good

alfalfa is fine for young rabbits and for a treat for adults but not astaple

 

[cheryl]

I have seen that one also in the shops,but never bothered to try it,i didn't like the look of it...i had actually used this one,the smaller one that looks to be in a box but actually it'sin a redbag.

If it's the one in the bigbag you brought let us know what you think of it.

 

[l.lai]

Will do! its the one in the red, its actually a red box, and inside the box, its sealed in plastic and compressed, once you take the plastic off it, it expands HEAPS!

The strands are short, i'll try to photo it tonight and post it up.

it is short and stringy, not many large leaves or anything.

My rabbits are eating little bits of it but obviously not enjoying it as much as regular hay.

 

[cheryl]

l.lai wrote:

The strands are short, i'll try to photo it tonight and post it up.

it is short and stringy, not many large leaves or anything.

My rabbits are eating little bits of it but obviously not enjoying it as much as regular hay.

Yeah thats why to me it looks more like a bedding kinda hay...when i first bought it a couple years ago just to try something differen't for my buns..and opened it i noticed straight away how stringy it looked..i think the bunnies noticed it as well lol