Holy Hay Overload!

[StickyBun]

I have been reading old posts on hay and I am looking for current opinions and information. 

There are so many kinds of hay…timothy, alfalfa, orchard, oat, wheat, blue grass, brome, etc.  How do I know which one is best for our growing bun?  Currently he is fed timothy hay (as much as he wants) and a few pieces of alfalfa daily just to keep him eating his hay.  He is now 13 weeks old.  He doesn’t get any treats because he won’t eat them!  I have tried carrot, apple banana and he sniffs them and looks terribly offended…so he eats pellets, hay and some green leafy daily.  He occasionally gets parsley or cilantro too.   I should add that he gets a very small amount of calf manna daily too in his pellets, which will be phased out as he gets older.

So bun eats timothy hay but he is not enthusiastic about it.  I keep it in his hay rack, in his litter box and stuffed into cardboard tubes in his pen. As I was reading some of the old posts regarding hay, I noticed multiple people mentioning their buns eating large amounts of hay…one person mentioned her 2 buns going through 90 oz of hay WEEKLY!  Holy cow…StickyBun doesn’t eat anywhere close to that amount!  In fact, the  bag of timothy hay that we got for him 5 weeks ago (when we first got him) is half full still and it is only 48 oz!  I should also note that his hay is replaced daily…so I don’t leave it sitting out for more than 24 hours.  Whatever he doesn’t eat in that amount of time is tossed and he gets fresh daily. 

I am going to order a different hay from the BB store tonight…but I would like some advice on what to get.  He is growing normally as far as I can tell and he just had a vet check and all is good.  He is 9 lbs and 13 weeks old (flemish giant) , pees and poos regularly and is quite active.  Can anyone tell me how much hay he should be eating every day…or even weekly?  He is a growing bun so I know his dietary needs are different from adults but from what I have read in past posts, he is not eating nearly enough hay.  

[peppypoo]

Here is a great guide from the House Rabbit Society on what to feed your bunny according to age: http://www.rabbit.org/faq/-diet/

If your bunny doesn’t seem super enthusiastic about timothy hay, orchard grass seems to be a pretty popular alternative, and tends to be sweeter and softer. Apparently some buns love oat as well, though mine have never really liked it that much. How much hay each bunny eats varies – my Peppy, who is pretty fond of her orchard grass hay, goes through 40 oz. in about three weeks.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Ditto, Peppy. My buns love Orchard and Oat hay. Best to introduce any new hay slowly, especially oat as it is quite different than Timothy.

[bullrider76543]

Sounds like you are getting some great advice from our forum leaders. Sometimes you just have a stubborn Rabbit like Mr. Hopper who still almost always refuses to eat hay unless he has to.

[MeggoWaffle]

If he is only 13 weeks old it looks like he should be getting alfalfa hay instead of timothy:
http://rabbit.org/faq-diet/
Start introducing timothy (and others) and reducing alfalfa after he hits 7 months.

[Stickerbunny]

Orchard is a good one to try, Stickers likes it and she is picky about hay. Powder likes oat. Both enjoy farm fresh brome. Neither really likes timothy. And some buns are just not hay crazy. Powder eats one of the small bags of oxbow hay in about three days. Stickers it lasts two weeks.

[StickyBun]

@MeggoWaffle – I actually brought that up earlier (that he should be on alfalfa while he is very young) because that is what is recommended on RHS….however, everyone here recommended that I not do so. I do have him on an alfalfa based pellet while he is young and because he is a giant breed, he also gets a little supplement pellet as well.

I think I will try the orchard hay. I am also going to order a small amount of timothy hay as well from a better company. Perhaps he doesn’t care for it much because it is the Kaytee brand and isn’t as fresh? Unfortunately it was all I had available to me.

[MoveDiagonally]

My bunnies love Orchard! It’s all they get because Timothy causes too many allergy problems for the humans in our house. I hope Sticky likes it

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