Better Oat Hay?

[pinknfwuffy]

I feed Olaf a mixture of orchard grass and oat hay. I use Oxbow brand for both. The orchard grass has always been consistent and reliable. The oat hay, though, can be really great or really bad depending on the season. This spring and summer I got two great bags with lots of green stems and seed heads (his favorite). As we head into fall, the newest bag is full of thick, brittle yellow strands that he refuses to eat.

Any suggestions on better oat hay brands or options? Or is this just a matter of season no matter what?

I’ve been considering the BB mini oat hay bale, young. Anyone tried it?

Thank you!

[joea64]

I know I sound kind of monotonous on this but can you get hay from local farmers or through your local rabbit rescue, if they resell hay from said farmers?

[Wick & Fable]

I use oxbow as well, and have run into the same oat hay fluctuation. Our newest bag of timothy hay is also filled with very old, tall, crunchy stalks (very sharp; cut myself a lot already, haha). I kind of use the quality fluctuation as a teaching mechanism to get Wick less picky about eating hay. Because of the seasons, I don’t want him getting used to bags that have a lot of seeds and leafiness. I actually stopped giving Wick oat hay for a while because one bag had loads of seeds, and because of it, Wick was not eating any hay — just looking and eating seeds. It won’t work for all rabbits, but Wick knows his feeding schedule, so if the timothy/oat is lackluster, he sucks it up and eats it since it’s all I offer, haha.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[pinknfwuffy]

joea64 – Thank you! I definitely would prefer this method but I don’t live near any local farms, nor do I have a car to transport it, but I appreciate your suggestion! My local shelter (there is only one) rarely has rabbits, too, so they don’t usually have a surplus of hay on hand.

Wick – Smart! I never though to work it around how tasty the hay is. :] I love how smart they are. “This is yummy. I will eat nothing else.” I’ll give it a shot. You’re right, if I give smaller amounts of the oat (he still has plenty orchard) he will reluctantly eat the thicker bits. If there is more oat he will pick through it for the good stuff. Oh, rabbits.

[Q8bunny]

I noticed that too with my last couple baggies of the Oxbow oat. I resorted to stomping on it a bit to help crush some of the painfully stiff bits before opening the bag. Lame, but I hate to just toss it out.

[pinknfwuffy]

Glad to know I’m not the only one getting duds, Q8. Good idea, though! I agree. I can’t stand the thought of wasting it so I’ll try the stomping method. :] I only buy the small bags of it and the big bags of orchard so hopefully I can find another brand or variety while I try to get him to mow through it.

[Q8bunny]

Exactly what I buy, too.
I’m stuck since Oxbow is the only brand that I have access to pretty consistently here, and Chewie does eat even the narfy oat, but I hate to handle it and can only imagine how pokey it must feel to sit on.

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