Kind of a dumb question about hay *Update: Tim. mix with Trefoil?*

[skibunny8503]

This is kind of a dumb question but after reading a post about alfalfa I started to think.  The hay we get has a lot of dried flowers in it that they love to pick at and eat.  It’s baled hay.  Does fresh timothy hay have dried flowers in it?  I’m just wondering if there’s some alfalfa mixed in….not that I don’t believe them, they did say it was timothy.  Just want to make sure, I never had alfalfa hay, so not sure what it looks like exactly.

[jerseygirl]

I’m not familiar with timothy hay, I had always assumed it didn’t have seed heads or flowers. I think it’s probably dandelions baled up with the hay. The buns love them and they’re totally fine to eat. The meadow hay I use has dandies and alfalfa bit thru it. Alfalfa is really sweet smelling, thick stalks with green leaves all over. The tim hay, from what I understand is more like long lengths or blades of grass.

[Deleted User]

Timothy hay is very uniform-looking, all long blades of grass. Depending where you get your hay, it can have dandelion flowers in it. You should be able to recognize them as such easily. Alfalfa is not grass-like in appearance, it is a pea plant. It has a thick stalk from which small flowers grow out of. In the dried state of hay, these flowers tend to get crushed up a bit. But you can tell it’s alfalfa by the thick stalks that branch out into the flower clusters. — Can you take an up-close photo of your hay and post it?

[skibunny8503]

Here’s a few pics of the hay we have.  I tried to find some flowers that were still together and on a stick.  I can’t tell of those are dandelions or not; I don’t think they are. 

 

[Moonlight_Wolf]

They don’t look like dandelions to me. I would be suspicious of the hay, it does not look like Timothy or alfalfa. Hmm, lets see what others say too.

[KatnipCrzy]

I wonder if that is dried clover- I am not sure though.

[achun]

that looks a lot like a new hay i’m trying. mine’s from sweet meadow, which i heard is a reliable source and it’s called “herbs & timothy.”

[Sarita]

That looks like dried clover to me. I’ve had that in some hay I ordered from Farmer Dave before and he has hay especially with the clover in it.

[Deleted User]

That looks like dried red clover, no wonder your rabbits love it. It’s like candy to my rabbits also.
Clover is another member of the pea family so it is richer in protein than grasses are. It has a very aromatic scent.

I see some alfalfa, too, at the right, with the thick stem. All in all a mix.

[skibunny8503]

Thanks for helping out guys!  Hm yeah I think that is clover, always used to thinking as cover as the stuff in our yard (little white flowers).  There are some thick pieces in there too, almost like twigs (could be alfalfa).  My husband said that his brother’s in-laws (which gave us the bale) farm grows stuff for feed and the hay is for like horse, so it could possibly have other stuff in it.  Should I keep give this to them?  I know it wouldn’t hurt Sandy to have alfalfa in her hay since she’s a baby, but the others are adults now.  I have a whole bale of this stuff too.  I’d really like to get a bale of orchard to mix in so they’ll eat more hay (not pick through it and get it all in their litter), but I don’t know any place around here that just sells straight orchard…seems like all the places I looked into that sell hay have mixed in other stuff.

 

EDIT: I found this on craigslist if we do need to buy differnet hay.  “Timothy orchard grass and some clover hay, 3.00 per bale.”  Is the clover hay ok for them?

[Deleted User]

Skibunny: i edit what I said, I went into my yard and looked at some clover. By the time the clover has the flowers it also has thick stems. So I might be mistaken about your hay having alfalfa in it.

[RabbitPam]

I’ve only used packaged Timothy hay, and I’ve never had anything that looks like that at all. It’s very plain with tiny fuzzier stalks at the most.

[skibunny8503]

So is this hay ok to use? Those flowers are pinkish upon closer look. Dried leaves, thicker stalks, most with the flowers on it.

[Deleted User]

Yes, that’s how red clover looks dried. It is extremely yummy for them, but clover is like alfalfa, high in calcium and protein, so only recommended for buns under 1 year. I give clover fresh as part of the daily greens, I should cut back a bit, too. If there is a lot of clover in your hay then I would buy a batch of pure timothy and mix the two hays together to use it that way.

[skibunny8503]

I found out today from my sister-in-law that the hay we get is timothy hay with trefoil.  So now ya know!  I tried to look it up.  I think I read it’s from the pea plant variety and it’s nutrious for them…am I correct on that? 

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