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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

FORUM DIET & CARE hay

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    • Ashelee
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        Ok so my b/f’s mom went to an amish farm across from her house and got hay for the rabbit for us (4 dollars for a bale of it).  She didnt ask what type of hay it was, just that it could be used to feed horses.  Which basically means it could be alfalfa, timothy, or orchard grass pretty much.  So my question is, if I feed it to her, and its alfalfa  hay will it hurt her?  She is about 2 years old now.

        thanks everyone!


      • Lis
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          If you include a picture of a handful of it, I could probably identify it for you. I was tested on it so many times when I was in 4-H as a teen.

          You’re not supposed to feed alfalfa after a certain age, because it’s got many more calories. I’m pretty sure your bun is past that age.


        • Beka27
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            It wouldn’t hurt her, but it’s not something you’d want to feed continuously b/c it is more fattening and higher in calcium. The other issue you could run into is if you then wanted to switch back to timothy, b/c to many buns, the alfalfa is “tastier” and after having alfalfa, they don’t want timothy anymore.


          • Minty
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              It is pretty simple to tell the difference between grass hay and alfalfa. Alfalfa will be very green and have little flaky clover bits through it and will smell much richer. Timothy and other grass hays usually just look like the long strands of grass. Sorry if this doesn’t make sense. I have horses so I can usually tell by looking at it. Like Lis said, a picture would be helpful!


            • Ashelee
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                ok two pics…not the best, its a little greener then the pics show:


              • Minty
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                  It doesn’t look like alfalfa to me… could be local or timothy… either way it looks safe to feed to the buns!


                • Ashelee
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                    ok awesome! Thanks!


                  • Deleted User
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                      Your grass is a mixed batch. I can’t see timothy  but the green part is a grass hay. What I circled in black is a grass seed pod, not tmmy though. .

                      There is alfalfa. You can see how there are straw-colored strands and green ones, the stiff straw-colored stuff is alfalfa. I circled in red an allfalfa flower and a stem. The flower might be a clover but the stem is definitely alfalfa.

                      Does your rabbit pick certain pieces out of it? If your rabbits eats it all, I would use it up but look for a pure grass one next time.


                    • Minty
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                        Maybe the alfalfa I am feeding my horses is different then? Because this looks nothing like alfalfa to me, mixed or not.


                      • Ashelee
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                          I havent started feeding it to her just yet I have timothy hay still left over from a bag I bought from petsmart.


                        • Deleted User
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                            It is hard to tell from a photo. I might be mistaken. At any rate, the stiff straw-colored pieces look like a legume-type hay.
                            Sully, do you use straight alfalfa? When it is not mixed it really clusters into large thick stiff chunks.


                          • Minty
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                              Yeah, I have bales of both straight alfalfa and straight timothy. Maybe I am just used to seeing the very rich green and clover filled alfalfa. However, I think if it’s a mixed hay it should still be fine. I sometimes mix a little bit of alfalfa in with timothy for my bun to encourage him to eat more hay.


                            • Deleted User
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                                I agree it is fine for the rabbit as long as he eats it all.


                              • Ashelee
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                                  hopefully she does. But for 4 dollars for a bale of it, ya cant beat it! haha I was spending 5 dollars for 16 ounces of timothy hay from petsmart.

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                              FORUM DIET & CARE hay