Barley Hay (and experimenting with other new hays)

[Miyuki]

Hello everyone!  So I don’t know if you remember me talking about Inkblot dumping the timothy hay all over the place.  My parents bought a new bag and she hasn’t eaten any of it…  This concerns me because she NEEDS hay.  I don’t usually touch or get close to her hay because sometimes I’ll have a horrible allergic reaction (sometimes I don’t though… it is weird).  But yesterday I took my chances and the hay was very yellow and very stiff.  Seems old or dried out or something.  I’m hoping this is why she wasn’t eating and not because she’s losing her appetite.

I got a little off topic there.  Anyways, I ran to the pet store and bought some alfalfa and I bought this Oat, Wheat & Barley Hay (http://www.alfalfaking.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv).  When I got home I realized that I haven’t ever heard of barley hay!  It is ok for rabbits right?  I don’t know anything about it.  I know people feed oat and wheat hay to rabbits but I haven’t seen anything about barley.  Hopefully the barley is safe heh. 

I’ve ordered some orchard grass and timothy hay online and I’m just waiting for it to come now.  I’m hoping she’ll eat the greener timothy hay and the orchard grass which she seems to have liked (I only had a little bit).  I think the past few days the only fiber she really has had was from her romaine…

[Sarita]

It looks like a nice blend of grass hays – let us know she likes these.

[bunnytowne]

I have had problems with Cotton and his hay too.  I ordered an oat hay and he loves it. I guess I will have to get him alfalfa oat or that new hay BB has the teff hay a grain hay.  

this has been the only stuff I can get him to eat.  Ruby isn’t crazy about timmy hay either.  Dang. They are so finicky lately.  Well at least they eat these hays I got.

Laith wouldn’t eat any of it not even alfalfa hay.  He was sick poor fellow.  I miss him. HE was so cute and sweet.

[Miyuki]

Well I saw her checking out the new hays last night and she ate a few pieces but her hay holder is pretty full so I’m not sure she ate anymore after that. When I get home I’m going to try to stick some of the new hays in a bowl and see if she’ll eat it that way instead. She was eating orchard grass from a bowl but I don’t know if she was eating it because it was in a bowl or because she prefers that over everything else now. I guess I shall see.

Hey bunnytowne if you try out the teff hay let me know what your bunnies think of it. I ordered my new hays from the BB store but I must’ve totally missed that teff hay!

[3crazybuns]

I too, would curious to see the results of this, Oreo eats his hay, but not much of it, I’m waiting on my BB.com 1 cut timmy hay to get here…suppose to be here on the 5th as of last update…sucks that its all the way in Cali, and i’m in KY. Takes awhile to get here.

[LilynJestersMama]

My Jester bun isn’t much of a timothy hay eater.  I talked to the rescue where we got him from and they said most picky buns will eat mountain grass hay.  I got a big box of it and both Lily and Jester eat it up- they both seem to enjoy it!  It’s darker green and not as stiff as timothy hay.

[Miyuki]

I guess my rabbit isn’t the only one that doesn’t want to eat hay . She used to eat a lot but not so much recently. I’ve updated the title because I started out to be about barley but we’re just talking about hay in general.

My tracking hasn’t changed but I paid for the faster shipping to Hawaii. I’ll let you know how the orchard grass and 1st cut timothy hay goes with Inkblot. I don’t know if its better for me to mix them together to let her sample them all or if I should swap them out… maybe one a day… to see what she really is eating.

[bunnytowne]

I even ordered timmy hay from BB and nope  barely touch it.  It is them (the buns) I know it is.

I am going to get some alfalfa at the feed store they sell it in pads too.  Yeah kind of tight this month. 

Next month I do so want to try the Teff hay and get some more Oat.   I hope they eat the Teff hay as it has fewer calories and that would be much better for them. If nothing else comes up I will be able to get it.

I am getting a battery charger for the new used camera I have.  Expensive but the camera/video is very much worth the 45.00 for the charger. Kind of cuttin me short. 

Blah… There was something else too I jsut can’t remember right now. Story of my life  rofl….

[MimzMum]

I’ve used that Oat/Barley/Wheat combo before. Pip likes it (she’s my half-lionhead) but it does have some monstrous seedheads which she tosses out of the night pen. Those worry me because I’d hate for something like that to go down the wrong way. 0_o
I like Alfalfa King Timothy. It’s about all my buns will eat, with exception of Mimzy who has to have hay without any seedheads due to his respiratory troubles.

[Miyuki]

Did you just say monstrous seedheads? This I have to see. I’m gonna dig in the hay when I get home . Inkblot usually picks out seedheads and eats them all. Maybe if I find some she’ll eat it.

[jerseygirl]

Miyuki, has Inkblot had her molars checked lately? If she used to eat hay and now isn’t, it’d be worth getting them checked.

[Miyuki]

She’s been to the vet a handful of times in the last 2 months and they didn’t say thing was up with her teeth. I could just take her in for a checkup anyways to make sure everything else besides her eye is alright.

[flippersmom]

Hey Miyuki – I’m wondering if the tumor is making it painful for her to chew???? Even though it appears to be above her eye, it could be causing enough pressure to make chewing painful!! Or could the tumor have grown/spread to the jaw area???? Another possibility could be that she has a decreased appetite, just because she is not feeling 100%. I have a dog that if he’s not feeling well or is stressed, his appetite refelcts it!! I don’t mean to sound like Miss Negativity, but am trying to consider the whole picture!!!!!

[Miyuki]

Hello again! I don’t think there is any chewing problem she’s still eating all of her treats, veggies, and most of the pellets. I put some alfalfa and the oat, barley, wheat hays in a bowl and she ate all the alfalfa. While you don’t normally give this to older rabbits, I don’t care as long as she’s eating hay! I don’t think the oat, wheat, and barley hay was a hit. I think maybe she likes the softer thinner hays (hence the liking of the orchard grass) and that one is a lot thicker. I’m very closely monitoring how much she’s eating and her activity level. I wish I had one of those baby scales they use at the vet to monitor her weight more accurately.

[Sarita]

I think that is fine as long as she is eating it.

My rabbits love the American Pet Diner 2nd cut timothy (they call it their Timothy Gold I believe). This is a softer thinner hay.

[Miyuki]

Got my new hays today! She took a few seedheads from the timothy as I was opening it so that might be a good sign! She is out and about so I’ll see if she eats more when she returns to her cage . Man I have so many bags of hay now though .

[MimzMum]

Heehee…isn’t that terrible? 0_o I have currently about four open bags and about five in waiting…each one is different because my bunnies are so picky about what they want to eat from week to week, I have to keep enough on hand to switch them out! ~_~

You should see the stuff my new vet uses to weigh my rabbits. My old vet just had a large scale with a flat pan (actually reminds me of the ones they use at a butcher shop….*shivers*) but my current vet uses a regular digital scale with a pedestal, and upon the pedestal she balances bunny in a colander! 0_o

I keep expecting her to throw a few carrots, a tomato, some lettuce and some salad dressing in with my bunnies! >.< lolz….

[Miyuki]

I have 5 bags of hay currently… but she’s only eating one… I’m not sure what to do with the others!

And putting bunnies in a colander? I think mine would try to jump out .

[bunnytowne]

a new version of rabbit salad…tehehe   cute

having the same troubles here…. I ordered the teff hay  Cotton turned his nose at it…  Well I will hold a strand for him to eat he takes it and throws it… Maybe he wasn’t hungry yet…. I know he has to be eating some hay or he would be losing weight tho….

Right now I am feeding the timmy to both of them mixed with some orchard…I dont’ see either one of them eating it right now….

OH but they ate that alfalfa…. I guess that is going to be a once a week thing….

Looks like i have to order some oat after all…. and mountain hay…..  maybe they will take to the teff hay once they are done with the timmy hay… I used the sample of teff  and didn’t open the bag yet….

gosh they are just soooo picky…. ONe day he chows down on timmy the next forget it….

you know maybe I should offer him a piece of each hay to see what he wants to eat that day,….  rofl… gosh the things us slaves do…

[jerseygirl]

The talk of monsterous seed heads and seeing my 2 chow down on oat seed heads lately reminded me of something. When we were kids, we used to chew on barley grains until it turned into a chewie (gum)! Flavourless but interesting all the same…. Hope this doesn’t happen for the bunnies!

[bunnytowne]

Hmmm bunny chewing gum   interesting

[Binkles]

I have to bump this thread and suggest that it should be added to the FAQ under Diet if something like it hasn’t been already!

You have enlightened me! I was aware of the existence of other hays, but I didn’t know that they could be used as a mainstay. It makes so much since that, like veggies, having a variety of different hays on hand keeps the bunny interested and helps when they begin to lose interest in one type!! I’m sure being able to feed different hays also helps a lot when the store is out of a particular type or when one kind looks better than the other.

Little-Bit has always been pretty good about eating her Tim hay, but there are some times when I know that she could be eating more and I feel like it’s becoming bland for her.

Went out and bought some Oxbow Oat Hay and Organic Meadow Hay today to give them a try out. So far I’ve given her a little bit of the Oat Hay and she thought it was the best thing since sliced bread!!

Out of curiosity, why IS Timothy is the choice hay over Oat, Meadow, etc. among most bun owners? I understand the difference between Alfalfa and Timothy, of course, but looking at the contents in the Oat and Meadow compared to the Tim there’s barely any difference at all. Just consistency and texture.

[Miyuki]

It is hard to find a comparison of all the hays at once and depending on when they are cut the protein and calcium content can vary. I think maybe timothy might have one of the better balances between protein and calcium? I’m not sure. Maybe someone else knows for sure . It really depends on when the hays are cut though. Just my guess.

[Sarita]

I suspect that timothy hay is the easiest to grow too and that is why it is the most common. I believe Orchard Grass is seasonal to it’s not as readily available as the timothy hay. There are a wide variety of hays that are equally as good but just not as common like blue grass and oat hay and others.

[Binkles]

Well WOW guys! Oat hay = lots of binkies and TONS of BIG round poopies on this end!! If your bunny is looking for something to liven up their system I think this is the stuff!!

Two ears up!

[Deb'sBuns]

I might have to get a 3 way hay again maybe. It’s just I buy by the bale now with 5 bunnies and 4 guinea pigs. I’m just not sure the pigs will like it. I used to get oat occasionally.

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