Yes, Oxbow Timothy is good. I also like American Pet Diner 2nd cut timothy. BinkyBunny also has some very nice hays at the store.

I recently got some Sweet Meadow Farms hay and it’s very nice as well.

I’ve also been pleased with Kleenmama’s hay loft.

There are a number of quality hay providers available to chose from.

The lady I know at the bunny shelter here says Oxbow is the best kind you can get.

Anyone know the last acceptable date for hay consumption after being cut? I can get bales locally of meadow mix for under 6 bucks, which is sooo much cheaper than those little bags, but the hay was cut last summer.

Oxbow hands down. A lot of the other good brands aren’t available in some regions.

Honestly, if you’re getting a bale of hay for about 6 bucks go for it. I pay 5 bucks for almost a pound of hay. If you have to throw away half you still saved a lot of money. I also asked a few threads down how long hay is good because I want to buy bales to save money. I guess people who have more buns go through a bale faster. Anyway, hay keeps a long time. I know that cows, horses, goats and pigs will all continue to eat after about a year. (We don’t have a long season for hay at all in Pennsylvania.) As long as it’s stored dry as I was told you should be ok, altough as it gets older you may find out that your bun starts to turn up his nose at it.

Hay stays good for a long time. As long as you don’t smell any odor that previously didn’t exist and it isn’t moldy and/or wet it should be fine. However, if the hay gets to dry I have found horses and rabbits alike seem to reject it.

I buy hay by the bale- and I keep it stored in my garage wrapped in a large cotton blanket- and the bale is in our wheelbarrow so it is not on the floor of the garage.  So it stays clean and dry.  Obviously buying hay by the bale will vary depending on your source- but I was able to find 3rd cut grass hay for $4 a bale.

I am in in Michigan so from my understanding at least in my area- hay is only grown and cut during the “growing season”- summer and fall I would think.  So it is reasonable for hay to be stored for a year or so. 

I was buying the Oxbow and Zupreem hays and once I started buying the larger quantities in the LARGE bags I noticed there was a quality difference- the softer hay seemed to be in the small bags- easier to package I guess.  And I am not joking- on one of the larger bags it was clearly the end of a regular shaped bale of hay.  And considering how much I was paying for a bag!!  i decided to check out local hay bales and have been very happy.

I do like my bunnies to get variety- so I buy the mini bales from BinkyBunny Store and use that as “treat hay”.   Schroeder and Cotton especially love the oat hay and are so happy when I toss a small handful in their litterboxes.  They immediately snarf down all the treat hay.  The nice thing about BinkyBunny hay is that the quality is ALWAYS consistent I have noticed.  I also use the BB hay for putting in brown paper lunch bags with other goodies mixed in- roll up the bag punch a few holes into it and give them to the bunnies so they have to forage.  (I read about doing that here on this site).

Personally- for all my pets I like them to be exposed to a variety of food or treats- I never want my pets so used to one thing that they will not eat anything else.

Schroeder is a “hay monster” he digs ALL of his hay out of the hay bin and into his litterbox.  So at least this way I don’t stress about throwing out a ton of hay when I clean his box.  If I was paying what I used to for bagged Timothy hay- I would be worrying about the cost of what I was throwing away.

I have to agree with Katnip about the hay in those bags at the pet stores (all of them including Zupreem, Oxbow, Kaytee), they just don’t look appetizing to me. I only buy on-line because I have many rabbits so I buy the 25 pound boxes – I haven’t found any hay in my area locally that looks appealing so I buy on-line. I use the mini-bales from BB as treat hay as well – it’s very high quality.

Ever since I ordered hay from Binky Bunny, my buns have been devouring it. It’s so fragrant, looks great and you can tell it’s good quality hay. I say BB all the way. I have some Oxbow botanical hay, and they like it and it seems great, but the go nuts over BB hay.

I also buy hay by the bale because I have 8 rabbits, and so I shop around at the local feed stores and try to find the best “horse quality” hay. When I was living in Southern California, I could get the best oat hay, it was so green and good that the bunnies devoured all of it, including the stalks because my mom could buy it fresh off the field where she lived.

As far as purchasing hay from stores or online, yes I agree that Oxbow timothy hay is fantastic for bunnies. But as far as which ones the bunnies like best, that can really vary from rabbit to rabbit. For example, I know some bunnies that only eat really green hay, but for some reason mine really like the timothy hay when the stalks are thin and a little brown, I’m not sure why!

I was really disappointed when I was at the store. At first I was very excited when I saw a few bags of Oxbow on the shelf in a few varieties. Then I looked at it. It was really brown and dry and very brittle when I squeezed the bag, I have no idea how long it’s been on the shelf but it must be a long time. Looked more like straw than hay. I skipped it and went for Kaytee since it was green and fresh and smelled great. I’d eat it if I was a bun.