I need hay advice!

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 18sd replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 8 years ago by mschoonover11.

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- 03/22/2018 at 12:52 PM
  mschoonover11
  Participant
  288 posts
  I have purchased so many different types of hay brands and written many forums on this topic for my boy and none seem to really work. I bought oxbow timothy(didn’t work) SPS 2nd cut Timothy(worked the first time but second order was bad) SPS and oxbow orchard grass(he prefers Timothy) and now I am currently giving him this TS brand called Dumor. He likes it, but it’s terrible quality and only comes in very small bags, so it gets expensive. Lately, he’s been wasting the TS hay and just doesn’t seem to like it. I want to feed him a good quality brand like SPS. Do you think their hay is fresher in the summer? Maybe greener and softer? Should I order it now, or wait till the summer? If I order it now during the spring time, will it be good quality like summer? Thx in advance
- 03/22/2018 at 8:31 PM
  Luna
  Participant
  2219 posts
  It’s hard to say if the hay in the summer will be fresher than the hay now. I think the best time of the season for hay is spring/early summer(?), but whenever you buy hay you are buying hay that was grown and harvested months ago.
  
  Have we ruled out molar issues? Maybe Toby’s pickiness with hay isn’t due to personal preference?
- 03/23/2018 at 7:48 AM
  mschoonover11
  Participant
  288 posts
  Posted By Luna on 3/22/2018 8:31 PM
  
  It’s hard to say if the hay in the summer will be fresher than the hay now. I think the best time of the season for hay is spring/early summer(?), but whenever you buy hay you are buying hay that was grown and harvested months ago.
  
  Have we ruled out molar issues? Maybe Toby’s pickiness with hay isn’t due to personal preference?
  
  Thanks
  
  Hmm, I’ve never thought about molar issues He’s still only 5 months, so I have never taken him to the vet other than his neuter. Should I? But he eats his pellets fine (which are harder than hay) so maybe he just likes to wait till his pellet and veggie servings.?
  
  if he had molar issues, would he still be able to eat pellets? I still may order him SPS hay early April. Is that a good time?
- 03/23/2018 at 9:22 AM
  ownedbybunnies315
  Participant
  29 posts
  Most of the time, bunnies will stop eating hay before pellets if they have molar issues. Pellets kind of melt in their mouths a little to make them easier to chew whereas they really have to grind with their molars to eat hay.
  However, since he’s only 5 months old, it’s a lot less likely to be a tooth problem. Some bunnies are just pickier about their hay. I’ve used SPS for several years now, and in that time, have only had 1 box that my bunnies weren’t thrilled about, so I would give their 2nd cutting another try. I’ve ordered year-round and haven’t noticed a difference (other than that one box, which was maybe lost in the back of their warehouse for a longer time, or something). You could also try mixing the timothy with something like oat hay, which is a hay that many people with picky bunnies swear by. My bunnies love it but they mostly love the seed heads, so I mix it in. That lets them forage through the timothy to find the oat strands.
- 03/23/2018 at 9:29 AM
  Deleted User
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  22064 posts
  I think it’s a good idea to take him. I took mine the weekend I brought them home, just to make sure they were actually in good health. You never know if something is wrong that you can’t see unless you do an annual. They’ll check his ears and teeth and feel around his belly and things like that. You can even get them to clip his nails. Aside from the initial vet visit when he was 8 weeks, we’ve had to take him a few times for different issues. During all of these, my vet will do a normal physical to just to make sure everything is good. His most recent visit for EC, the vet noticed that his back teeth may start having issues soon. That’s something we wouldn’t have known to look out for if he hadn’t had a general physical/
- 03/23/2018 at 10:00 AM
  Luna
  Participant
  2219 posts
  In the meantime, I would say give the SPS 2nd cut timothy another try if he liked it the first time . If you happen to get a bale that isn’t good, you can always call SPS and they will refund your order and send you a new one. Then, if the new one is still not good, you will at least know that the bad bale wasn’t just a one-time thing.
- 03/23/2018 at 5:50 PM
  Minty
  Participant
  54 posts
  I was trying to find a hay I was not allergic to and also bought LOTS of different varieties including: orchard grass, meadow, ryegrass / pasture, oaten, alfalfa/lucerne.
  
  I found if she didn’t like a hay, I would try and hand feed her first and then she would eat it normally. Try hand feeding her also?
  
  They say oaten is the most loved by a bunny. My bunny does really like her oaten.
  
  I went back to meadow as that was the least allergenic for me. Oaten is not so bad also.
- 03/26/2018 at 4:18 PM
  mschoonover11
  Participant
  288 posts
  Thanks so much for the replies!
  
  I definitely want to take him to vet as soon as I can afford it. I’m just a pre-teen and my parents are pretty particular on spending expensive amounts of money on my rabbit, so I mostly have to myself. How much are vet visits usually? By vet visits, I mean their annual physical. Unless buns don’t have health issues, don’t you only have to take them to the vet once a year?
  
  And with SPS, I ordered a 10lb box of timothy hay this Friday. I hope the box will hopefully be good this time! Especially since I’m giving them a second chance. I really hope that I can finally find a permanent hay brand that he likes instead of always having to switch all the time. Oh, and also, I ordered these new pellets called Sherwood Forest. I ordered the 19lb box which was $40. It was pretty expensive, but I know that they’re healthy pellets that will last me a while. I’ve been feeding him oxbow pellets since I’ve had him. From 8 weeks to 4 months or so, he’s had the Oxbow young rabbit essentials. From 4 months to 5 months, he’s had the oxbow organic pellets. I stopped buying them because they only came in a 3lb bag, and it was $15.49 plus shipping which is very expensive. Especially for only 3lbs!
  
  I know this was off topic, but I just wanted to share that I am giving SPS a second chance, and that I switched pellets to Sherwood Forest. Are they good pellets?
- 03/26/2018 at 5:36 PM
  Luna
  Participant
  2219 posts
  I hope the SPS order works out! The cost of vet visits varies by geographic area; in Michigan a physical exam for Luna costs $48.00. If you live in a large city, costs will be more than the suburbs.
  
  By chance, I’ve never bought Sherwood Forest pellets, though there are other members here who do. The nutritional facts online look good. The crude fat percentage is on the higher end, but it is still within the suggested guidelines, and if Toby isn’t overweight then it’s fine .
- 03/27/2018 at 7:20 AM
  sarahthegemini
  Participant
  5584 posts
  Wouldn’t it make more sense to spend some money on ruling out dental issues rather than buying tons and tons of hay?
- 03/27/2018 at 7:54 AM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  Here in the northeast I’ve seen prices range from $65-$120. I live in Boston where everything is overpriced, so I pay $115 per visit, but elsewhere I don’t think it would be that much.
- 03/27/2018 at 3:53 PM
  mschoonover11
  Participant
  288 posts
  Thanks again to all of you!
  
  On my avatar thing, it says I live in Atlanta, but I don’t literally live in the big city. I live in a suburb that’s a small town in the Atlanta area, so most likely it won’t be as expensive as it would in the city. I’m going to talk my parents into maybe letting me take him to the vet. When I took him for his neuter, they did a mini health check and said he was fine. But I’m sure they didn’t do a detailed one cause there were a ton of buns waiting for their spay/neuter the day I brought Toby. I didn’t even get to speak with the vet myself, so I would love to take him to a more professional health check.
  
  And with the new pellets, I liked how they had a bit more fat because Toby is needs to gain more weight. He’s been eating well, but since I switched him from the fattening young rabbit pellets (that contained alfalfa hay) over to the organic pellets, it made him lose some weight. Also, he’s lost some weight because I’m making eat more Timothy than the alfalfa hay due to too much calcium intake. But I want him to regain it with healthy pellets and good quality hay. And also all of these hay switches could’ve caused some weight loss. I was pretty satisfied with the ingredients in the Sherwood Forest pellets, so I’m sure they’ll be fine
- 03/27/2018 at 6:27 PM
  Luna
  Participant
  2219 posts
  Also, don’t forget to mix in his old pellets with the Sherwood pellets so that his digestive system can adjust to the change . When I switched Luna’s pellets, I did 75% old pellets mixed with 25% new pellets for 10 days, then 50 old/50 new for 10 days, and 25 old/75 new for 10 days.
- 03/28/2018 at 2:10 PM
  mschoonover11
  Participant
  288 posts
  Posted By Luna on 3/27/2018 6:27 PM
  
  Also, don’t forget to mix in his old pellets with the Sherwood pellets so that his digestive system can adjust to the change . When I switched Luna’s pellets, I did 75% old pellets mixed with 25% new pellets for 10 days, then 50 old/50 new for 10 days, and 25 old/75 new for 10 days.
  
  Ohh, I wish I could’ve done that, but the Sherwoood pellets took a really long time to come, and time they arrived, he had already finished his Oxbow pellets. Is it bad for Toby to just eat Sherwood right away without me mixing with his old pellets?
- 03/28/2018 at 2:11 PM
  mschoonover11
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  288 posts
  sorry for all the questions…
- 03/28/2018 at 2:12 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  You’re going to have to really watch his poop to make sure he’s adjusting to them without any issues.
- 03/28/2018 at 2:15 PM
  mschoonover11
  Participant
  288 posts
  Posted By Asriel and Bombur on 3/28/2018 2:12 PM
  
  You’re going to have to really watch his poop to make sure he’s adjusting to them without any issues.
  
  Ok I will I feel foolish of not thinking about the switching of his pellets. I really hope he’ll be ok.
- 03/28/2018 at 3:54 PM
  Bianca
  Participant
  375 posts
  Watch his poop with the pellet change – some buns cope with things like that fine, others don’t. All you can do is watch his poop and behaviour and see.
  
  As for hay, do you have any fodder stores that sell horse quality hay? Horse quality meadow (it might be called grass hay where you are?) and/or oaten is fine for rabbits – just ask about weeds in the meadow hay if it looks like it has any through it. Hay from a bale rather than a bag will be fresher and usually nicer – I have five rabbits and none of them will eat anything bagged for a rabbit – in fact one of them can’t because it’s so much dustier and she will start sneezing if it is offered to her. You could always ask the store if they sell biscuits of hay individually (my local one does but they all differ) so you don’t have to buy a whole bale. Or ask if they have any scraps of the hay you are interested in that you could offer your bunny to see how he feels about them.
  
  I had to use lucerne (alfalfa) hay to get my foster rabbit to eat hay, and once he ate that I was able to mix the other hay with the lucerne and transition him over to something more appropriate (in his case, the most expensive meadow hay my fodder store has to offer because he is still a snob but at least he eats it).
  
  Good luck
- 03/29/2018 at 9:02 PM
  mschoonover11
  Participant
  288 posts
  Posted By Bianca on 3/28/2018 3:54 PM
  
  Watch his poop with the pellet change – some buns cope with things like that fine, others don’t. All you can do is watch his poop and behaviour and see.
  
  As for hay, do you have any fodder stores that sell horse quality hay? Horse quality meadow (it might be called grass hay where you are?) and/or oaten is fine for rabbits – just ask about weeds in the meadow hay if it looks like it has any through it. Hay from a bale rather than a bag will be fresher and usually nicer – I have five rabbits and none of them will eat anything bagged for a rabbit – in fact one of them can’t because it’s so much dustier and she will start sneezing if it is offered to her. You could always ask the store if they sell biscuits of hay individually (my local one does but they all differ) so you don’t have to buy a whole bale. Or ask if they have any scraps of the hay you are interested in that you could offer your bunny to see how he feels about them.
  
  I had to use lucerne (alfalfa) hay to get my foster rabbit to eat hay, and once he ate that I was able to mix the other hay with the lucerne and transition him over to something more appropriate (in his case, the most expensive meadow hay my fodder store has to offer because he is still a snob but at least he eats it).
  
  Good luck
  
  Thanks so much!
  
  I will definitely keep an eye on his poop and behavior and will keep you guys posted on that.
  
  And I don’t think I have local feed stores near me, but I do have farmers that sell hay. They just don’t sell hay currently as it’s spring season and still pretty cold where I live. But in the summer, the farmers near me start selling hay, so I’ll have to buy some to see if Toby will like it.
  
  Thanks again for the tips! In the summer time, I’ll ask one of the farmers if they would sell me a smaller batch instead of a whole bale. That would sure be a hassle to transport to your house…
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