Grass for bunnies that don’t like hay?

[narufry]

I have two bunnies that don’t seem all that interested in hay, but they’ll eat grass all day. 
Is long grass a suitable substitute, will it have the same tooth maintenance effects of hay??
They will eat a little hay, and I always supply it but they don’t get anywhere close to the amount of hay recommended.

[rayray]

The long grass you mentioned, is that fresh grass? Also, what type of hay are you providing?
I buy the regular timothy hay, but when Ziggy gets bored with it I switch to botanical (it’s just timothy with different grass hays added).

[Bam]

Fresh grass can be tricky because it has a very short “shelf-life” – i e it has to be picked fresh daily and consumed more or less directly after serving or it can go bad in many ways (fungus (mould), bacterial rot and/or toxins etc). In principle rabbits can live well on a diet that has grass in it, because that’s what they do in nature, and hay consists of various types of grasses. But that grass is grazed, i e as fresh as it gets.

I give my bunnies some fresh grass in the summer f ex orchard. You should know what type of grass it is you give them so they don’t get grass that’s not bunny-appropriate. Wild rabbits know instinctively what can be eaten or not and in how big amounts, or they would not survive. But in pet-rabbits, this ability hasn’t been important for the survival and may have been “inactivated” in the genome through breeding in captivity.

So the answer to your question is both yes and no =/

I had a hard time before I found a hay that my bunny Bam would eat, it took more than a year after I got him before I found an organic meadow-hay he’d eat.

[Deleted User]

Hey Bam – I always felt bad for not putting Henry outside to nibble on the fresh ‘yard’ grass (too hard trying to pick him up without being shredded, lol). So, it’s not a bad thing that I don’t put him outside?

[Monkeybun]

Its not a bad thing at all. The only time mine go outside is when they are in the carrier on the way to the car… never to go play outside. Just too scary for them!

[Deleted User]

Phew! Thanks Monkeybun – how wonderful to know. Dam shame I wasted that 100 bucks on the outdoor hutch! (Outdoor hutch for sale – cheap!).
Serious, we had great plans to put him outside everyday, sectioning off an area of our yard that we didn’t let the dogs into. And even mowed it every other time to let it grow and thicken for him. But as you know (may remember from previous posts), we can’t pick the spoilt brat up! without causing serious injury (not him, US!). The one time we did put him outside, to have the house sprayed for pests – he was NOT happy! But always wondered if he was missing out? by not taking him outside to nibble on the fresh grass – how fantastic the stuff we buy in a plastic bag is perfect, ha ha hah! (wish I could do that for the kids too????). Thanks again Monkeybun! I’ll let the hubby know he can mow the ‘whole’ yard this Saturday!

[Bam]

To let a bunny outside in the open I would never dare, but I know some people do. I’d be too afraid sth would scare the bunny and it’d run off and be eaten by a cat or a fox or a bird of prey.

I don’t think ypou should let a bunny out to graze in Australia because you are not allowed to vaccinate your bunnies against myxo. In Europe we can vaccinate againt both myxo and calici so the risks are smaller (but not nonexistent).

So don’t feel bad about not letting Henry out. After all, he has your whole house to roam in as I understand it. He’s probably one of the worlds luckiest bunnies =)

[Deleted User]

Hey Bam – thanks! Oh no, I don’t mean ‘free range’ outside – we have an outdoor hutch (that is now for sale, ha hah). When I said we sectioned off an area from the dogs, I meant so they couldn’t wee and poo in that area with my intention of putting Henry outside for an hour or 2 a day.
Um, when Henry got neutered he was vaccinated (took our bill up to over $300 – bugga!) it was for something transmitted by mosquitos? I can’t recall exactly what it was called? I wonder if it’s one of those you mentioned? In any case, we prefer not to put Henry outside regardless of the hutch, etc., I just worried that he may have been missing out on something wonderful? Now that I know that’s not the case, Henry will be a whole lot happier (he hated being outside that ‘once’ we he had too!) and I’m happier – my last scratch just healed!

[Deleted User]

Oh, and I’m not sure I should say this, but I saw the video of a (wild?) baby bunny being released from someone’s front yard (in America?), (it made the news here, why I saw it) and an eagle(?) swooped him up as he was running to the neighbours house. Wish I never saw it, still upsets me when I think about it. So I totally get why everyone keeps there buns inside. The area I ‘had’ prepped for Henry is right next to my pergola and door, & as I said in a hutch. Not anymore! On a cheery note – my hubby (loser) actually picks grass for him a couple of times a week and puts it in his dish. So yer – what was I thinking? Henry missing out on something? No chance! Lol…..

[Bam]

And Henry, both myxi and calicivirus are spread by mosquitos and ticks, calici is also known as RHD, RCD and VHD. As I’ve understood it, you can vaccinate against calicivirus in Australia but not against myxi because it’s still used to control wild rabbits and the autgorities don’t want to risk resistance to the disease among the wild rabbits.

I sometimes let my bunnies outdoors in a hutch/run that has netting on all sides. Yohio lived in the hutch/run for a month before I brought him in (Had to make sure he was healthy, I had to vaccinate and neuter him before he could come in). But I think they like it better inside with people.

Wild baby bunnies are taken by seagulls and cats the whole time. In the spring you see house-cats carrying around dead or dying baby bunnies all the time. It’s not very nice, since it’s house-cats that hunt only for fun, they get fed by their owners and don’t even need the bunnies for food. (In Sweden, rabbits are not a total pest, they are not a threat to the agri-business, they live in cities and villages in parks etc, the worst thing they do is eat people’s tulips and chives etc. Deer and boars are a million times worse.)

[Deleted User]

Ta bam, that’s great to know – it must be the calici Henry was vaccinated for? I have to be honest, I didn’t take much notice cause at that time our intention wasn’t to put him outside so didn’t feel the threat against the mozzies and mostly agreed to it cause my vet seemed quite passionate about it. And yes – Henry is a happy indoor bunny. If I pop outside for a sec and leave the door open, Henry sits at the doorway and has never attempted to stray outdoors. It’s a BIG scary world out there!
How lovely it must be to see bunny’s in your local parks. For the moment, we still have kangaroo’s down the road from us and I love it! (I used to have them in my front yard till across the road got built out). But give it a few more years and I’m sure it will be built on and I’ll have to go to a wildlife park or zoo to see one again (sad face).

[tanlover14]

I also saw that video, AndHenry. It made me cringe. More because the idiots should have let him go in a secluded, wooded area instead of right out in the open where he’s exposed to all kinds of dangers.

I never let mine outside either, ever. I know lots of people do successfully but I personally believe the risk is much greater than the reward and I’m not willing to bet one of my buns life on it, that’s for sure! Other animals dig, can bite through wires also, animals transmitting diseases and such. Much easier to give them run time in my house without the worry. If you DO want to give fresh grass though, there is a member on here (I can’t remember who it was) that grows fresh grass in pots in her house and then just lets her bun go to town right from the pot, kind of like grazing in a sense.

I do second that I feel the fresh grass will go bad WAY too quickly and I’m not sure you’d be able to provide enough at the pace needed (without it going bad) to keep up with their daily regime of just how much hay they should get.

[Bam]

AndHenry, it was probably calici and it’s a very good thing that he is protected against that dreadful disease, it’s like ebola for rabbits (haemorragic fever).

What I wouldn’t give to see a real-life kangaroo!!! You have the most awesome animals in Australia!

[bunnygirl]

Here in Western Australia – where Roberta and I are from anyway – you can travel 5-10 minutes down the road to a sectioned off area of bushland, and come within 10-15 metres of a kangaroo. There was a recent article on the news though about two make kangaroos attacking a young girl, scratching her face and arms, biting her…we’re a little more wary of how close we get now!

Tanlover – I think it was Mocha – 101rabbits. She did a YouTube video about growing grass I’m pretty sure!

[tanlover14]

Thank you, Bunnygirl! It was Mocha!

[Deleted User]

I agree tanlover, that’s what we said when we saw it (can you believe it made the news here in OZ?). At first I thought it was awesome that they cared for it for a week (as the story started) but then to let it go ‘in a front yard’????? Yer, well…. And sadly, their intentions were good. Such a shame this story didn’t have the ‘happily ever after’ that it could of had, and anyone wanting to do the same will now think about and plan a release. Thinking of you baby bunny.
It’s good to know that even though Henry won’t be making his way outside, but mozzies can make it inside with the door opening and closing that Henry is vaccinated for that horrid disease. Thanks for the info bam – & good on my vet! (I’ll stop whinging about my vet bill $ now)…..
Yes bunnygirl and bam – as wonderful as kangaroo’s are, the wild one’s I would never approach. When they used to be in my front yard I would sit on my patio at dusk with a glass of wine and watch them eat my ‘new turf’ (bugga!) and never tried to approach them, even if they came up to me at about 3 metres away (not that I thought about the threat (maybe a wine too many???) I didn’t want to scare them away), and the one’s about 2 minutes down the road, we just gaze upon them as we drive past to the shops, knowing that sadly they probably won’t be there much longer. And Yes! They are awesome bam – just like bunny’s hopping through the park. We have road signs up telling us to take care for ‘Koala’s’ – I’ve yet to spot one myself in a surrounding tree, how about you bunnygirl? I’d ‘love’ to see a koala locally.

[Bam]

Andhenry, I guess kangaroos can be very dangerous if you get too close =/ They are pretty big. Awesome to look at but probably best to avoid direct contact with. Are there tame kangaroos? We have some dangerous animals in Sweden, but mostly if you happen to collide with them in your car. Like elks and boars.
Don’t you have bunnies in your parks?

[Deleted User]

No bunnies in our parks! (sad face). I live in the only state of Australia where bunnies are not only banned, illegal! If I get caught, the fine is around $30,000! Why I love this site – to bunny talk! I don’t bunny talk to anyone else, at all!
Getting back to the kangaroo’s…. my hubby hit one on his way to work a few years back, and it took out the whole front end of his car (his beloved ‘Alfa Romeo’). I think it was the first time my hubby cried (in front of me anyway), and I felt bad for the kangaroo! My hubby now has a phobia of kangaroo’s while driving – I still adore them!
Yes – every wild life park has an abundance of kangaroo’s that you can pat and feed, they are beautiful!

[Author]

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