Fake Hay!!!!!

[MountainBuns]

So today I was cleaning and I just figured something out. The hay that we got from Caroline’s previous owners IS NOT ACTUALLY HAY. Its wheat and oats and other junk that rabbits cant have. No wonder I never see Caroline eating any of that trash. I am heading to the nearest Tractor Supply Co. for some Standlee hay that is actually good tomorrow. What should I do till then? I feel so bad for just realizing this. All those nights where I thought to myself “Caroline doesn’t need food, she has her hay.” Only to find this out this. I hope she is okay. The stuff they gave to us is high in fiber but also in protein. I hope she doesn’t have anything wrong with her. I’d hate to lose her. Do you think anything might happen?

[Wick & Fable]

Since she’s 4yo, remember she can also get a small down of fresh veggies (slow introductions to all new veggies to monitor how her body reacts; reference diet info on this site for the list of rabbit-safe veggies), as well as limited adult pellets once per day (1/4cup per 2lbs).

I believe technically wheat can be hay, as hay is just any grass or pastoral plant that’s been dried. I don’t think wheat hay would be best for an adult. It’s got a lot more calories I’ve heard. Timothy, oat, meadow, and orchard are the standard, acceptable types for an adult rabbit. If you have oat hay currently, that’s technically fine, though if she doesn’t have a taste for it, changing type and/or brand is wise, since high hay consumption prevents a slew of rabbit illnesses.

Since it’s high fiber, that’s still good. The high protein may have just caused some weight gain in my opinion. Grass is grass, so probably nothing too dire to look out for in my opinion.

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.

[LBJ10]

Sorry, I’m a bit confused. So the hay isn’t hay at all, but the actual grain (seeds)? Or is it wheat and oat hay? If it is wheat and oat hay, then it doesn’t differ very much in terms of protein than other grass hays.

[Wick & Fable]

Just make sure her poops are looking good!

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.

[MountainBuns]

The poops look okay, I am concerned about how she never eats the hay though. She only will hold it in her mouth and eat the middle like twice a day and then rely on veggies and pellets.

[LBJ10]

Maybe she just doesn’t like it? Wheat and oat hay are coarser. Stuff like orchard grass is softer. Or perhaps she is filling up on pellets and veggies? What is her diet like?

[Heaven]

Don’t worry @Caroline, when I first got Sam from his previous owners they had been giving him ALL the wrong stuff – cheap junkfood pellets for adult buns (he was only 3 mo!), wood shavings lining a tiny cage, pieces of carrot and banana every day, no veggies, bad quality hay in a plastic feeder which he’d barely touch. I was so worried when I first got him but he was totally fine when I transitioned him to his new food I think it made him love me more haha sorting him out, he always did so many flops next to me as if to say “thank you for saving me from that place!!”

[MountainBuns]

I leave her hay out 24-7 she can access it from 2 locations in my room. I give her about 1/4 cup of pellets early in the morning. Around 3-4 o’clock I give her some veggies such as kale, lettuce and collard greens. She does not get much veggies or pellets. She most likely just does not like the hay. Even at night when I am sleeping I wake up to check on her (We sleep in the same room) and she just stays there with no pellets or veggies, starving. She gets so exited when I wake up and immediately runs to me for food. She has fresh water to access whenever she wants and I see her drink the water even more than eat hay. I’ve actually noticed she has been losing weight since we got her but in her last home she always hid under a couch to escape a cat and I think she is getting more exercise here because she can do whatever she wants without a cat attacking her.

[MountainBuns]

Yes, I have notices how hard and coarse this hay is, I stepped on a piece of it when It was vertical and practically got a splinter! I dont even know how she can stand that stuff. Here are all the ingredients.

Ingredients:
Wheat Middlings, Peanut hulls, Cracked Corn, Corn Gluten Feed, Cane Molasses, Soybean Hulls, Soybean Oil, Ground Limestone?, Salt, Distillers Dried Grains, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, and the rest is other long junk that I cant even type. They do not even have the ingredients online I have to type every thing!!!!!

[MountainBuns]

Caroline is pretty tired but I gave her some veggies, she has kale, lettuce and a little celery.

[LBJ10]

There is nothing wrong with wheat or oat hay. Some bunnies like it, others don’t. It sounds like this is some sort of mix thing since there are all these ingredients. Hay is, well, hay. Try just regular hay and see if she likes that. Any grass hay is fine – Timothy, oat, orchard, wheat, meadow, etc.

[MountainBuns]

Ok, do you have any suggestions on hay that your bunnies love?

[LBJ10]

Mine like orchard grass, but they will eat most hays. They prefer fresh smelling hay. So Oxbow is popular or the mini bales that the BB store sells. Kaytee hay? Nope! They won’t touch it.

[MountainBuns]

How many pounds is in one minibale?

[MountainBuns]

I FOUND IT!
I FOUND DA HAY WAE!
MY QUESTION IS, DO YOU KNOW THE HAY WAE!?
I found a farmer in my area who sells 55 pounds or orchard grass hay for only $5.50! I have never seen such a great deal at the right time! Hopefully, Caroline will love it and stop being picky. Thanks for all your help. (If you did not know for some reason, when I said do you know the hay way, I was thinking about the Ugandian Knuckles meme.)

[LBJ10]

They are mini bales, so like 3lbs I think?

That’s great if you found some farm fresh hay. It’s usually cheaper to purchase that way.

[MountainBuns]

I just bought the farm fresh hay and laid some out for her. I think she has taken some nibbles but then she turned straight back to pellets. I am considering giving her scarcely any pellets for a while until she starts to eat hay but the problem is with the last hay she wouldn’t eat it even if she had no food but that. What if she does the same thing and starves? What do you think I should do?

[MountainBuns]

The hay I bought is very soft and it smells like sweet honey and like a farm. I was told it was orchard grass.

[LBJ10]

Buns will act like they are starving regardless of how much they are fed. Mine act like I haven’t fed them in days every night when I feed them their pellets. Since you’re giving 1/4 cup, you could try cutting it back a little bit. But honestly, it just might take a little time for her get used to the idea of eating hay.

[MountainBuns]

She started munching on it a lot this morning. It made me pretty happy to see she liked it better than the oat hay. Maybe I will cut the pellets for a while back to 1/6 or 1/8 so she will really start eating her hay. Thank you for all your help.

[Author]

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