Timothy hay get wasted!

[SummerAutumn]

I’m a new bunny owner. I feed my rabbits Oxbow Western Timothy hay and it seems that they eat the pieces that they like, and leave the harder hay pieces behind. It’s like wasting half of the hay. If I just leave this unwanted hay in the feeder, will they eventually accept and eat them when they are hungry? Or will they starve themselves?

[DanaNM]

Welcome!

Unfortunately bunnies do tend to waste a lot of hay. It’s pretty normal for them to pick through to find their favorite pieces, although if it starts to get very picky that could indicate a dental issue (but if multiple buns are doing it then it’s prob just normal bunny behavior). For this reason it is helpful to find a cheap source of hay. If you have any feed shops in your area you can usually buy hay by the bale. I do this and then break up the bale into some plastic bins for easier storage inside.

A way to slightly help with this is to give them a bit less hay at a time. It seems when the hay is “fresh” (handled by you recently) they like it more, so I’ve noticed mine are less picky when I top up the hay multiple times a day with smaller amounts. But of course that isn’t as convenient to just be giving handfuls of hay all day!

 

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[LBJ10]

You could try a different type of hay too. Orchard is less coarse than Timothy and a lot of bunnies like it.

[SummerAutumn]

Is Orchard good for adult bunnies? I know that Timothy is good and healthy for them.

[Bam]

Orchard is good for adult buns. The only hay to avoid for adult buns are legume hays (alfalfa, clover-type hays). There are many kinds of grass hays that are good for rabbits. They’re often sold as “meadow hay”.

[tobyluv]

Besides orchard grass and meadow hay which are softer and sweeter hays, you may want to try different cuttings of timothy hay. Small Pet Select has second and third cuttings of timothy hay which are softer than first cutting, which is usually just labeled timothy hay.  They also have a new ultra premium soft timothy hay, but it is more expensive.  Small Pet Select, along with Oxbow are two of the companies who quarantine their to protect against the RHDV2 virus.  American Pet Diner also has a second cutting timothy, Timothy Gold, and they quarantine their hay too.

[bumpybunny]

My bun wastes a LOT of hay too, and what I’ve been doing that helps a little is taking all the wasted hay out of her pen and putting it in a cardboard box. When she comes out of her pen to play she likes to sit in the box and eat. Then when I refill her hay I give her a handful of the old hay and a small amount of new hay sprinkled on top. When I do that she’ll eat some of the older hay but still leaves a little behind. At least I’m not throwing away quite as much good hay as I was before lol.

You could also try sprinkling some forage around in the hay they wont eat, that gets mine to eat more of it too.

[SummerAutumn]

Thanks for all your input! I’m in Canada so some of the brands mentioned are not available. I’m looking for a local farm that offers timothy hay (possibly 2nd cutting) in bales. I spent the whole afternoon looking and didn’t get anywhere!

[tobyluv]

Small Pet Select is sold online only from their website.  I don’t know if they deliver to Canada or not, or how expensive that would be.  American Pet Diner is sold at Petco, both online and in stores, if you have those in Canada.  It seems like there would be some stores or places in Canada that have second or third cutting timothy hay.  I hope you can find some good hays that your bunnies like.  There is always going to be some wasted, as bunnies can be picky.

[BrownietheBunny]

My bunny absolutely loves American pet dinner’s hay, and goes crazy for it. The batch that we just bought was extremely prickly though, so not all hay from them may have the same quality. However, if it’s not available, I also noticed that sprinkling some herbs like flowers or leaves over the hay encourages my bunny to eat more hay.

[sgtsnuggles]

When I first got my buns I had the same concern. All my money going down the drain!!

I bulk buy hay (like 10lbs) from a local rabbit rescue which saves some money, especially since they always pick and choose for that *perfect* piece. I’ve cycled through different hays and the unanimous decision is they prefer oat hay. I also rotate with some timothy hay blended with chamomile and give alfalfa as an occasional treat. I found it helpful to switch the kind of feeder I use as well, I went from a wooden rack hay feeder to feeder bags that have two holes and have definitely noted reduced hay waste as they have to work a bit more to pull hay out rather than be able to dump half the hay onto their litter box.

Hope this helps!

[DanaNM]

Good point about using a hay rack or feeder! I have a little system where I put fresh hay in the hay rack, and then the old picked over hay from the rack goes into the box. They tend to prefer to eat the hay from the litter box, so they will actually eat some they may have passed over the first time once it’s in the litter box.

 

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

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