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Forum DIET & CARE Buying hay in Australia

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    • Ami
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        Ok so I admit I did not know much about rabbits when I got Finn, I had a bale of hay from a feed shop and I have no idea what kind of hay it was. He loved that and would go through so much everyday. When the bale ran out I went back to the feed shop and the only hay they had was rye and clover which the lady thought would be fine. He hated it tho and would ignore it and just eat pellets and veggies.

        Yesterday he stopped eating altogether ;((( I took him to the vet this morning and he said his gut wasn’t moving because I changed his hay and it’s too rich for him. He put liquid in him and gave him painkillers. He says to swap him to a grass hay so I went to all the pet shops and it’s so confusing the only thing i can find is Lucerne and oaten.
        I’d oaten hay ok? It seems similar to grass hay but I don’t want to risk giving him the wrong one

        Also I am trying to feed him grass that I picked from the backyard is that ok? Ah I feel so bad
        I tried looking online for hay as well but it all seems to be from overseas. I live in Victoria Australia
        If anyone’s from Australia what hay do you feed your rabbit and where do you get it from?


      • Ami
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          Ok he is eating finally )))))) I would still like to hear any advice on hay if anyone has any


        • Ami
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            Another thing the oaten hay I got in the pet shop is really short. Like there are no long strands at all is that ok? 0_o it’s like it’s all been chopped up


          • Roberta
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              That’s good news Ami.
              All mine have oaten hay, it can vary through the season from deep green to very yellow the longer it is stored and the nutrients diminish.
              Oaten hay is the most common feed for rabbits across Australia. Mine also have meadow hay a few times a week, it is finer but much richer and tends to have season herbs and flowers through it. Both are available from stock feeders in bales. You can buy the more expensive branded hays from most good pet stores and Exotic Vet Clinics and for a single rabbit household it is not to expensive. When you have multiple buns a bale is the only answer. Check round all the stock feeders and equine suppliers in your area to see what they have available. Many will delivery for a fee of $10 on top of your order. Lucerne hay is very rich and usually much chunkier and a greyish colour, it is great for young bunnies but too high in calories for older buns.


            • Roberta
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                Mine don’t like it cut short, they actively seek out the longer strands and ignore the chaff.


              • Roberta
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                  Have a look through this site. https://www.pethorsefarm.com.au/rabbit.html/


                • Ami
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                    Thank you I will try to find a bale of oaten hay for him for when this small bag runs out. We have plenty of space to store it and it seems the small bags cost as much as a bale 0_o I am so glad he is eating again


                  • Ami
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                      Thanks yes I didn’t think he likes short because his last hay he also tried to get the long strands so I will try to get him some better hay asap but at least he is eating it today


                    • Ami
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                        Oh that site looks good, I don’t know why there are so few hay options where I am but I can order from there if I have to. I have noticed since last week the shops here increased their rabbit stock but it’s mostly dog and cat stuff. Thank you so much for taking the time to find the link


                      • Roberta
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                          The bale buddy looks handy to. I have a big bale bag but it was a lot dearer than $21.


                        • Ami
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                            Yeah it’s a great idea!
                            Aww Finns so cute he is hopping into my lap and kicking my arm XD it’s nice to see him so happy again


                          • Ami
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                              Licking haha autocorrect XD


                            • flemishwhite
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                                From the US

                                Hurray for Oat Hay!  Although we live in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, we can buy oat hay.  We live near an upscale residential area where people can have horses on their property.  So we can buy oat hay.  The bunnies, we’ve had three now, just really love oat hay.  Also, its abrasive.  Our previous rabbit Bunny lived to be 11 1/2 years old with no dental work required to ground down her teeth.  Oat hay is a grass food and it’s good for horses and rabbits.   All of the rabbits we’ve had really like to chomp the oat kernels that are in their oat hay.

                                 We buy a bag of oat hay for $5.  My two Flemish rabbits take about 2 bags a week.  We change their litter boxes in the house daily.   There is apparently about 15 bags of oat hay in a bale.  That’s $75 for a bale’s worth. The feed store said they sell a bale of oat hay for $20.50.   I really need to think about buying a storage container to keep a bale of hay protected from the elements, I’ll save a lot of money!   A bale of hay weighs about 100 pounds.  I have one car that might be able to take a bale in the trunk(boot). 


                              • kikikuki
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                                  Hi! I had a similar issue recently with my bun, Yixing. I let him out of his cage one morning and he wouldn’t eat anything! I hadn’t changed his diet, so I had no idea what was wrong. I panicked! I arranged to take him to the vet a few hours later, but just before we left, he began eating again. It was strange, but I was grateful that he was eating again. My neighbour said that they usually perk up at the mention of the vet lol. Anyway, I’m glad Finn is eating again!

                                  About the hay, I also found it difficult to find. I’m in western Sydney, and pet shops are further than walking distance (I don’t drive), so I rely on public transport. It’s difficult for me to purchase hay, especially if I need to carry it on the bus  My local pet shop sells bags of straw for $7, lucerne for $8 and meadow hay for $9. For a single bunny, I think that’s reasonably priced. Do you think so? I usually buy straw for his bedding, and only just introduced him to meadow hay. My meadow hay has flowers and chaff in it, and it has long strands. My bun eats all the flowers and chaff first, then come back later for the actual hay. I don’t think it matters how it’s chopped. Does Finn mind if it’s long or short strands? Oaten hay is great, and I agree with Roberta about the lucerne. But yeah, hay here is so difficult to find!


                                • Ami
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                                    Thanks for replying both of you that’s great to know other people are feeding their bunny’s oat hay

                                    Ah it’s so scary when they aren’t eating :0 it’s funny you mention that about the vet when mum called to make the appointment Finn started throwing his toilet paper rolls around almost as if to say no I’m fine XD
                                    That sounds like a good price the pet shops here sell it for $10 for the smallest bag and $15 for 2kg but the hay bales are about $20 so save a lot. But I’m the same as you and don’t drive so I have to get someone to help me if I get the bale. Haha I have a mental picture of trying to take a whole bale of hay on the bus that would make a mess XD
                                    He usually likes the long strands but he is eating this stuff maybe because he is hungry.
                                    Yeah there don’t seem to be many rabbit products here at the pet shop I wanted to find toys and all they had were salt licks so useless. But they have increased stock a bit so maybe eventually they will have more range.
                                    I think in Australia not many people have indoor rabbits as well, people look at me so strangely when I say he lives in my room haha.

                                    It’s amazing though 3 hours back from the vet and he is doing so much better, eating and playing and running about


                                  • Ami
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                                      You should see how messy my room is now >..<


                                    • kikikuki
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                                        Oh really? That’s so funny! After the mention of the vet, Yixing started eating everything he could see, then chased my sister’s yoga ball around the room (he loves pushing it and chasing it). I said, if this isn’t proof that he’s ok, then I don’t know what is LOL. I’ll be using this vet trick if anything happens from now on *touch wood*. Did he have trouble taking water? When my bun was ill, he wouldn’t take in any water, no matter how much I tried to stick it in his mouth.

                                        When I first got Yixing, I had no idea about where to get hay. Like I said, I recently introduced meadow hay. Before that, I just went out the back and cut some grass. I’ve decided that he gets grass most of the time, unless it’s been cut recently or it’s been raining (I hate cutting wet grass). I was surprised to learn that a bag of meadow hay here cost $9. At the local Plaza, there are 2 pet shops (one is the shop where I get straw and hay), and the other sells the same sized bag of meadow hay for $15! There was no way I was going to spend that much on my limited budget. But yeah, carrying it all on the bus is so embarrassing! Sometimes the bus driver would ask what’s in the large plastic bag (out of curiosity) and I’d say “hay”, then get weird looks LOL! Their bunny toys are limited to chews, but they’re more affordable than my usual pet shop, which is weird. So I get my straw/hay from one shop, then walk across the street to get chews. I was surprised by the lack of rabbit toys too! They have more variety for birds than for small animals  

                                        I agree with what you said about the weird looks you get when talking about where you keep your bunny. My mum would never let me keep him in my room, so we keep him in the kitchen during winter and move him into the back room during the day for free range. But speaking of mess, I just took this pic. Look at the mess!


                                      • Ami
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                                          Haha yes I’m sure Finn would be happy if he never had to go to the vet again.

                                          He didn’t drink any water so the vet injected some fluid into him 😮
                                          Before I took him to the vet I kept trying to put grass in his face to convince him to eat it and he just picked it up and tossed it away >.< now he is happily eating again
                                          Haha when my mum gave me Finn my dad said no way is he going inside but i convinced him and he was allowed in a cage in the back room by the next week I managed to get him into my room and now he free ranges 24 hours in my room and my art studio next door with supervised time in the lounge room. One day he will take over the whole house
                                          It helps that he is more well behaved than the cats haha so they don’t mind him being inside now.

                                          One thing that’s so sad is the lack of information people know about rabbits I remember when i was 8 i had a rabbit called flopsy and she lived in a cage outside and only had pellets no hay because that’s what the pet shop told us to do…. She died in a year but people were like it’s ok rabbits only live for a year or two 0_o Not true :/ I feel so bad for her and I want to try and make Finn the happiest he can be.


                                        • Ami
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                                            And the friend my mum got Finn from had him in a cage that was only double his size ;( I’m so happy he has space now


                                          • kikikuki
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                                              Yeah, I tried to feed Yixing too! I gave him grass, sultanas, his hay/pellet mix and dandelions (he loves dandelions) but he tossed them all away. I tried to encourage him to poop, so I put him in his litterbox, but he just curled up. I’d never been so scared!
                                              Ah cool. When I got Yixing, my dad said that he could stay in the house for one night, but I litterbox trained him and cleaned up his mess so dad said he can stay inside (it was obvious that he was brought up as an indoor rabbit by his previous owner). He runs around the kitchen sometimes if we accidentally leave the back door open, but he really only runs around in the back room. It sucks about the cage, but I’m glad Finn has a great mum who cares so much!
                                              I had a similar experience too! When I was in year 4, I found a lost rabbit. Nobody claimed him, so I named him Peter. Because internet was limited back then, I relied on what my dad told me about rabbit care. He stayed in a cage outside, and we fed him veggies and grass. He died after a year, and my dad thought it was because of the Calici virus. Every time I think of Peter, I feel incredibly guilty – like I should’ve been more responsible. Now, I do my best to care for Yixing as best I can and make sure he’s happy.


                                            • Ami
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                                                Yeah I think when my parents saw how well trained he was they were ok with it
                                                Finn was litter trained in two days which was pretty nice haha.

                                                That’s true I didn’t use the internet back then just had a computer with like educational games on it haha XD yeah back then it was just the computer and game boy advance 0_o makes me feel old xD
                                                It’s great that we have the internet these days

                                                I think there is a difference in rabbit knowledge, at the pet shop yesterday there were two little kids adopting rabbits and the lady was giving them way better advice than what I got years ago..


                                              • Ami
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                                                  sorry double post


                                                • kikikuki
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                                                    Yixing was litter trained pretty quickly too. I observed where he was doing his business (in a corner of the room, luckily), and just placed a litter box there. My mum complains about odours, but no one else does so I ignore her LOL. I mean, I clean everything with vinegar and bicarb soda, and I clean the room at least once a week, so there isn’t much I can do about it.

                                                    Yeah, educational games! I remember playing this horrible maths game because that was all we had back then! Don’t even get me started on game boy advance! I had the very first version of the nintendo ds – it was so cool back then (I feel so old too!).

                                                    I think that there’s greater availability of bunny knowledge, thanks to the internet. It’s great, but also confusing, especially when I find contradicting posts. But in the end, if the bunnies are happy, we’re happy


                                                  • jerseygirl
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                                                      My guys eat oaten hay also.

                                                      In Melbourne, you’re lucky enought to have 2 rabbit specific vet clinics. Melbourne Rabbit Clinic in Ferntree Gully and The Rabbit Doctor in Collingwood. Why not contact them and find out where they recommend to get hay? Or even better, ask on their facebook pages as other locals can give suggestions also.

                                                      Most feed stores will stock oaten (sometimes wheaten), lucerne hay and meadow hay. Possible the clover and rye is called meadow hay in some stores. Meadow can be a mix of different plants.
                                                      Maybe take a look at pictures of those hays online to try identify what the first bale was.


                                                    • Ami
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                                                        @kikikuki haha the only thing i can smell is all the hay. I don’t mind the smell of hay at least… Oh yeah educational games were the first I ever played XD they were awful… Haha and I remember when i first got the game boy sp it was the first one with a backlit screen XD I no longer had to sit by the window to be able to see the game I was playing haha.

                                                        Yep there’s always everyone’s different opinion to sort out but the info is much better now for sure

                                                        @jerseygirl thanks I will have a look at the Facebook pages. I have a feeling the first bale could have been oaten hay… But I’m not sure. The oaten hay I am feeding him now he absolutely LOVES he is going through heaps of it

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                                                    Forum DIET & CARE Buying hay in Australia