I need Hay suggestions…

[skunklionshow]

One of our therapy bunns, Leo, and my evil little girl Jessica, do not seem to like Hay.  I’ve tried Timothy, Orchard, and a blend, as well as, super fresh hay and more dried hay and both seem to snub the hay.  From the site (moobunny) & my vet, I know hay is very important.  Anyone have any hay resistent bunnies and if so what kind of hay has worked for them?

All the other bunns are very happy w/ their hay…I just want to make sure that everyone is getting what they need!

[Hedi]

I have seen a few other types out there. I hear that Oat Hay is a big hit among most buns. I know mine would love it but I have to have it shipped because no one sells it around here.

I tried Bermuda hay and my buns liked it just as much as their normal timothy hay.

[MooBunnay]

My bunnies get oat hay most often – and they seem to like it a lot especially because there are some seed heads hidden in there that they like to forage for.

Do they get a lot of treats or pellets that they might fill up on before getting to the hay? Are they eating ANY hay at all? Also, a little trick I tried was sprinkling a bit of alfalfa over the hay, just some of the dust kind of teeny pieces, and then like to forage the alfalfa pieces. I think they might be filling up on other things that are more exciting to them and not eating the hay, so make sure they are at the smaller recommended amounts of pellets and treats and see if that helps!

[poopy]

Here’s the reason for oat hay: taste

If you were a bun (or human for that matter), would you rather eat
A) Oat hay which tastes slightly sweet and fibrous
or
B) timothy which basically tastes like GRASS

you can try some horse feed stores for oat hay

[(dig)x(me)x(now)]

My bun wouldn’t eat timothy hay for the first few months that I had him… I tried all different kinds of hay without much luck. Eventually, he started eating the timothy i was giving him. He doesn’t chow down on it like most buns do, but he’s eating a good amount now. I would recommend getting orchard grass or oat hay for the taste and see if maybe they just have a sweet tooth. You could always try a mixed bag of hay with a few different types too. They may want variety!

[ea hurse]

mine love Burgess Supa Forage Excel; it’s a dried grass but they seem to prefer it to anything else i offer them….

[skunklionshow]

I will check for oat hay this week!  I moved her hay bin next to her litterbox….she likes a little munching when she goes potty.  She eats a few pieces but not a significant amount of hay.  I believe that I totally spoiled her w/ treats and that has made her a picky eater.  She loves craisins and loves me when I give her craisins! 

She’s back to her regular diet after post-spay eating issues.  When she has her regular diet going on she gets about 1/4 cp pellets, several cups of greens, no more than 5 craisins and/or pumpkin seeds a day, and her hay loft fully loaded. 

After being out of town this weekend, today is her first day back on her regular food routine.  I will try to get some alternative hay this week.  Thanks!

[MooBunnay]

The several cups of greens may be a bit excessive – have you tried cutting down to around two? That could be what she is filling up on instead of hay!

[skunklionshow]

I thought buns were supposed to get up to 2 cps of greens a day….

Crap no wonder she’s such a chunky monkey!  She has a double chin!!!!!

[MooBunnay]

Did you mean just two cups as “several”? I was thinking you meant more than two, but yes, this site recommends two cups per day for buns. I do think that reducing the treats and greens just to the recommended amount could help her out…that and a bunny elliptical machine! Just kidding – tho, I did see a pic of two buns on a treadmill on dailybunny.com !

[BinkyBunny]

Regarding the greens. it depends on the weight of your bunny. I follow the HRS recommendation f
or greens (Minimum 2 cups chopped vegetables per 6 lbs. body weight ). How much does she weigh? Also if you see her gaining weight, I’d cut down on the Craisins a bit too. One or two should be enough. Healthy, but still lots of sugar.

[skunklionshow]

Jessica has 2 chinese rice bowls.  I use one for veggies and the other for pellets.  She gets about 1/4 cp pellets in the morning/day and a packed bowl of greens (kale, romaine, herbs, parsley, swiss chard, turnip greens, cabbage, etc) in the evening.  I have decreased her treats to no more than 5 a day (craisins, raisins, pumpkin seeds, nuts).  She also has an  unlimited hay loft w/ Timothy hay, this she eats very little of.

She is a netherland dwarf and when she went in for her spay she was at about 5.4 lbs.  The vet wants her down to 5lbs.  I’ve decreased her carrot intake to no more than 1/2 small carrot every other day.  This is hard b/c carrots are her favorite!  She has developed a double chin, I believe its called a dunlop (????). 

I just want to keep her healthy.  Since the vet said she was a chunky monkey I’ve been trying to be very conscious of her diet. 

[wendyzski]

That little floop is called a dewlap, and females usually have it (and sometimes chubby males).

You could try cutting the little carrot into tiny pieces and hand-feeding it – make it last longer.  (Or maybe even sprinkle it in her hay?) 

[skunklionshow]

I knew it was called something w/ a d and a lop/lap….Thanks!

Is it bad for a bunny girl to have a dewlap?  My one vet said its common w/ certain breads (English Spotted) and is used as a source for fur when building a nest.  So is it ok that Jessica has one or does it mean she is really chunky?

[wendyzski]

Girl-buns are SUPPOSED to have them – I think of them as "bunny cleavage"

Chunky boys can have them too – like chunky human boys can have "man-boobs"

[Gravehearted]

Posted By wendyzski on 07/09/2007 10:52 AM

Girl-buns are SUPPOSED to have them – I think of them as "bunny cleavage"

Chunky boys can have them too – like chunky human boys can have "man-boobs"

 ROFL, you crack me up wendyzski

[osprey]

Different breeds have different sized dewlaps too.  Full size rexes, for example, have big dewlaps.  Here is a picture of a couple of our adopted buns with huge dewlaps:

 

[BinkyBunny]

My understanding is that dewlaps are less prominent in females that are spayed earlier in life.But that yes, it is common for females to have dewlaps. 

 For now, while you are trying to get her weight down to what the vet recommended, you could replace her treats with something less fattening and/or sugary – like try mint and rosemary, basil.

Also, I would take Kale out of her "daily" bowl, and feed it just a couple of times per week. See the HRS veggie guidelines. Notice the cautionary note about Kale and Spinach (Use sparingly. High in either oxalates or goitrogens and may be toxic in accumulated quantities over a period of time).

[osprey]

Kale is a cultivar of cabbage, and like its cruciferous relatives (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, collard greens) it can also cause gas in some bunnies.  My guys love these greens, but I limit them to once or twice a month because of the potential problems with gas and accumulated toxins.

 

[skunklionshow]

Jessica is soooo picky w/ her greens & veggies!  She loves carrots—which I had to decrease to a baby carrot every other day.  She loves kale—which is the only leaf she will eat on a daily basis—wait until I tell her I have to cut that back!  She loves cabbage—which I limit in the first place.  She seems to like parsley (curly & Italian), very limited basil (like no more than 2 leaves), cilantro.  She does like swiss chard, romaine, and sometimes spring mix…but only in limited quantities!  If I give her more than 1 leaf of each of the above she won’t eat it. 

Sometimes I just think she’s going to be the death of me.  Our therapy bunnies eat almost anything and everything….The English Spotted eats anything we give her.  The mini rex eats nearly everything.  The lionhead is a bit more picky he loves brocolli, but doesn’t like most green veggies or hay!

My herbs are starting to grow in a bit strong…basil, lavendar, cilantro (but the heat is killing it), and catnip.  Can bunnies eat catnip?  That seems to be the only herb that is growing in the strongest.

I’m glad that Jess’s double chin is a good thing.  I was told our English spotted should get a huge one…but as of yet nothing–she’s just over a year.  Jess’s dewlap didn’t come in until just before she got her spay.  She was nearly 3 years old.

[poopy]

Yikes I hope Medusa doesnt get a dewlap….i think it would ruin her cuteness. Does anyone have any female buns who HAVE NOT gotten one? Medusa is pretty round/chubby already so I think she might get it…

[osprey]

My two girls do not really have dewlaps.  Deanna is all of 2.5 pounds of poish dwarf, no much room for it on her.  Curly Sue is a 5 pound curly rex, she doesn’t have much of a dewlap either.

 

[Lucy]

Patina doesn’t have a dewlap at all… but she’s a very little girl.

skunklionshow: if you take away some of the greens, won’t jessica be forced to eat hay? Isn’t that how it works? I got Fujoe and Patina off of pellets completely (after Fujoe’s GI Stasis incident) and they plow through timothy hay like crazy (I can’t find any other type of hay in the city- it just doesn’t exist @ pet stores or anywhere). When it was just Fujoe, he barely ate any hay– but during that time I fed him lots of pellets and lots of greens. For maybe two days he didn’t eat as much as he used to, but then there was a large consumption of hay.

I don’t know if it sounds cruel to you, but just cut back on the greens so that way Jessica has to eat hay. I don’t think she’ll starve herself… at least Fujoe and Patina didn’t starve themselves.. I doubt that bunnies will go hungry if there’s food around. But that’s me, and my experience.

Also, the only treats my buns get are one papaya tablet every night. They may get a small piece of fruit once a week. I still think that Fujoe is a little overweight, but he’s getting thinner.. he was 4 pounds for his neuter and when he got GI Stasis he was 4.5..eek! Maybe even cut back on the craisons to maybe 1 or 2 a day.

[skunklionshow]

Well I did decrease her greens last night and put some fresh hay up on her food level.  She threw the hay off the shelf and ate all of her greens.  I couldn’t fall asleep too quickly last night.  I try to go to bed around 10pm and ended up up until 12am.  Anyway, she ate all of her greens and had the hay on the floor of her cage by about 10:30pm.  Sometimes she’s such a pain in the behind!

My brother teaches at the Ag school in Chgo…far southside.  They grow feed for their animal ag program.  I’ll ask him if they have hay, what types, and costs/ etc.  Maybe he could mail it out to you, since I’m assuming your on the Northside.  I’ll also ask him about farm feed places in the city….maybe the far northside (i.e. past Evanston) or Western suburbs.  I’m also wondering if you can get some hay from Lincoln Park Zoo.  I know that we used to get some feed from their children’s zoo for some birds one of my Uncle’s had.  I don’t know just an idea.  I know living in the city can really suck for farm feed goodies.  Also, depending on your local, you may be able to access some from the farmer’s market.  That is if the farmer’s market sells meat.  They may be willing to get you hay wherever they get their animal ag feed.  OOOOH I’ll try that at my farmer’s market this weekend.

[Lucy]

thanks for the head’s up. I’m on the northside- pretty close to lincoln park zoo- like 2 miles away maybe. I’ll bike over and see if I can work something out with them or not. I would just have to tie it on the back of my bike.

I don’t know if the meat venders come all of the time, but I can try the farmer’s market also. I don’t usually go every week because things come up..but we’ll see..the zoo is very plausible. I hope they carry what I need.

thanks again!

[BinkyBunny]

Posted By poopy on 07/10/2007 2:52 PM
Yikes I hope Medusa doesnt get a dewlap….i think it would ruin her cuteness. Does anyone have any female buns who HAVE NOT gotten one? Medusa is pretty round/chubby already so I think she might get it…

Bailey doesn’t have a dewlap.   Not all bunnies have one, and since Medusa is spayed, her dewlap area will most likely remain small.

[Author]

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