safe grass hay

[rosalie68]

since my other bales of hay were probably bad i called around and found a farmer that has bales of grass hay.  he said they are brome and some other grass hays but we can look at them to know what they have in them.  he said he would help me with what they have in them and to find a good one.  so i was wondering which grass hays are safe for bunnies to have?  is there any specific grass hays that i should watch out for?  he said some of them might have clover in them.  i figure i could pick the clover out when i come accrossed it.  as long as its just those stems that have flowers on them i would have no problem being able to identify them.  i told him i don’t want any alfalfa in them.  he said no one here grows timothy so i will be mixing this bale with store bought timothy.  any advice would be appreciated.  im going over there tomorow morning.

 

we moved to iowa a few years ago and there are lots of farms here. we are not so familiar with anything that has to do with farms.  anyways i called a feed store and the they gave me the number for a farmer thinking he could help me since they don’t carry hay.  when i called he said i had to talk really loud bc he was rding his tractor, i thought that was so awesome!!!  then he was asking me what size bale i wanted, a mini bale or the big bale.  well, me being used to the pet stores and seeing what their mini bales look like, i said the big one.  then he was amazed that i wanted a bale of hay for my rabbits and asked me quite a few questions about why i wanted 1 or 2 big bales.  come to find out the big bales are those HUGE ones.  he said they weigh around 1600 lbs LOL.  i felt so silly after that.  i obviously didnt know what i was talking about!  um i’ll take a mini bale please lol.

[Sarita]

Brome, orchard sometimes called meadow grass, bermuda, timothy, teff, oat, rye are some that come to mind. They don’t grow timothy were I live either – it’s all imported from out of state. Keep in mind too that the ones I listed are just more common and I have to imagine there are more out there.

It’s nice that this farmer is being helpful too. I wouldn’t worry about the clover – it’s perfectly fine to feed rabbits and there is usually a small amount – mine won’t eat this anyway, they shun it.

[Sarita]

I want to add as well that you may want to make sure that your rabbits will actually eat the hay you purchase. You might ask him if you can purchase a flake first to see if they will eat it.

[Sarita]

Also bluegrass or fescue. I’ve gotten bluegrass for my rabbits before – they didn’t like it for the most part but it looked wonderful.

[rosalie68]

thanks, i figured i would buy one bale and see how they do with it. its only 5 bucks and im driving a little ways to get to the farm, so if they did eat it then it would be a pain to go back the next day or so. i kinda feel bad for bugging him over one tiny bale. he seems like a very busy man. but i figure if they like it then i can get more from him in a few months and it will be nice to have someone around here that sells grass hay. i wish we had timothy. it would totally be worth money and a drive to get it in bulk. its so expensive in the stores. i hope this hay looks a lot better than the other stuff i had.

[rosalie68]

so, is more like any kind of grass hay is ok for them to eat? just as long as its grass?

[Sarita]

I think pretty much so. I think timothy and orchard are just mentioned more because they are easier to get in the US. It will be interesting to see what types you get from the farmer.

[rosalie68]

after i get it home i’ll post a pic of it. im definitely going to ask whats in it. thanks so much!!

[rosalie68]

so i got a mix of brome hay. he said it’s 3rd cut. it looks like there is a lot of other things mixed in it. im not sure if its weeds or different kind of grass. most of it is a gold or tan color. there is green but its pretty light. he said it turns that color when it dries. i think i read that brome is supposed to be the tan color. he said he cant guarantee that there isn’t any alfalfa in there but most of it is brome. i tried to ask him what other grass was in there and he wasn’t sure. he uses it to feed to his cattle. i’ll have to post some pics of it tomorow. my rabbits eat it but they aren’t super excited about it like they were with the other hay.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Alfalfa grows pretty naturally with most hay so if there is a little bit, that’s pretty normal and ok That’s great you have a local source for hay

[BinkyBunny]

Hmmm. The person selling the hay should know what is in it! That’s odd to me. Maybe he’s just used to feeding it to cattle and in that case, I wonder if it doesn’t make that much of a difference.???  I have read from other people on the board that hay  that is normally  fed  to cattle and horses is different from what should be fed to rabbits, so hopefully someone can clarify that.  ???

Regarding the different types of hays: Most grass hays have similar fiber content (1st and 2nd cuts will vary from each other), but where other differences will lie is in protein, calcium, and calories. For example Timothy is higher in protein than Orchard, and Teff is higher than Timothy, and the one of the lowest in calcium is oat, however Oat is higher in calories. Rye is higher in calcium, while Brome is lowest in both protein and calcium. But real.y,  these numbers are not huge in difference.   However if a bunny has special needs it may be good to check these differences out — t for example, if someone has a long-haired breed they may choose a higher protein or with my bunny Jack who has calcium issues, I’ll mix in some lower calcium hays. And if your bunny has weight issues, you may want to stay away from feeding ONLY oat, but can mix it in.

My understanding is Brome hay does change color and my supplier had said it doesn’t store well, so just make sure it gets plenty of air. Did you buy a WHOLE bale? Where are you storing all of that?

[rosalie68]

i bought the square bale, not the 1600 lb round one lol. i have it in my basement on a wooden pallet to keep it off the ground. i havent been giving it to my bunnies. i think im just going to toss it out. i didnt like the fact that he couldnt tell me everything that was in it. it seems good as far as the smell and no mold or anything. it does seem pretty coarse and there are lots of different things mixed in it. not sure if its weeds or just grass. im not very familiar with all of the different kinds. i think if he couldve told me what was in it i may feel better about it. i thought i heard the cattle and horse thing too. he seems to not mind whats in it for the cattle but im sure they arent so sensitive and he has prob been feeding it for a long time. im pretty sure he doesnt normally sell hay. he seemed pretty surprised that i wanted that kind. i really think he just keeps it for his animals and tried to help me out. really nice guy. i just wish he knew someone with timothy hay. thanks for the help everyone.

[Sarita]

I’m not sure where you live but many areas of the country do not grow timothy hay.

I have to think that with all the worry and trekking around you might be better off just purchasing it on-line from a reputable company and having them ship it to you. Yes, it’s going to cost more but you are going to be assured that it is going to be what they say it is.

I don’t like any of the hay I can purchase around where I live and they don’t grow timothy in Texas so I just bite the bullet and order it on-line. I hate paying the shipping but I also hate wasting what I don’t like.

[Deleted User]

hold on… so you have a new batch of hay and are going to toss it as well? if it isn’t bad, I would use it. For the younger rabbits (Julia and Zoey) they are allowed alfalfa, clover, birdsfoot trefoil etc. put it into their litter on top of the pellets like you do. and then buy some straight timothy and mix it in.

[rosalie68]

yes i bought a different bale from a farmer here in iowa.

 

ok i took some pics of the hay.  there is green in it and a lot of the pieces are tan.  i was wondering what these furry things are on the left on the first few pics.  and on the right is that alfalfa?  the leaves are pretty crumbly on the stuff on the right.  im not very good at taking pics of hay.  they are blurry. 

[Deleted User]

It looks like farm hay to me. I’ve used hay like this. The furry things on the left are just empty seed pods. This hay was harvested after the grass went to seed. The thing you think is alfalfa might be birdsfoot trefoil just as well, commonly found in hay for cattle. It is OK in small quantity. This hay looks fine. For your adult rabbits mix this with a grass hay maybe from an on-line place.

[rosalie68]

he said it was 3rd cut and mostly brome. im glad i posted on here before i threw it out then. i just didnt want to give them anything i wasnt sure of. i’ll definitely mix it with timothy. this farmer said we dont grow timothy in iowa so i wouldnt find any bales here. prob is a good idea to get other bales online. thank u so much!

[Lintini]

Ohhhh man if I had a truck and a farmer near me…I’d fill up my bedroom!

Can I come live with you Rosalie? I’d make a great roomie I’d try to not fill up the house with hay or anything…

[rosalie68]

lol!! i wish he had hay that the rabbits liked. they arent really caring for it so much. i dont think i will be getting anymore. but, u can come stay in the basement, thats where im keeping the hay lol. u can bring that catfish and put it in my big tank! thats in the basement too. dont forget to bring all the bunnies!

[wiseleyd]

I have some hay that looks just like that from a farmer. I put it on top of the litter and mix in regular timothy and some other hay that I got from the store on this website. Mellow eats tons of hay every day. I don’t mind throwing out the stuff that he pees and poos on because it was free!

[Deleted User]

Kim, you might find they will eat this hay more readily once they are bonded. Hay eating is a social thing in grazing species such as rabbits.

Sometimes, it helps too to collect rough pieces left behind in their hay rack and offer them on the ground as a speciel treat.

My bales this year are poor quality but it was a bad year for hay so I’m glad I got some that was local and fresh. It has bare sticks from alfalfa in it. I used to just throw them out, but in moderation my rabbits have started to like them.

 

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