Timothy hay vs meadow hay

[Boston's Mama]

Finally Timothy hay has come out where I am , it’s a bagged lot at petstores.
How much better is it than meadow hay? It’s twice the price where I am but happy to get it if it’s better.
I purchased one bag and mixed it with my meadow bag today – it seems less dusty is it generally?
Or lucky bag?

Quantity wise do they tend to eat as much on Timothy as on meadow? I wondered if the difference in bag size and cost will also balance out a bit due to eating less of it’s better quality ?
Obviously it will still be unlimited just curious

[Azerane]

I personally don’t think it’s any better at all. It’s just a different species of grass, that’s all. To me the only difference is the price (yikes!) and how much bunny does or doesn’t like it

In my mind, one grass hay is not really better than another. All are suitable and appropriate and provide the adequate fiber and nutrition.

[Boston's Mama]

Hmm I’m so indecisive haha
The meadow where I am is quite brown and often has sticks and stones in it and a lot of dust. I have to shake it outside before I can give it to remove the dust and the stones etc. this one bag of Timothy I got so far is more green and so much less dust that I haven’t needed to shake it

Maybe the meadow here isn’t as good quality wise , or maybe I’m just paying twice the price for the green look and less hassle …
I always thought if they ever released Timothy over here I would definitely switch

So far Boston is leaving the meadow hay I’ve mixed in and picking out the Timothy to eat

[joea64]

As most of the regulars probably know by now I buy hay by the partial-bale lot from my local rabbit rescue. It’s very cheap ($8 US for a 1/3 bale) and Panda and Fernando love it, but I’m not really sure what exactly all is in it except that it’s rabbit-preferred grass and that it’s a mix of said rabbit-preferred grass hays. Which is all to the good, really, because it’s often said that it’s better to feed your buns a mix of hays for the variety both in taste and in encouraging different chewing styles to keep tooth wear moving along.

[sarahthegemini]

Generally there’s no one better grass but if you only have access to dusty Meadow Hay with stones, I’d switch to timothy. Whichever they eat more of is most important of course.

[Azerane]

Yeah, it just sounds like the meadow hay supplier isn’t very good. I love meadow hay for my own preference as it tends to be softer and more leafy than oaten and oaten makes me itch. However I can rarely find good quality bales of it so I mostly feed oaten. If you’re concerned about the quality and can afford the extra $$ for the Timothy then it would be worth considering switching. Otherwise if cost is a factor I might look elsewhere for other hay suppliers to find something of better quality.

[Author]

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