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Forum DIET & CARE Hay questions!

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    • mocha200
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        I have always herd that timothy hay is the best kind of hay to feed. But why? What is in it that other hays don’t have and good things timothy has in it? Also if a rabbit couldn’t have timothy hay what  other kind of hay would be best? What brands of hay would you suggest? Oxbow, kaytee….

        Just some things I have been wondering about.

         


      • Sarita
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          Not necessarily – any grass hay is fine. I think Timothy is just the most readily available (in the US).

          Me, I like KMS and APD.


        • kamdynandsunshinesmom
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            I have always fed timothy hay to my bunnys and they love it some people use oat hay, orchard grass. to name a view. I always have fed oxbow hay but lately i have been disappointed so i am going to buy from sweet meadow farms people say it is really good and you can buy it online. I wouldn’t buy any hay that you find in the stores such as kaytee and the other ones because they aren’t good for bunny they are not fresh and who knows how long it has been sitting on the shelf.


          • megg0602
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              I’ve tried kaytee, oxbow, and sweet meadow. Once I switched to oxbow my bun refused kaytee lol and now I switched to sweet meadow and she doesn’t stop eating it! I’ve never seen her eat so much! It’s a great hay, and its grown right near me! I liked that they were local. I feed Lola their timothy hay, which is soft and very ling and very sweet smelling. And oxbow orchard grass. It’s been very dusty lately and small cut tho.


            • mocha200
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                is KMS Klean Mamas something? lol. Also I get hay from a local farm. I just wanted to know what were some good brands if some people asked me what thy should get and I was curious. :p


              • blackfang
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                  Oxbow is high quality of hay and no chemical or nasty pestles were used. I heard that oxbow hay were chopped off by hands instead of trackers.

                  Kaytee – NEVER go for it! Most of times, they are sharp and tend to poke rabbits’ or rodents’ eyes. The pestles are in the hay. Kaytee hay is same company with fiesta pellets (the worst of all animal pellets I have ever read/heard/notice that can harm to animals seriously in long terms.) It make sense why kaytee hay is horrible.

                  KMS? Do you mean KM (Kleenmama’s Hayloft)? If that so, I never got it for my bunnies but it is another option to get different “flavor” of hay like bluegrass hay. I was planning to get 45lbs of bluegrass hay to see if my bunnies like it or not and reduce my allergy to hay. Unfortunately, this year blue grass hay is mixed with alfalfa hay for whatsoever reason KM said via email about problems with farms that I don’t remember. We will have to wait for next year to see if they won’t mix with alfalfa again.

                  If you get a box of hay from KM or Oxbow and not happy with the quality of hay like hard hay or whatsoever, you can return them and get new box again for free.
                  If you get hard hay, please return them ASAP, my roommate’s guinea pig died from it.

                  If hay color is yellow or brown, it means that nearly or no nutrition exist in hay. Just a food without vitamins/minerals. Make sure hay is green. Green hay is sign of there is a lot of nutrition available for rabbits to stay healthy.


                • LoveChaCha
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                    Some hay is hard.. because of the cut and just because of the way that it is. In my experience Orchard is the softest.

                    Chacha seems to love American Pet Diner Orchard and Timothy Gold at the moment. She likes the variety and the Timothy Gold isn’t bothering my allergies at all.


                  • Monkeybun
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                      The stiffer bits are often the kind they SHOULD be eating, as it has more fiber. Soft hay is alright, but the stalkier bits are what they should really be ingesting.


                    • mocha200
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                        My bunnies LOVE the thicker harder peices! they eat it like a treat!


                      • mocha200
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                          What about Peters or Zupreem?


                        • LoveChaCha
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                            I’ve heard Zupreem is pretty nice as well.


                          • tobyluv
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                              I have been using Zupreem for a few years and I like it. I mainly use Oxbow Hay–Timothy, Orchard and Botanical, but I always keep Zupreem on hand too. Have you tried the hay bales from the Binky Bunny store? I have also used those. I have a bale of the Blue Grass blend right now. I bought some Sweet Meadow hay once, and I liked that. I don’t like Kaytee. I’ve tried a couple of others, that I saw for sale at Pet Food Direct, but I didn’t like those very much. I think that Peter’s was one of the brands that I didn’t like as much. Although it could have just been that one bag. Since hay can be variable in quality, depending on the cut, the weather conditions it was grown in, etc., you can’t always judge a brand by just one bag.


                            • mocha200
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                                This post wasn’t for brands of hay for me to use just for refrence on what brands are good. I get my hay from a local farm. Its $3.00 for 20-25 lbs. My parents would never let me get hay from online. To expencive :p


                              • Monkeybun
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                                  Honestly, I don’t really like the “brands” of hay much. I like the local grown stuff I get, or the BB mini bales. My buns don’t like Oxbow or Kaytee or any other “Brand” that is available.


                                • Sarita
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                                    Even though KMS, Oxbow and American Pet Diners are brands, they are brands geared toward rabbits and other small animals – I know APD is a family owned farm as well as a brand. Oxbow is also a family owned business as well.

                                    I think it’s great if you can get locally grown hay in your area. Unfortunately Timothy hay is not grown in Texas so I could buy it locally but it wouldn’t be grown locally.

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                                Forum DIET & CARE Hay questions!