substitute for Valley Organic Orchard hay??

[Meg]

Hey all!  I’ve got two adorable but very picky bunnies who got addicted to the Valley Organic orchard hay that’s been discontinued… after ordering the 25-lb box before they went out of business, we’re finally on the last few days’ worth, and I’m starting to panic!  I ordered a whole bunch of bales of the BB orchard hay, which so many other bunnies love, but mine won’t even *touch* it!

Has anyone else found a source of nice leafy orchard hay similar to Valley Organic?  I think part of its allure for my bunnies might be that it has so many nice dried leaves, flowers, and other special treats in there.  They go nuts over even just the regular grass blades, though.  They love it so much, I’d do anything to be able to give them more hay like this!  (They will eat oat hay (I’ve tried every other healthy kind: Timothy Blue Blend, Oxbow Botanical, etc, and nothing else works), but since the BB kind has been discontinued for the season, we can only get the Oxbow kind and I’d like them to have something fresher in addition.) 

Has anyone had any luck with another farm-sourced orchard hay?

 

[AbbyGirl]

My first Flemmie was very picky about his hay and he liked Oxbow’s Orchard grass. It was nice soft hay.

[Stickerbunny]

No, but if you find something fresher than oxbow let me know – mine looove orchard grass hay and I feed oxbow at the moment, but they’d like something fresher I am sure. The farms around here don’t really sell hay beyond alfalfa.

[equalsign]

 You could try American Pet Diner hay. Never tried it myself, but they seem to be positioning themselves to take on Oxbow.

 

Many people swear by Farmer Dave’s Hay, but he doesn’t seem to have orchard grass at the moment. 

 

You can get a 50 lb box of Oxbow orchard grass hay from Doctors Foster and Smith for 75 with free shipping. Just FYI.

 

Mine is from the Bunny Bunch, a shelter in Montclair, CA. Once I run out I’ll be getting some from Doctors Foster and Smith. I cannot speak for how fresh it is, as I have no standard for comparison. They do ship.

[LoveChaCha]

I had the same problem. My picky bunny really loved Valley Organic.

I suggest American Pet Diner Orchard. She loves it!

[TBpony414]

My unbelievably picky bunny was also in love with Valley Organic’s hay. When we ran out he started gobbling up the mature oat hay BB sells, except soon after that was discontinued and it won’t be back until sometime next year. The only acceptable substitute I’ve been able to find is Oxbow’s Organic Meadow Grass. I asked a local pet store to special order me a bag (free shipping) so I could try it. Turns out they ordered a case of it and put the other bags on the shelves to see if other customers would buy it. Apparently it was a hit so now it’s usually on the shelves! I’ve tried other brands of orchard grass, blue grass, etc. hays but Willy just refuses to touch them. The Oxbow organic meadow grass has been a success for several months now and since our bunnies have similar hay preferences, I bet yours may like it too!

[Meg]

Wow, thank you so much! This is so helpful!! I’m going to try the Oxbow organic meadow grass and the American Pet Diner orchard as well! I really appreciate it.

I found a couple sites for fresh hay — don’t know if anyone’s tried them:

http://www.barbibrownsbunnies.com
http://www.sierravalleyhay.com
http://www.sweetmeadowfarm.com

Thanks again!!

[equalsign]

 Make sure you let us know if they’re good!

[Meg]

Definitely! So far we’ve tried the Oxbow organic meadow hay, which the bunnies like (though not quite as much as they did the Valley Organic kind). Thanks for the tip on that! We’ve also tried Sweet Meadow, which to me smells delicious, but the bunnies would probably rank that as #3 (behind Valley Organic and Oxbow). They will eat it some, though. I’m also going to try Sierra Valley, so I’ll let you know how that goes. For now I’m just grateful that they’ll eat the Oxbow, even if it’s not farm-fresh.

Thanks!

[BinkyBunny]

 If your bunny doesn’t like the BB Orchard, then they are not going to like Barbie Browns because we have the same bales. . 

[Meg]

Oh, good to know! Thanks.

[TBpony414]

Meg, please update after you get your Sierra Valley order! Did you just order orchard grass from Sweet Meadow, or other hays as well? I’m happy to hear your bunnies will eat the Oxbow meadow hay. In my (human) opinion, meadow is nowhere near as fresh or exciting as V.O. hay. We had a really rough and long transition period and I’m at the point where I don’t really care if my bunny likes the hay – just as long as he eats it!!! I give Willy 6+ handfuls of hay throughout the day to keep him somewhat entertained. When I make a pile, within an hour he completely loses interest and refuses to eat. Then he turns into a gassy, bloated, angry bunny who needs lots of simethicone, tummy rubs and critical care. What is the male version of a picky diva??

BB, I don’t think I ever emailed you back about the Oxbow Oat hay. Willy won’t eat it – the bags I’ve gotten are all finely chopped up young oat, and he prefers your gorgeous, thick, long and crunchy mature oat. Sigh…

[Meg]

OK, I’ll be sure to let you know!  I did just order the meadow/orchard from Sweet Meadow… they sent a bag of timothy as well but I really doubt my bunnies will deign to try it!  But I’ll experiment and keep you posted.  Have you tried the Oxbow oat hay for Willy?  I agree, the BB mature kind was better, but my bunnies will eat the Oxbow kind too.  (It’s similar to the BB mature oat.)   I like having at least 2 for variety. 

[TBpony414]

Thanks I have 3 or 4 bags of the Oxbow oat and he rates it two big floppy ears down. I’m currently mixing it in with the meadow grass and Willy is kinda sorta nibbling at it, but not at all tearing open boxes and leaping off the back of the couch to get to it like he did with BB’s mature oat. The barn I board my horse at has some sort of grass hay as well as alfalfa but Willy won’t touch either of those. Oh well, gotta love him!

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