Developed allergy to Timothy Hay – any alternative?

[Nova]

 I have the most severe case of allergies and asthma my allergist has ever seen in his 45 years of practice, and this is not news to me. I’ve been this way since I was a kid.

 

What am I allergic to? Grass. Yes, grass. Well, grass pollen. Every May I am totally housebound from grass for about four weeks, and no allergy remedy has ever helped. Trust me, I have tried it all.

 

Now I have had rabbits for over a decade. I always get wheezy when I give them their daily timothy hay ( I have to wear gloves), but it usually goes away within an hour and in May I can’t go near their hay (I have someone else give it to them in May).

 

Well last week I bought a bail of hay in bulk from Oxbow, the Western timothy. And ever since then, I not only can’t go near it, but I’m having such severe asthma I can barely breathe and it is unrelenting.

 

I’m afraid that my immune system is finally reacting to their hay the same way it does to grass pollen after all these years.

 

I can’t and won’t give up my bunnies, so I’m asking all of you if there is a timothy hay alternative that will be just as good for their digestive system. Alfalfa is out of the question; too much protein and I’m severely allergic to it too. 

 

Oat hay?? I’m not allergic to oats! Help… 

 

[Monkeybun]

Oat hay, orchard grass hay are good for buns too. oat is lower in protein than orchard so if you’re looking for a replacement hay then that would be the best option

[Nova]

Thanks MB! I just wonder if Oat Hay will have the same health benefits as Timothy. I’m so mad at my body, because I thought that my continued long term exposure to the Timothy hay over the years has actually desensitized my immune system from being so allergic to it. Last summer, I was able to pick up the hay with my bare hands and not even blink an eye! This week however, I’m whistle-wheezing and I almost bit a chunk off my tongue from sneezing.

I wonder if maybe the hay I got in the box has some extra type of grass in it, or pollen or something. Oh well, no use dwelling on it. I’m going to get the oat hay and try to slowly replace the timothy with it.

I really don’t want to cut the timothy out completely… maybe just pipe it down a bit… but I may have to ughhhh

[Nova]

Hmmm…. this website talks about hay types and what is best for the buns. Timothy obviously, but it also mentions oat and WHEAT hay. Thoughts?

http://bunniez.hubpages.com/hub/Bunny-Care-Guide-The-Importance-Of-Feeding-Hay-To-Rabbits
“Is all hay equal?

NO! All hay is not equal. Like cereals, there are those that are good for you, and those that are tasty. Ideally, you should be feeding your bunny on the bran equivalent hay, timothy hay. Timothy hay is the most popular rabbit feeding hay, and probably the easiest for you to obtain, but oat hay, wheat hay and bahia hay are all also okay. Alfafa and Clover hays are tastier to your rabbit, but contain a great deal of calcium and protein, neither of which your bunny needs in large amounts.”

[Elrohwen]

Hay is only dried grass, so it’s not too surprising that you’re having issues (though for them to show up in the middle of the winter after 10 years is more surprising). Definitely try some other hays MB mentioned – they’ll be fine for the buns.

[FrankieFlash]

I personally have horrible allergies and asthma too and so far I’m fine with orchard. And it’s actually in my bedroom. I haven’t tried oat yet though. Timothy and alfalfa are really bad for me too. I hope one of the new ones work for you!

[Nova]

Well I am going to go with the Oat Hay…

Just hope it will be equivalent to Timothy in regard to dietary needs… because I don’t feed my buns any more than 1/4 cup of pellets a day

[LBJ10]

My buns don’t like orchard grass, so I’ve been getting oat hay. I do seem to have a reaction to it, but it isn’t nearly as bad as with Timothy.

[LBJ10]

BTW, I was having horrible allergy issues just recently too. They have me using Dulera now and my asthma is finally under control.

[Nova]

So here’s a problem. Oat Hay is only sold in 15 oz bags, nothing larger than that. *sigh*

Any suggestions

[LBJ10]

You can get bales. Where have you been buying your hay? A feed store might have some.

[Nova]

I always got the Oxbow brand, and usually get my supplies from Drs Foster & Smith or Wag.com. I checked Oxbow’s website, and the Oat Hay only comes in a 15oz bag. ugh, Oxbow even says on their website it’s a grass hay like timothy and Orchard, yet they only have it in the smaller sized bags. No bales. I also got some timothy Hay Cubes since those probably won’t fly everywhere.

I did call my rabbit vet tonight, and she said Oat Hay should be fine instead of timothy…just that Alfalfa is bad unless the bun is sick or very young, which I already knew.

LB, I never heard of Dulera. Is it an alpha bocker inhaler? (like Albuterol)…. I use the Albuterol/pro-air but man, it makes my heart race and gives me heartburn. And it doesn’t really help too much…

[LBJ10]

It is a dual medication. Mometasone furoate and formoterol fumarate dihydrate. One is a corticosteroid and the other is a beta-2 agonist. It isn’t a rescue inhaler like Albuterol is. I still have an Albuterol inhaler, but I haven’t needed to use it at all. I take the Dulera every day and it prevents my symptoms from ever even appearing. I like it.

[Nova]

Ohhh… I can’t do steroids… blah

Guys, I’m really in bad shape. I had to go to the other partitioned part of my house otherwise I’d have stopped breathing altogether. I had my fiance take the box of timothy outside and clean the cages ,but even the bit that we put in their hay manger is setting me off. I’m still reacting down here in the partitioned side of my house, from whatever residual is on my clothes, but my breathing is a little better.

I had my fiance run to a bunch of pet stores to see if they had the oat hay…. so we could remove the timothy in its entirety. But they didn’t have any. So I can’t even be in my home right now until the Oat Hay comes in the mail from drsfosterandsmith. It’s on backorder til tomorrow and God only knows when it’ll get here

$*&!! I am in bad shape. This is too weird.

[LBJ10]

Why can’t you do steroids?

[Monkeybun]

Call around to horse feed stores, they may have some. Or they might know of local farmers that may have some.

My vet says that if timothy is too much of an issue for allergies, oat is the next best thing. And he knows his stuff

[Nova]

Well, steroids used to be the only thing that *ever* really helped. I mean really, really helped. I used to need to get the depomedrol shot at least once a year, and ohhh, it helped sooo much.

But then it gave me Cushing’s syndrome >_<!–!!!! Spent a year with all kinds of messed up hormones
I WISH I could do steroids again.

MB: ty ty tyyyyyy ty!!!! I wonder why Oxbow doesn’t make it in larger bags. Biggest bag was 15oz. So I bought a lot of them. And some timothy cakes. I’m donating my 9lb box of Timothy to my local rabbit rescue

I had to come home…not as miserable since taking all the timothy outside….but still kinda gasping for air. so unfortunately the buns will have to be on pellets until tomorrow when I search the ends of the Earth for a bag of freaking oat hay til the shipment arrives. I hope this doesn’t mess up their tummies.

[Monkeybun]

If the remnants of hay in the air and on clothing is affecting you right now, get the fiance to do a thorough vacuum with the windows open for air flow. And do up a ton of laundry, taking it immediately out of the hay affected area to fold and put away. It helps

Bunnies can’t really go that long without hay though….

[FrankieFlash]

oh man. that sounds horrible Nova. I use singular all year long (its a pill) and symbicort seasonally when needed. I know symbicort has a steroid part to it but I’m pretty sure singular doesn’t. Just throwing out another asthma medicine that might help. I started it after a stay in the hospital and thank goodness I haven’t had to go back (well for asthma or breathing issues)

Oh and amazon sells Oat hay and offer fast overnight or two-day shipping. It’s more expensive than BB store but since you’re in dire need, I thought I’d throw that out there.

[Nova]

Hey guys, I think I found out the big, big issues here.

first, thanks so much for all the help. omg. this has been a disaster.

The big box of timothy I got from Oxbow was greener and leafier, so I’m thinking it was a different cut time than the 90oz bags I normally got before. Like maybe it was first cut, and if that’s the case, then it could have much more pollen all through it.

I can say honestly I have never had an asthma attack this bad before.

LB: Are you allergic to oats?? I ask because, oh man, I hope I’m not allergic to oat *hay!* I eat lots of oats and wheat. Hope I’m not allergic to that too. How do your buns do on oat hay?

MB: Yes, my mom and my fiance did laundry and cleaned all night long for me, bless them! lol, I have a HEPA air filter running now and I took a shower… I *think* the worst is over, but not before my eyes started to swell and crust over.

I can try Orchard grass in a few weeks – but I’m not going to hold my breath about it, because I seem to be allergic to all types of turf and field grasses..

I found a thread somewhere on BB here, where people were discussing oat hay instead of timothy. BB said that the oat hay can have more calories, is that okay?
I really hope oat hay isn’t like.. treat hay.

Additionally, Boon hasn’t been pooping as much as he did when he was on the Cisapride, and he just got done with his Baytril and Cisapride round. Maybe it’s just that he was pooping more frequently when he was on the cisapride? and now he’s pooping not as much but still back to kinda normal? ughhh

[LBJ10]

That sucks. Steroids have made a world of difference for me.

I’m not allergic to wheat or oats. The oat hay does give me a little bit of a reaction, but nothing like the Timothy. I actually tolerate orchard grass the best, but the buns don’t like it very much. They LOVE the oat hay. They are always munching and crunching on it like there’s no tomorrow. They have been doing really well on it and I have heard it is actually better for their teeth (it’s coarser).

[Monkeybun]

My vet says its the orchard that is more likely to add weight to a bun than the oat. he did his own independent testing of different varieties of hay in a lab to see what hay is best. Timothy was first of course, with oat second.

So I am pretty dang sure the oat is fine full time. It’s pretty much what my girls are on, with a bit of orchard mixed in cuz they adore it

[Nova]

Thanks you two!!

LB: Yes my life as a Springtime hermit agoraphobe has been pretty bad since not being able to do steroids anymore. I hope in the next few years I can have them again. I’m literally disabled all of May because of the hay fever! Where do you normally get your oat hay?

MB: Wow. Now that is impressive! What an awesome rabbit savvy vet. I have two vets that work together who specialize in rabbits but I don’t think they have ever gone that far! So I have to ask… where do you get your oat hay too? lol.

Hoping to hear back from vet about Boon’s poos being smeary again. blargh. They are still eating their last clumps of hay, hopefully the oat ill be here before they run out :\

Could I bulk them up on some parsley and leafy veggies if they do run out before the oat hay gets here?

[Monkeybun]

I get mine from the rabbit group I volunteer with, who in turn gets it from local farmers. I actually help bag it, so I get it nice and fresh I sometimes get some from BB too.

[LBJ10]

I get mine at a local feed store. You can buy it in bales there. I usually just get the bags of Oxbow though. I guess they aren’t the big bags, not sure if the Oat hay comes in the big bags at all. The reason I get the bags is because there isn’t anywhere for my to store a bale. Plus the price isn’t too bad there. $5 for the bag, plus they have punch cards (buy 6, get 7th free).

[Yuki Kathleen]

Orchard grass hay!!

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