Is Just Orchard Hay okay?

[nikiway]

Atticus reallyREALLY loves Orchard Hay.  He rarely eats the Timothy hay.  I was wondering if it’s okay for him to eat Orchard Hay as his main hay instead of the Timothy.  I’m not sure the difference between Orchard and Timothy, and I want to be sure it wont mess him up. I’m not sure if the protein in Orchard is too much compared to the Tim.   He’s over 5 years-old if that matters. (since alfalfa’s for young ones, idk if there are any that are good for the older ones)
I will be purchassing the hay from BB, so if there’re any other types that are good, I’ll look into mixing it up and offering it as well.

Thanks!
Niki

[Scarlet_Rose]

Hi Niki! Orchard is just fine. The fiber is really important and mostly you want to be concerned with alfalfa hay as that is really high in calories. Keep an eye on the litterbox to see that all is normal and it should be. The thing I found with the grassy-type hay is that my two didn’t pass the fur they ingested as well and the poop was smaller, darker and harder which was a real concern for me. I think the lack of thick stalks and longer fibers in the grassy hay caused this and so I stick with timothy. However, this does not mean that Atticus won’t do just fine with orchard grass (Hay).

[nikiway]

Ah, thanks for the quick reply!  I think i’ll order both the Orchard and Timothy from BB.   The Timothy that I bought originally was from the store, so maybe he’ll enjoy it better.  Thanks again, I just wanted to be sure that it’s alright for him!

[Scarlet_Rose]

Not a problem!  That’s great you’re being extra careful with his diet, that just means you’re a very concerned mum.  I also wanted to add that alfalfa is high in calcium too which you need to watch.  You would see milky or chalky stuff in the litter box.

[nikiway]

Yeah, I’ve read about too much calcium causing white stuff in the poops. I just ordered the Orchard and Timothy hay, so hopefully in a few days we’ll be happy campers! I’m also trying out the Papaya Tablets since last time I ordered hay one came in the free treat bag and Atti seemed to enjoy it. I love this forum!

[Lightchick]

I tried to get my buns to like Timothy, and Lizzy REFUSED! She picked at it, and was underwhelmed, and her poops got smaller and darker and stinkier.

And then I dropped Robbie off to be boarded, and the rescue/boarder put him in a pen with their “Blend,” which has Oat, Barley, and Wheat, and he dove right in, and didn’t even come up for air long enough to notice that I’d gone. *sniff, sniff!*

So I bought some of that, and Lizzy immediately loved it better, and her litter box smells less, and her poops are drier.

Is this combo ok? I know I asked about Oat hay (which I know she likes) earlier, and was told it is a little fattening…is it better in combo with the Wheat and Barley?

They just hate Timothy. My BF’s bunnies like Timothy best, and won’t touch the other stuff…very strange….

[MimzMum]

Funny, I found that with timothy, my bunnies have smaller and darker stools, with things like wheat or oat, the stools become lighter, more easily fall apart and they are also larger.
But, I agree, they don’t seem to carry the intestinal hair as well and I find more pearls with oat or wheat than I do with timothy.
And my buns are picky about timothy hay too, they don’t like it much.

Meh…finicky things…lolz. I do find that, like with young children, if that’s what they are given to eat (and they can’t get up from the table and stomp off) they will eat it eventually.
Mine DO like the timothy hay cubes. I think that’s a good way to introduce the hay and get them liking the taste.

[JK]

OK here’s my two cents.  Edson always loved timothy hay but I had to switch to orchard hay when my pet sitter told me she was allergic to timothy.  At first I noticed smaller, darker, stinkier poops and now the poops are completely normal, back to what they were. He adores the orchard grass and turns his nose up at the timothy hay so now that’s all I buy!  My vet recommended oat hay when I was going through the switching so mix it in.  Edson hates oat hay with a passion.  The rescue feeds their buns strictly orchard hay so you’ll be fine with the orchard. What I have done though, when I had excess timothy, is put the timothy in his litter box and he will eat a little that way then the orchard is stuffed in his hay rack. 

Edited:  never ever have had a problem with pearls or anything in the poops with orchard hay other than being smaller at first.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I generally feed a mix, about sixty percent timothy hay, the rest orchard or some other grass (meadow etc.) and a little puff of alfalfa as a treat Nice though that all mine are good hay eaters and seem to prefer the timothy.

[hooty22]

As a treat I give Felony a compressed alphalfa hay cube… he really seems to like it and since he isnt’ much of a chewer I figured it was a good way to get him to keep his teeth trimmed. An occasional hay cube is alright isn’t it?

[Scarlet_Rose]

hooty – yes and occasional hay cube is O.K. but the regular hay should always be offered and in an unlimited amount.

[MimzMum]

Boy did I get the stink eye en masse when I recently ran out of timothy and decided I had all this orchard grass, why not see if they’ll eat that until I can get to the store?

Nothing doing!

Fiver nibbled on his like a good boy, but Mimz and Pip were summarily unimpressed. I even added a little wheat hay to boot and they turned their noses up at THAT as well! 0_o

Is there something I’m missing here? Pip used to love orchard grass, preferred it to Timothy. Now she’ll only eat the really poor quality (in my opinion) timmy hay I get from our local store. Mimz too.

And I’ll have to cut out the hay cubes for now. Mimzy seemed to be chattering his teeth a bit last night and when I felt his face I could feel wetness under his lower lip, so I think he had some trouble breaking the hay cubes down.

He’s fine today though. Plowed through the crummy timmy as soon as I put it in the pen. Picky bun! ~_~

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